Nicholas Colin Kay (born 3 August 1992) is an Australian professional basketball player for Shimane Susanoo Magic of the Japanese B.League. 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 the Metro State Roadrunners before beginning his professional career in the National Basketball League (NBL). He won two NBL championships with the Perth Wildcats in 2019 and 2020. He also won a New Zealand NBL championship and league MVP honours with 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 ...

in 2019. In 2021, he won a bronze medal with the Australian national team at the Tokyo Olympics.

Early life

Kay was born and raised in

Tamworth, New South Wales Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River (New South Wales), Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest ...

, where he attended McCarthy Catholic College and played for the Tamworth Thunderbolts. At age 17, he moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to attend

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

. He averaged 13 points and 14 rebounds for Newington, leading the school to finish second in Australia's all-schools tournament and won the New South Wales all-school tournament. He also represented the New South Wales state team.

College career

In 2011, Kay moved to the United States to play

for the

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver ...

in the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

. As a freshman in 2011–12, Kay played in all 32 games for the Roadrunners, making 15 starts and averaging 6.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He became the first Metro State freshman since 1995 to record a double-double on debut, recording 14 points and 13 rebounds in a start against Bemidji State on 11 November 2011. He had a season-high 24 points against Colorado Christian on 7 January 2012. As a sophomore in 2012–13, Kay was named third-team all- RMAC after leading Metro State to the national title game and the RMAC regular season and tournament championships. He started 33 of 34 games and averaged 10.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. He had a season-high 19 points three times. He had 10 points and seven rebounds in the national championship game loss to Drury. As a junior in 2013–14, Kay started all 34 games and helped the Roadrunners to the RMAC regular season and tournament championships and the semi-finals at the NCAA tournament. He averaged 15.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, and was named NABC first team all-district and first-team all-RMAC. He had a season-high 24 points against UC-Colorado Springs on 1 March 2014, helping Metro State finish the regular season as the third team in RMAC history to go undefeated. He was named the most valuable player of the RMAC Tournament. As a senior in 2014–15, Kay started all 32 games and averaged 20.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He was named NABC first team all-district and first-team all-RMAC for the second straight year. He led the Roadrunners to their third consecutive RMAC regular season championship and a fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. He scored a career-high 33 points against Arkansas-Fort Smith on 15 November 2014. He had a career-high 17 rebounds along with 21 points against CSU-Pueblo on 27 February 2015.

Professional career

Northside Wizards (2014–2015)

In 2014, in between his junior and senior college seasons, Kay played for the Northside Wizards of the

Queensland Basketball League 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 ...

(QBL). In nine games, he averaged 15.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Kay returned to the Wizards for the 2015 QBL season and averaged 22.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 13 games.

Townsville Crocodiles (2015–2016)

In July 2015, Kay signed with the

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertain ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He appeared in all 28 games for the Crocodiles in 2015–16 and ranked top-20 in the NBL for minutes played (28.11 per game). He averaged 10.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while scoring in double figures on 16 occasions, recording three double-doubles and finishing as the league leader in offensive rebounding (3.0). He was subsequently named NBL Rookie of the Year.

Southland Sharks and Illawarra Hawks (2016–2018)

Following the NBL season, Kay joined the Southland Sharks for the 2016 New Zealand NBL season. In 19 games, he averaged 17.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. In May 2016, Kay signed with the Illawarra Hawks. He helped the Hawks reach the grand final in the 2016–17 NBL season. In 34 games, he averaged 9.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Following the NBL season, Kay re-joined the Sharks for the 2017 New Zealand NBL season. In 20 games, he averaged 14.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. With the Hawks in the 2017–18 NBL season, Kay averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 28 games.

Perth Wildcats and Wellington Saints (2018–2020)

On 20 April 2018, Kay signed a three-year deal with the Perth Wildcats. In the 2018–19 NBL season, he was named in the All-NBL First Team and helped the Wildcats win the

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

. In 34 games, he averaged 14.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Following the NBL season, Kay joined the

for the 2019 New Zealand NBL season. He helped the Saints win the

and earned league MVP honours. In 20 games, he averaged 15.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game. With the Wildcats in the 2019–20 NBL season, Kay was named to the All-NBL First Team for the second straight year and helped the team win back-to-back championships. In game three of the grand final series against 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 ...

, Kay had a career-best game with 30 points and seven 3-pointers to go with 12 rebounds and four assists in a 111–96 win. In 34 games, he averaged 15.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. On 4 May 2020, Kay opted out of the final year of his contract with the Wildcats to pursue international opportunities after the NBL implemented salary cuts due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Spain and Japan (2020–present)

On 5 July 2020, Kay signed with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

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 ...

. In 36 games in the 2020–21 ACB season, he averaged 7.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game. On 1 July 2021, Kay signed with Shimane Susanoo Magic of the Japanese B.League. In 56 games in the 2021–22 B.League season, he averaged 13.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. On 22 June 2022, Kay re-signed with Shimane. In 63 games in the 2022–23 B.League season, he averaged 15.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Kay returned to Shimane for the 2023–24 B.League season and averaged 16.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 60 games. On 20 May 2024, Kay re-signed with Shimane.

National team career

Kay debuted for the Australian under 19 national team in 2010. Kay was named to the Australian national team for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup. In 2018, he won a gold medal with Australia at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. In 2019, he was awarded the Gaze Family Medal alongside Nathan Sobey for performances at the World Cup Qualifiers and the Commonwealth Games. In February 2021, Kay was named in the Boomers' Olympic squad. He went on to help the Boomers win the bronze medal. He averaged 11.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in six games. In February 2022, Kay was named in a 17-man Australian Boomers squad ahead of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Japan. He re-joined the team for proceeding qualifying windows in August 2022 and February 2023. In July 2024, Kay was named in the Boomers' final squad for the Paris Olympics. In November 2024, Kay joined the Boomers for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. He re-joined the squad in February 2025 for two more qualifiers.

References

External links

Shimane Susanoo Magic profileIllawarra Hawks profileMetro State Roadrunners bio"Workmanlike Perth Wildcats forward Nick Kay belongs in MVP conversation"
at thewest.com.au
"Kay Ready for #NBL20 Fireworks"
at nbl.com.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Nick 1992 births Living people 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Australian expatriate basketball people in Japan Australian expatriate basketball people in New Zealand Australian expatriate basketball people in Spain Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Basketball players from New South Wales Centers (basketball) Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in basketball Illawarra Hawks players Liga ACB players Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Metro State Roadrunners men's basketball players Olympic basketball players for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in basketball Sportspeople from Tamworth, New South Wales People educated at Newington College Perth Wildcats players Power forwards Real Betis Baloncesto players Shimane Susanoo Magic players Southland Sharks players Townsville Crocodiles players Wellington Saints players Sportsmen from New South Wales 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Australian sportsmen