Mika John Vukona (born 13 May 1982) is a Fijian-born New Zealand former 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. Between 2003 and 2018, he spent 13 seasons with the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...

in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) and helped them win four championships. He was also a regular with the

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (New Zealand), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the T ...

in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) and was a long-time New Zealand Tall Black.

Early life

Vukona was born in

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

, Fiji. He was adopted by his birth mother's brother, Clem, a Fijian. Clem and his wife Marion, a New Zealander, moved their family to New Zealand in 1987 following the Fiji coup. They settled down in the coastal city of

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

, Marion's hometown. Vukona attended Bethlehem College in Tauranga for both primary and secondary school. He played rugby until third form at Bethlehem College, when his anti-rugby mother forced him to stop. He subsequently followed his brother's footsteps and took up basketball. He went on to become a member of the national under 16, 18 and 20 sides. Basketball took him to

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in his final school year after earning a scholarship to go to

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it r ...

Playing career

Australian NBL

Vukona made his debut in the Australian NBL as a development player during the

' inaugural season in 2003–04. He was elevated from a development player to a full-time contracted player for the 2005–06 season. He played five seasons for the Breakers before joining the South Dragons in 2008. He won a championship with the Dragons in 2008–09. After the Dragons collapsed, Vukona joined the

Gold Coast Blaze The Gold Coast Blaze were an Australian men's professional basketball team which competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The Blaze played five seasons in the NBL between 2007 and 2012, and played their home games at the Gold Coast C ...

for the 2009–10 season. In 2010, Vukona made a return to the Breakers, and over the next five seasons, he helped the team win four championships, including three straight between 2010–11 and 2012–13. The 2015–16 season saw the Breakers play in a fifth grand final in six years, where they lost to 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, ...

. In November 2017, Vukona played his 400th NBL game. After eight seasons with the Breakers, Vukona joined the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

in 2018. Vukona ended the 2018–19 season on 449 games after tearing his

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

in game one of the Bullets' semi-final series against the Wildcats and thus missing game two. His contract with the Bullets ended at the end of the 2019–20 season.

New Zealand NBL, QSL/NBL1, Lebanon and Italy

Vukona made his New Zealand NBL debut in 2000. He played for the

between 2000 and 2002 before playing for 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 ...

in 2003. He then played for the Giants between 2004 and 2007 before playing for the Harbour Heat in 2008. He played for the Giants between 2010 and 2015, then with 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 ...

in 2016, and then again with the Giants in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In April 2014, Vukona ventured outside New Zealand or Australia for the first time, joining Lebanese team

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

. Twelve months later, he moved to Italy to play for

Virtus Roma Virtus Roma 1960, commonly known as Virtus Roma, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. The club, named Pallacanestro Virtus Roma competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for decades until 2020, whe ...

. In 2020, Vukona played for the Southern Districts Spartans of the Queensland State League (QSL). In 2021, he served as an assistant coach for the Spartans in the NBL1 North and joined the playing squad midway through the season. In June 2023, Vukona's number 14 jersey was retired by the Nelson Giants.

National team

Vukona debuted for the Tall Blacks in 2005. He retired from international duties in February 2021 after 152 games for the Tall Blacks.

Executive career

Tasmania JackJumpers

In March 2021, Vukona joined the Tasmania JackJumpers' basketball programme as a consultant. He was elevated to a full time capacity as general manager of basketball operations on 31 October 2023. He parted ways with the JackJumpers in May 2025.

Franklin Bulls

Vukona served as general manager of the Franklin Bulls during the 2023 New Zealand NBL season.

South West Metro Pirates

In May 2025, Vukona joined the South West Metro Pirates of the NBL1 North as their general manager.

Personal life

Vukona and his wife Vanessa have two children. Vukona holds a Fijian passport.A favourite son Mika Vukona
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References

External links

New Zealand Breakers player profileANBL statsBreakers ready to celebrate as captain fantastic Mika Vukona hits 300 not outNo time for reflectionThe Value of VukonaPush for Success Strong as Ever for MikaNelson Giants star Mika Vukona cut down by untimely bout of appendicitis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vukona, Mika 1982 births Living people Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Brisbane Bullets players Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Fijian expatriate basketball people in Australia Fijian emigrants to New Zealand Fijian men's basketball players Gold Coast Blaze players Harbour Heat players I-Taukei Fijian people Manawatu Jets players Nelson Giants players New Zealand men's basketball players New Zealand Breakers players New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Australia New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Italy New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Lebanon New Zealand people of I-Taukei Fijian descent Virtus Roma players People educated at Nelson College Power forwards South Dragons players Sportspeople from Suva Super City Rangers players 2006 FIBA World Championship players 2010 FIBA World Championship players 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Byblos Club players 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in basketball Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in basketball