Keanu Tecumseh Pinder (born 28 May 1995) is an Australian 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 who last played for the

Shanxi Loongs The Shanxi Loongs, also known as Shanxi SDIC Raptors Club or Shanxi Fenjiu Shares are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Taiyuan, Shanxi, which plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The Shanxi Fen ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA). He played

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

Hutchinson Community College Hutchinson Community College (HutchCC or HCC) is a Public college, public community college in Hutchinson, Kansas. It serves nearly 5,000 credit students every semester. History The college was established in the spring of 1928 as Hutchinson Ju ...

and the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

Early life and career

Pinder was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. He grew up in Derby before moving to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

at age 10 for school. As a youth, he played both

and

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

. During the 2012–13 season, Pinder was a part of the training squad and academy of 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, ...

. He was then a member of the

Lakeside Lightning Lakeside Lightning is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is owned and managed by Lakeside Baptist Church. The Lightning play their home games at Lakeside R ...

of the

State Basketball League NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...

(SBL) when they won the SBL championship in the 2013 season. He had a short stint with the

East Perth Eagles East Perth Eagles is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of East Perth District Basketball Association (EPDBA), the major administrative baske ...

during the 2015 SBL season. In 2013, Pinder moved to the United States to spend a prep season attending and playing for Sunrise Christian Academy in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

College career

Between 2014 and 2016, Pinder played

for

. He averaged 6.5 points and 6.5 rebounds as a freshman in 2014–15 and then 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks as a sophomore in 2015–16. In March 2016, Pinder transferred to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. As a junior with the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

in 2016–17, Pinder appeared in 35 games and averaged 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game. As a senior in 2017–18, Pinder averaged 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game.

Professional career

In August 2018, Pinder signed with

Legia Warszawa Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English language, English: Polish Basketball League), officially known as the Orlen Basket Liga due to its sponsorship by Orlen, is a professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Poland. I ...

. He averaged 7.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 2018–19 and 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game in 2019–20. On 17 July 2020, Pinder signed with 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 ...

for 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 ...

. He averaged 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 35 games in his first NBL season. On 19 July 2021, Pinder signed a two-year deal 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 ...

. He averaged 10.9 points and 7.6 rebounds in 28 games during the 2021–22 season, as he won the

NBL Most Improved Player Award The National Basketball League Most Improved Player is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 1988 NBL season to an up-and-coming player who has made a dramatic improvement from the previous season. As of the 2023–24 ...

. In the 2022 off-season, he played for the Northside Wizards of the

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

. In

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, he averaged 16.9 points and 9.3 rebounds in 19 games before injury cut his season short. He dealt with an ankle injury and then an orbital eye fracture which forced him to watch from the sidelines during finals. He was named NBL Most Improved Player for the second straight year, becoming the first player in league history to win the award twice. On 3 March 2023, Pinder signed with

Fuenlabrada Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality. Placename The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. He wore a protective mask for his face injury while playing in Spain. On 1 April 2023, Pinder signed a two-year deal with the

. He joined the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

for the

2023 NBA Summer League The 2023 NBA Summer League (branded as ''NBA 2K, NBA 2K24'' Summer League 2023 for sponsorship reasons) was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las ...

, but injured his back at practice and did not play. In 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 ...

, he averaged 13.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. On 25 October 2024, Pinder scored an equal career-high 34 points in an 87–84 win over the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...

. On 11 February 2025, in the Wildcats' NBL Seeding Qualifier, Pinder had a career-high 35 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in a 122–105 win over the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The t ...

. On 15 March 2025, Pinder signed with the

of the

(CBA) for the rest of the 2024–25 season, replacing

Ibrahima Fall Faye Ibrahima Fall Faye (born January 10, 1997) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association. Professional career Fall Faye played in the youth teams of Élan Chalon. He played 9 matches in t ...

National team career

Pinder represented Australia for the first time at the

2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Czech: Mistrovství světa FIBA do 19 let 2013) was the 11th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by the U19 national team ...

in the Czech Republic. In 2015, Pinder played for the Australian University National Team at the

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

in South Korea. In 2022, Pinder won gold with the

Boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom that fol ...

at the

FIBA Asia Cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the t ...

in Indonesia. Pinder was not selected by the Boomers 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 ...

after injuring his groin during training camp.

Personal life

Pinder's mother, Tracey Smith, is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

. She was born in

Kalbarri, Western Australia Kalbarri is a coastal town in the Mid West region located north of Perth, Western Australia. The town is located at the mouth of the Murchison River, which has an elevation of . It is connected by public transport to Perth via Transwa coach s ...

, but lived most of her life in the

Kimberley region The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts in t ...

. His Bahamian father,

Kendal Pinder Kendal Nathaniel "Tiny" Pinder (born 25 April 1956) is a Bahamian former professional basketball player. He moved to the United States as a teenager and attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Florida. Pinder played college basketball ...

, played professionally for the

in the National Basketball League.

References

External links

NBL profileLiga ACB profileBaloncesto Fuenlabrada profileArizona Wildcats bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinder, Kendal 1995 births Living people 21st-century Australian sportsmen Adelaide 36ers players Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players Australian expatriate basketball people in China Australian expatriate basketball people in Poland Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian men's basketball players Australian people of Bahamian descent Basketball players from Perth, Western Australia Cairns Taipans players Centers (basketball) Hutchinson Blue Dragons men's basketball players Indigenous Australian basketball players Legia Warsaw (basketball) players Perth Wildcats players Power forwards Shanxi Loongs players Sportsmen from Western Australia