Rhys Anthony Vague (born 17 January 1996) 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 for Tokyo United of the

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 ...

. He made his debut for his hometown

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 the National Basketball League (NBL) as a development player in 2014. After four seasons as a development player, he was elevated to a fully contracted player in 2018. In his six seasons with the Wildcats, he was a part of four championship teams in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Vague also made a name for himself in 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), playing for the Cockburn Cougars,

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 ...

and

Stirling Senators Warwick Senators 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 the Churches of Christ Sport & Recreation Association (CCSRA) and serves as the maj ...

, earning the State Basketball League Most Improved Player Award in 2015. Between 2020 and 2023, he played in Japan for the

Kagawa Five Arrows The are a Japanese professional basketball team based in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, that competes in the Western Conference of the B.League. In July 2015, the team announced its participation in the inaugural season of Japan's professional b ...

Early life and career

Vague grew up in

Perth, Western Australia 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 ...

, in the suburb of Kardinya. He played his first game of basketball at the age of seven, starting at the Spearwood Hawks Junior Basketball Club before joining the

Cockburn Cougars Cockburn Cougars 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 Cockburn Basketball Association (CBA), the major administrative basketball organisa ...

junior program. He is also a product of the rich basketball program at

Willetton Senior High School Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) is a public secondary school in Willetton, Western Australia, south of the Perth central business district and east of the port of Fremantle. The school opened in February 1977 with 77 students. It is one ...

. In

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, Vague debuted for the Cockburn Cougars in the

(SBL) at the age of 17. He appeared in two games in his first season. He continued on with the Cougars in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and averaged 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16 games. He also had a three-game stint with the

BA Centre of Excellence The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Bruce, Can ...

in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...

(SEABL) midway through the year.

Professional career

In 2014, Vague began training with the

of the National Basketball League (NBL) during pre-season before earning selection as a development player for the 2014–15 season. He made his debut for the Wildcats on 24 October 2014, receiving 45 seconds of action deep into the game 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 ...

, a match the Wildcats won 84–63. Vague was active for three more games but did not appear in any further action. Following the NBL season, Vague joined the

for the 2015 SBL season. In 22 games, he averaged 18.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He was subsequently named the SBL's Most Improved Player. Vague appeared in six games for the Wildcats during the

2015–16 NBL season The 2015–16 NBL season was the 38th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 7 October 2015 and 14 February 2016, followed by a post-season featur ...

and was a member of their championship-winning squad. He subsequently re-joined the Eagles for the 2016 SBL season and averaged 19.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 26 games. Vague received no game time in the 2016–17 NBL season but earned back-to-back championships with the Wildcats. He subsequently joined the

for the 2017 SBL season and averaged 18.0 points, 8.29 rebounds and 3.18 assists in 28 games. With the Wildcats in 2017–18, Vague appeared in 13 games and averaged 1.5 points. He subsequently joined the

Dandenong Rangers The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...

in the 2018 SEABL season and averaged 15.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 19 games. Rhys Vague 2018 3

On 19 April 2018, Vague signed a two-year deal with the Wildcats, earning elevation to the team's full-time roster after four years as a development player. On 17 January 2019, on his 23rd birthday, Vague made his first career start and had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes in a 97–84 loss to 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 ...

. In March 2019, he was a member of the Wildcats' championship-winning team. Vague joined 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 ...

for the

2019 New Zealand NBL season The 2019 NBL season was the 38th season of the National Basketball League. The competition increased to nine teams in 2019 with the Southern Huskies joining the league for the first time, marking the first time ever that an Australian team has ...

and averaged 16.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 18 games. With the Wildcats in 2019–20, Vague won his fourth NBL championship. In July 2020, Vague signed with the

of the Japanese

for the 2020–21 season. In 50 games, he averaged 10.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He subsequently joined 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 ...

for the

2021 New Zealand NBL season The 2021 NBL season was the 40th season of the National Basketball League. As a result of the modified, COVID-affected 2020 season, three of the top four teams in 2019 (Wellington Saints, Hawke's Bay Hawks and Southland Sharks) did not compete. ...

. On 18 June 2021, Vague re-signed with the Five Arrows for the 2021–22 season. He averaged 12.8 points per game. On 8 June 2022, Vague re-signed with the Five Arrows for the 2022–23 season. On 24 April 2023, Vague signed a two-year deal with 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 ...

of the NBL. On 28 March 2024, he was released by the Phoenix. Vague joined the

for the 2024 NBL1 West season. On 9 July 2024, Vague signed with Tokyo United, returning to the B.League for a second stint.

National team career

In December 2013, Vague won a silver medal with Australia at the FIBA Oceania Pacific Championships in New Zealand. In December 2014, Vague won a gold medal with the Australian Emus at the FIBA Oceania Under 19 Championships in Fiji. In April 2015, he was named in a 16-man Australian Emus squad in the lead up to the

2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19 2015) was the 12th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by t ...

s in Greece, but ultimately missed out on the final squad. In June 2017, Vague was named in the 12-man Emerging Boomers squad for the

2017 Summer Universiade The 2017 Summer Universiade (), officially known as the XXIX Summer Universiade ( zh, t=第二十九屆夏季世界大學運動會, p=Dì èrshíjiǔ jiè xiàjì shìjiè dàxué yùndònghuì) and commonly called Taipei 2017 ( zh, t=台北201 ...

in Taiwan. The team consisted of players under the age of 25 who were completing university studies. In February 2022, Vague was named in a 17-man

Australian Boomers The Australia men's national basketball team, nicknamed the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has placed among the world elite teams, ...

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.

References

External links

Kagawa Five Arrows profileSEABL stats"Promoted Perth Wildcat Rhys Vague sets sights on bumper pre-season"
at thewest.com.au
"Vague the catalyst in breakout performance"
at wildcats.com.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Vague, Rhys 1996 births Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in Japan Australian men's basketball players Basketball players from Perth, Western Australia Forwards (basketball) Hawke's Bay Hawks players Kagawa Five Arrows players Nelson Giants players Perth Wildcats players South East Melbourne Phoenix players Sportsmen from Western Australia Tokyo United Basketball Club players 21st-century Australian sportsmen