Nick Kay
Nicholas Colin Kay (born 3 August 1992) is an Australian professional basketball player for Shimane Susanoo Magic of the Japanese B.League. He is also a member of the Australian national team, helping the Boomers win bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. Early life. Kay was born and raised in Tamworth, New South Wales. At age 17, he moved to Sydney to attend Newington College, where he was selected to the Australian under 19s team. College career. Kay played college basketball in the United States for the Metropolitan State University of Denver from 2011 to 2015. Teaming up with countryman  Mitch McCarron, Kay helped lead the Roadrunners to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and a national runner-up finish in 2013. Kay was twice named first-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and in 2014 was Most Valuable Player of the RMAC Tournament. Professional career. In 2014 and 2015, Kay played in the Queensland Basketball League for the Northside Wizards. In July 2015, Kay signed with the Townsville Crocodiles. He appeared in all 28 games for the Crocs 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. After a stint in New Zealand with the Southland Sharks, Kay joined the Illawarra Hawks ahead of the 2016–17 NBL season. He helped the Hawks reach the grand final in 2017 and then returned to the Sharks for a second season. On 20 April 2018, after two seasons with the Illawarra Hawks, Kay signed a three-year deal with the Perth Wildcats. In February 2019, he  became just the 12th Wildcat to be named in the All-NBL First Team. In March 2019, he won his first NBL championship as a member of the Wildcats. On 9 April 2019, Kay signed with the Wellington Saints for the 2019 New Zealand NBL season. With the Wildcats in 2019–20, Kay was named to the All-NBL First Team for the second straight year and helped the team return to the NBL Grand Final. In game three of the grand final series against the Sydney Kings, 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. 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. On 5 July 2020, Kay signed with Real Betis of the Liga ACB. On 1 July 2021, Kay signed with Shimane Susanoo Magic of the Japanese B.League. National team career. After playing for Australia's youth teams previously, 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. At the 2019 Australian Basketball Hall of Fame awards night, Kay was recognised alongside Nathan Sobey with the 2019 Gaze Family Medal 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.