Taylor made: Britt out to prove he belongs

It’s been almost five years since Taylor Britt had his last taste of the NBL, but having recently signed a two-year deal with the New Zealand Breakers, the local guard is ready to show he deserves his spot.

“It’s been awesome. It came out of the blue,” he said on NBL Now about this opportunity. 

“I’m super excited to be back in the league and prove to myself and everyone else that I belong here.”

The 28-year-old was part of the Perth Wildcats' roster in 2021 as a development player, seeing limited opportunity, but it was an experience that helped make him the player he is today.

“I loved my time in Perth, it was amazing,” he said.

“I learned a lot from guys like Damian Martin, Jesse Wagstaff and Mitch Norton.

“Learning from them, their habits and what it takes to build a winning culture is what I really took away.”

While Britt has continued to put in the work each year since then, he admits that he wasn’t sure this chance would come, regardless of how well he was playing in other competitions.

“Yeah, for sure there was doubts,” he said,

“I felt like I was playing good enough basketball, but I understand there’s only limited spots in the league and there’s a lot of talent around Australia and New Zealand right now.”

Throughout that time, Britt has focused on leading the Canterbury Rams in the NZNBL and was part of the Tall Blacks' World Cup team in 2023. 

More recently, he was the leading playmaker for New Zealand in the Trans-Tasman Series, where they notched a historic win over Australia for the first time in over five years. 

“I was actually on that team in Brisbane that won (five years ago),” he added.

“I didn’t get to play in that game, but to be involved with that and now to play a large part in getting a win on home soil, it was really special.

“Playing for the Tall Blacks has given me a lot of confidence.”

Britt was the standout in that Game 3 win, pouring in 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Now, his focus is on bringing the success back to Breakers and building something special.

“It’s exciting, that’s the Breakers I grew up watching as a kid when they were winning championships,” he said.

“For the club to be heading back in that direction, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”