Hyrum Tipene Harris (born 3 June 1996) is a New Zealand professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as ...

of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the

Kanazawa Samuraiz Kanazawa Samuraiz () is a professional basketball club based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The club plays in the third division of the B.League, which is the 3rd tier of basketball in the country. Team Current roster ...

of the Japanese

B.League The B.League is a men's professional basketball league in Japan. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that was operated by the FIBA-affi ...

Early life

Harris was born in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, and raised in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. He grew up playing

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

Professional career

NZNBL (2015–2019)

After playing for the

Super City Rangers The Super City Rangers were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Rangers competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games across multiple venues in Auckland. Team history The Waitakere Rangers debut ...

during the

2015 New Zealand NBL season The 2015 NBL season was the 34th season of the National Basketball League. The season draw was supposed to be released in December 2014, but the withdrawal of Otago and Waikato prompted a rethink for the 2015 competition format. In the past, ea ...

, Harris relocated to the United States to play

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Umpqua Community College Umpqua Community College (UCC) is a Public college, public community college near Roseburg, Oregon. The college has sixteen campus buildings located on bordering the North Umpqua River. The campus also features a track, tennis courts, and an ou ...

in Oregon during the 2015–16 season. He played for the Rangers in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

before joining the

Hawke's Bay Hawks The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as th ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. In

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, Harris played for the

Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are know ...

, where he averaged 11 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists on an average of 26 minutes a game across 19 games that season.

Illawarra Hawks (2019–2020)

In September 2019, Harris joined the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) as a development player. Across 16 games, Harris averaged 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds across an average of 6.7 minutes per game, with a high of eight points and five rebounds against the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...

Manawatu Jets (2020)

After not being pre-selected for the NZNBL draft for the 2020 season, Harris was drafted by the

Manawatu Jets The Manawatu Jets are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Palmerston North. The Jets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Central Energy Trust Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they ...

. Despite missing a few games with injury, he finished the season leading the league with 2.7 steals per game, second in the league with 11.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game, whilst also averaging 15.1 points across 30.8 minutes per game.

Cairns Taipans (2021)

On 2 April 2021, Harris signed with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

of the Australian NBL as an injury replacement player. He made just the one appearance for the Taipans during the

2020–21 NBL season The 2020–21 NBL season was the 43rd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested in the 2020–21 season. The regular season was played between January and June 2021, followed by a ...

Hawke's Bay Hawks and Adelaide 36ers (2021–2023)

Harris returned to the Hawke's Bay Hawks for the 2021 NZNBL season, scoring 18 points in the season opener against the

Canterbury Rams The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Christchurch. The Rams compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as Th ...

on 2 May. On 3 November 2021, Harris signed with the

for the

2021–22 NBL season The 2021–22 NBL season was the 44th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested the 2021–22 season, which commenced on 3 December 2021. Australian broadcast rights to the season ...

. He was named the 36ers' Club Most Improved Player. On 30 March 2022, Harris re-signed with the Hawks for the 2022 NZNBL season. On 3 May 2022, Harris re-signed with the 36ers for the

2022–23 NBL season The 2022–23 NBL season was the 45th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2022–23 season. Australian broadcast rights to the season are held by ESPN in the second sea ...

. On 31 January 2023, Harris re-signed with the Hawks for the 2023 NZNBL season. He captained the Hawks and averaged 13.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.

Perth Wildcats and Wellington Saints (2023–present)

On 26 April 2023, Harris signed a two-year deal with the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

. On 15 February 2024, he scored a career-high 15 points in a 108–92 loss to the

. He averaged 5.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game during the

2023–24 NBL season The 2023–24 NBL season was the 46th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2023–24 season. Australian broadcast rights to the season are held by ESPN in the third seas ...

. Harris joined the

for the

2024 New Zealand NBL season The 2024 NBL season was the 43rd season of the National Basketball League. The competition increased to 11 teams in 2024 with the Tauranga Whai joining the league for the first time. The 2024 season saw the return of a pre-season blitz for the ...

. With the Wildcats in the

2024–25 NBL season The 2024–25 NBL season was the 47th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2024–25 season. The league extended its partnership with ESPN Australia. All games are availa ...

, Harris averaged 10.9 minutes per game for a touch under three points and 2.2 rebounds. Harris re-joined the Saints for the

2025 New Zealand NBL season The 2025 NBL season is the 44th season of the National Basketball League. The competition increased to 12 teams in 2025 with the debut of the Indian Panthers, but later decreased to 11 teams in May following the withdrawal of the Panthers. The ...

. He was named the NZNBL Defensive Player of the Year.

Kanazawa Samuraiz

On 27 June 2025, Harris signed with the

of the Japanese

for the 2025–26 season.

National team career

Harris debuted for the New Zealand Tall Blacks during the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers. In July 2023, Harris was named in the Tall Blacks squad for the

2023 FIBA World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 25 August to 10 September 2023. The tournament was the second to feature 32 teams and was hosted by multipl ...

Personal life

Harris is the son of Allies Evans and Reuben Harris.

References

External links

NBL player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Hyrum 1996 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players Basketball players from Auckland Cairns Taipans players Forwards (basketball) Hawke's Bay Hawks players Illawarra Hawks players Manawatu Jets players New Zealand men's basketball players Perth Wildcats players Southland Sharks players Super City Rangers players Wellington Saints players 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen