New Zealand's Kirk Penney to be inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame

Benyam Kidane

New Zealand's Kirk Penney to be inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame  image

Former New Zealand international Kirk Penney is set to have his name enshrined along some of the game's greatest after he was announced in the 2024 FIBA Hall of Fame Class. 

The 2024 Class, which features seven players and one coach, will be honoured in an enshrinement ceremony in September to be held in Singapore, for their significant contributions to the sport.  

Penney, who is currently the Special Assistant to the Head Coach on the Wisconsin men's basketball team, is the second Kiwi to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, following current Tall Blacks head coach Pero Cameron, who received the honour in 2017.  

Penney played four seasons for Wisconsin, before a storied professional career which saw him have stints in the NBA, Europe and Australia's NBL.

He won an NBL championship with the New Zealand Breakers in 2011, was named league MVP in 2009 and earned three straight scoring titles (2009–2011).

At international level, Penney represented New Zealand at two Olympic Games (Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004) and featured in four FIBA Basketball World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014), helping New Zealand to their best-ever result in 2002, finishing fourth. 

2024 FIBA Hall of Fame Class

Players

  • Miao Lijie (China)
  • Reggie Miller (USA)
  • Danira Nakic-Bilic (Croatia)
  • Kirk Penney (New Zealand)
  • Romain Sato (Central African Republic)
  • Skaidrite Smildzina-Budovska (Latvia)
  • Peja Stojakovic (Serbia)

Coaches

  • Daniel Lowell Peterson (USA)

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.