Corey Webster (basketball)
Corey Webster (born 29 November 1988) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Al Ittihad of the Egyptian Basketball Super League. He joined the Breakers for the first time in 2008 after a season of college basketball in the United States for Lambuth University, and won championships with the club in 2011, 2013 and 2015. He has also been a regular in the New Zealand NBL, winning championships with the Wellington Saints in 2011, 2014 and 2017, and has had stints in Serbia, Greece, Israel, China and Italy. Webster signed with the New Orleans Pelicans prior  to the 2015–16 NBA season, but was waived during preseason. Early and college career. Webster attended Westlake Boys High School in Auckland, New Zealand, and played junior basketball for North Harbour Basketball Association. He moved to the United States in 2007 and played a season of college basketball for Lambuth University of the NAIA. He averaged 11.5 points per game and was named the TSAC Freshman of the Year. Professional career. New Zealand Breakers. In June 2008, Webster joined the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian NBL for the first time, signing as a development player. He spent two seasons  as a development player before joining the full-time roster ahead of the 2010–11 season. He won his first championship with the Breakers that season before missing the 2011–12 season due to a drug violation. The Breakers brought him back on a three-year deal ahead of the 2012–13 season. He won his second NBL championship in April 2013. He averaged a then career-high 8.5 points per game during the 2013–14 season. The 2014–15 season saw Webster develop into one of the league's premier scorers as he moved to a starting role and averaged a team-best 15.3  points per game, including scoring a career-high 24 points in the first semi-final against the Adelaide 36ers. He helped the Breakers win their fourth title in five years. After re-signing with the Breakers on a three-year deal, Webster's 2015 off-season saw him attend a pre-draft tryout with the Indiana Pacers and later spent NBA preseason with the New Orleans Pelicans. With the Breakers in 2015–16, Webster scored a career-high 39 points in November and helped the team return to the NBL Grand Final series, where they lost to the Perth Wildcats. He  earned All-NBL Second Team honours after he finished second in scoring with 21.09 points per game during the regular season. Webster missed the second half of the 2016–17 NBL season due to injury. He averaged 11.7 points in 15 games. He was set to undergo hip surgery, but after his injuries improved with rehab and time away from the game, Webster never had the procedure. The 2017 off-season saw the Breakers cut ties with Webster, which led to him signing a two-year deal with the Perth Wildcats. After playing with the Dallas Mavericks during the 2017 NBA  Summer League, Webster requested a release from his contract with Perth. On 24 May 2018, Webster returned to the Breakers on another three-year deal. He struggled during the 2018–19 NBL season, presenting as a shadow of the figure who was once a premier scorer in the league. He averaged 10.4 points in 27 games. Webster began the 2019–20 NBL season averaging 19.5 points in 11 games for the Breakers, when in December, he was bought out of his contract in order to sign in China. He re-joined the Breakers for the 2020–21 NBL season, but he missed the  first two weeks of the January-starting season after slicing a nerve in his hand with a knife in his kitchen. On 13 March 2021, he was ruled out for four weeks with a knee injury. On 20 August 2021, Webster parted ways with the New Zealand Breakers. New Zealand NBL. Webster debuted in the New Zealand NBL in 2009, playing two seasons for the Harbour Heat. In 2011, he joined the Wellington Saints and helped them win the championship. His second season with the Saints came in 2013. During the 2014 New Zealand NBL season, Webster averaged 25.8 points  and earned league MVP honours. He went on to lead the Saints to the championship. He spent the 2016 season with the Super City Rangers. In 2017 with the Saints, he won his second MVP award and third championship. Webster is set to join the Franklin Bulls for the 2022 New Zealand NBL season. Overseas. On 23 March 2015, Webster signed with Mega Leks for the rest of the 2014–15 KLS season. On 21 March 2016, Webster signed with Koroivos of Greece for the rest of the 2015–16 Greek Basket League season. On 1 August 2017, Webster signed with Ironi  Nahariya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. On 2 March 2018, Webster won the Three-Point Shootout during the 2018 Israeli All-Star Event. On 3 May 2018, Webster parted ways with Nahariya. In 23 games played during the 2017–18 season, Webster averaged 15.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. In June 2018, Webster joined the Guizhou Shenghang Snow Leopards of the Chinese NBL. In December 2019, Webster joined Chinese team Zhejiang Lions for the rest of the CBA season. He left China on 3 February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic after averaging 18.3 points , 3.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds over seven games. He moved to Italy later that month to play out the 2019–20 season with Virtus Roma of the Lega Basket Serie A. He appeared in just one game for Roma after the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. In August 2021, Webster joined Al Ittihad of the Egyptian Basketball Super League. National team career. Webster joined the New Zealand national basketball team for the first time in 2008 at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. He later played for New Zealand at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship, 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship, 2014 FIBA  Basketball World Cup, 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship and 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Personal life. Webster is the son of Tony and Cherry Webster. Tony, who is from New York, was a standout basketball player in his own right, earning first-team All-WAC honours at Hawaii in 1983 and ranking fourth on Hawaii's career steals list before playing professionally in New Zealand. Webster's younger brother, Tai, played four years of college basketball for the University of Nebraska and has played professionally in New Zealand and Europe.