Thomas Abercrombie (basketball)

Thomas Iain Abercrombie (born 5 July 1987) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). A product of Westlake Boys High School in Auckland, Abercrombie had a short-lived college basketball stint with Washington State before debuting in the Australian NBL in 2008 with the Breakers. In 2011, he won his first NBL championship and earned Grand Final MVP honours. He went on to win three more championships in 2012, 2013 and 2015. An 11-year, 303-game veteran with the Breakers, Abercrombie is the club's all-time leading scorer with 3,450 points.

Thomas Abercrombie
No. 10 – New Zealand Breakers
PositionSmall forward / Shooting guard
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1987-07-05) 5 July 1987
Auckland, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Listed height198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Listed weight90 kg (198 lb)
Career information
High schoolWestlake Boys
(Auckland, New Zealand)
CollegeWashington State (2007–2008)
Playing career2008–present
Career history
2008–presentNew Zealand Breakers
2009–2011Waikato Pistons
2014ASVEL Basket
2015Gipuzkoa Basket
2016Pınar Karşıyaka
2017Büyükçekmece Basketbol
2019Wellington Saints
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Representing  New Zealand
Men's Basketball
Commonwealth Games
2018 Gold Coast Team competition

Abercrombie has also played four seasons in the New Zealand NBL and has had stints aboard in France, Spain and Turkey.

Early life and junior career

Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Abercrombie attended Westlake Boys High School and played four years of school basketball. In 2005, he captained the basketball team to the title at the Secondary School National Championships.[1][2] That year, he also served as the school's deputy head boy and was captain of the volleyball team.[3]

As a junior, Abercrombie played for the North Harbour Basketball Association and represented New Zealand with the Junior Tall Blacks.[3][4]

In November 2005, Abercrombie accepted a scholarship deal with Washington State University.[3] He spent two seasons with the Cougars, redshirting his freshman season in 2006–07 before seeing action in 12 games in 2007–08.[5]

Professional career

New Zealand Breakers

After returning home following his college stint, Abercrombie joined the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL as a development player for the 2008–09 season.[6] He played 13 games in his first season with the Breakers, and was elevated to the full squad for the 2009–10 season.[7] He missed four games in the back half of the season with an ankle injury.[8][9]

In the 2010–11 season, Abercrombie helped the Breakers reach their first ever grand final series, where they defeated the Cairns Taipans 2–1 to win their maiden NBL championship. He was subsequently named the Grand Final MVP.[10] Abercrombie went on to win three more championships with the Breakers in 2012, 2013 and 2015.[11][12][13]

Abercrombie played his 250th NBL game in October 2017,[14] and his 300th game in February 2019.[13]

In October 2019, Abercrombie committed to the Breakers until the end of the 2021–22 season.[15]

In 2019–20, Abercrombie became the second player in NBL history (after Daniel Kickert in 2016–17 and 2017–18) to join the exclusive 50–40–90 club. Abercrombie averaged 12.1 points per game for the season while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 46.5 percent from three-point range and 90.5 percent from the free throw line.[16]

New Zealand NBL

In 2009, Abercrombie debuted in the New Zealand NBL with the Waikato Pistons.[17] He helped the Pistons win the championship while claiming Rookie of the Year and All-Star Five honours.[18][19] He continued on with the Pistons in 2010 and earned All-Star Five honours again while helping the Pistons make a second consecutive grand final appearance.[20][21][22] He returned to the Pistons for a third season in 2011 and once again earned All-Star Five honours.[23]

In 2019, Abercrombie played half a season with the Wellington Saints and helped them win a championship while claiming Grand Final MVP honours.[24][25][26]

Overseas stints

During the 2013 NBL off-season, Abercrombie took part in mini-camp opportunities with NBA teams such as the San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. He then joined the Phoenix Suns for the NBA Summer League.[27]

Following the 2013–14 NBL season, Abercrombie had a stint in France with ASVEL Basket.[28][29][30] He went on to have similar post-NBL season stints the following three years, playing for Gipuzkoa Basket in Spain in 2015,[31] and then having two stints in Turkey with Pınar Karşıyaka (2016)[32] and Büyükçekmece Basketbol (2017).[33][34]

National team career

Abercrombie made his debut for the Tall Blacks in 2006.[4] In 2007, he represented New Zealand at the World University Games.[35] He has been a regular with the Tall Blacks since 2009.[36] In 2018, he won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games. In 2019, he played at the FIBA World Cup.

Personal

Abercrombie is the son of Colin and Judy. He is the oldest of three children, with brother Hayden and sister Nicola.[1] Abercrombie and his wife Monique have three children.[13][37][38]

Abercrombie studied a Bachelor of Science at Massey University.[39]

References
  1. "Thomas Abercrombie". wsucougars.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012.
  2. "2005 Results Annual" (PDF). nz.basketball. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2019.
  3. Jessup, Peter (10 November 2005). "Basketball: Rising star on twin path". nzherald.co.nz. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019.
  4. "Tom Abercrombie". nz.basketball. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019.
  5. "Abercrombie Granted Release from WSU Men's Basketball Program". pac-12.com. 14 May 2008. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019.
  6. "Breakers Sign D-Squaders". basketball.org.nz. 5 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008.
  7. "Time for young Breakers talent to shine". nbl.com.au. 15 September 2009. Archived from the original on 19 September 2009.
  8. "Basketball: Injury sidelines Abercrombie". nzherald.co.nz. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  9. "Basketball: Rickert rebounding to fitness". odt.co.nz. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2019. Tom Abercrombie has also benefited from another week back in practice, with his ankle now close to 100 percent, and his general fitness also improved.
  10. Hinton, Marc (2 May 2011). "Breakers secure first ANBL championship". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 16 October 2019. Abercrombie was named finals MVP at the post-game presentations, with the North Shore boy receiving a huge cheer from his home crowd as he stepped on to the podium to receive a deserved award.
  11. "Grand Final Report: Ibekwe jumper wins Breakers the Championship". nbl.com.au. 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015.
  12. "Swingman Pledges Future with the SKYCITY Breakers". nzbreakers.co.nz. 27 May 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015.
  13. Pike, Chris (7 February 2019). "Unheralded Great Abercrombie Reaches 300". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  14. Hinton, Marc (27 October 2017). "Breakers veteran Tom Abercrombie credits poise, athleticism of rising star Shea Ili". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  15. "Tom Abercrombie Extends Contract At Breakers". nbl.com.au. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  16. Santamaria, Liam (18 February 2020). "Abercrombie Proud to Join 50-40-90 Club". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  17. "Pistons Nab Abercrombie". basketball.org.nz. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008.
  18. Anderson, Ian (26 June 2009). "Waikato Pistons crowned again". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  19. "Jones named NBL MVP". Stuff.co.nz. 24 June 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  20. Kennedy, Paulo (29 June 2010). "Abercrombie sends a warning". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  21. Hinton, Marc (10 July 2010). "Tait, Abercrombie snare main NBL awards". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  22. "Tait, Abo Big Winners". Basketball.org.nz. 8 July 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010.
  23. "2011 NBL Awards". foxsportspulse.com. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014.
  24. "Breakers captain Tom Abercrombie joins NBL leaders Wellington Saints". stuff.co.nz. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  25. Smith, Tony (21 July 2019). "Wellington Saints claim 11th NBL title with stunning comeback win over Hawks". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  26. Singh, Anendra (21 July 2019). "Basketball: Wellington Saints claw back to end Hawks' fairy-tale Final 4 run for 11th NBL title". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  27. Tom Abercrombie jets to USA for tilt at NBA
  28. "Thomas Abercrombie signs with ASVEL Villeurbanne". Sportando.com. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  29. "Abercrombie Heads to Europe". nzbreakers.co.nz. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  30. Anderson, Ian (2 April 2014). "Tom Abercrombie signs with French side". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  31. Thomas Abercrombie signs with Gipuzkoa
  32. Thomas Abercrombie signs with Pinar Karsiyaka
  33. Thomas Abercrombie inks with Demir Insaat Buyukcekmece
  34. Breakers forward Tom Abercrombie heading back to Turkey for off-season stint
  35. "Aron Baynes and Thomas Abercrombie Finish Strong at World University Games". pac-12.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019.
  36. "Thomas Abercrombie". fiba.com. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  37. Breakers new dad Tom Abercrombie looks to add spark for crucial clash with Adelaide
  38. Breakers star Tom Abercrombie considers return to New Zealand NBL
  39. Take 40: Tom Abercrombie
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