Vale Kevin Braswell

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Braswell was one of the most loved and respected figures in the New Zealand basketball community.

The NBL is saddened by the loss of former player and coach, Kevin Braswell.

Braswell played 46 NBL games and was a head coach for 28 games. He passed away aged 46.

Braswell played for the New Zealand Breakers from 2010-2011 and was a key contributor in the club’s 2011 championship. He averaged 10.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds in the 2010/11 campaign and was named the NBL’s Best Sixth Man, as he helped New Zealand take down the Cairns Taipans in the Grand Final series.

In Game 2 of the series against the Taipans, Braswell scored a team-high 18 points, while also adding 7 assists and 6 rebounds, in a standout performance on the biggest stage.

Braswell played five games for the Melbourne Tigers in the 2012/13 season, averaging 10 points, 5.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game.

He also played in the NZNBL, first for the Southland Sharks from 2011-2015 and then for the Wellington Saints in 2016. He won two NZNBL’s titles, both with the Sharks, in 2013 and 2015. His number 12 jersey is retired by Southland.

Once his playing career ended, Braswell moved into the head coaching ranks in both the NBL and NZNBL.

Braswell led the Breakers as head coach in the 2018/19 season, while he had two coaching stints in the NZNBL, first with Wellington from 2016-2018, and then with the Auckland Huskies in 2020.

Braswell won two championships as a coach with the Saints in 2016 and 2017 and was crowned the NZNBL Coach of the Year in 2017.

Throughout his career, Braswell become one of the most loved and respected figures in the New Zealand basketball community.

Braswell was the head coach of Japanese side Utsunomiya Brex this season.

Braswell played college basketball for Georgetown from 1998-2002, before embarking on a global professional career that saw him play in New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Poland, Italy, America, Turkey, Greece, the Dominican Republic, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France and Israel.

The NBL sends its deepest condolences to the Braswell family during this difficult time.