Playing for his dream team

Big Sam will make a big step into the Australian National Basketball League next season.

Otago Nuggets centre Sam Timmins has lit up the New Zealand National Basketball League this season with some strong performances under the hoop, and his efforts have certainly not gone unnoticed.

He has signed a one-year development contract with the New Zealand Breakers, and the 24-year-old is pretty excited about it.

The Breakers have the option of signing him for an additional year, so there is plenty to play for.

"This is the team I had my sights set on as my next step and it feels good to kind of achieve that," Timmins told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.

Timmins, the son of former Highlanders and Southland lock Brendon Timmins, leads the New Zealand league’s most valuable player leaderboard.

He is the competition’s leading rebounder with an average of 14.2 boards, and he is in the top 10 for scorers with 20.6 points per game.

He is also averaging 4.9 assists, so there is a lot to like about the way the former Otago Boys’ schoolboy star is playing.

The 2.11m athlete has attracted attention from rival Australian National Basketball League teams.

But Timmins, who spent four years playing for the Huskies while attending the University of Washington, is a proud Kiwi and he wanted to play for a New Zealand-based team.

He has loved returning to the Nuggets this season and playing for the team he grew up watching. He feels the same way about the Breakers.

Any court time Timmins gets will be dependent on how the club views his progression and who is available for games.

"But for me, that kind of did not matter as much. I was just looking at it like: who do I want to play for?

"I made the decision to play for the Nuggets this year and stuck with it and it has been the best thing for my career.

"So I’ve gone through the same decision process with ANBL ... and decided, which team will it mean the most to me to be a part of? And that is why I’ve gone the way I have."

Breakers coach Dan Shamir believes the opportunities for Timmins are endless.

“In our mind, a guy who wants to play for the Breakers and sees the value of what this team is doing for New Zealand basketball means a lot. It is a huge point in his favour,” Shamir said.

“Besides the scoring and rebounding, Sam’s playing with good flow in the New Zealand NBL.

"He will have opportunities to step in here and there when needed.”

With Rob Loe recovering from a knee injury, and Colton Iverson moving on, the Breakers will be recruiting an experienced import centre.

It will be a good opportunity for Timmins to learn from whoever that player might be.

“There is a learning curve playing the kind of basketball that we play in the [A]NBL. Sam will need time to adjust. But he definitely can develop into a Breakers player who helps us for a long time."