Tyrell Harrison (born 6 July 1999) is an Australian-New Zealand professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions.
| No. 24 – Brisbane Bullets | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| League | NBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 6 July 1999 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Listed height | 214 cm (7 ft 0 in) |
| Listed weight | 115 kg (254 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school | John Paul College (Brisbane, Queensland) |
| Playing career | 2017–present |
| Career history | |
| 2017–2018 | South West Metro Pirates |
| 2017–present | Brisbane Bullets |
| 2019 | Nelson Giants |
| 2020 | Southern Districts Spartans |
| 2023 | Franklin Bulls |
| 2024 | Manawatu Jets |
| 2024 | Southern Districts Spartans |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life
editHarrison was born in Brisbane, Queensland,[1] to a father from New Zealand.[2] Growing up in Regents Park,[3] his father ensured Māori culture was prevalent for Harrison and his older brother as youths. Harrison loved rugby union and supported the All Blacks.[1]
Harrison played basketball at the Logan Metro Indoor Sports Centre and attended John Paul College in Brisbane.[3]
Professional career
editBrisbane Bullets
editHarrison joined the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL) as a development player for the 2017–18 season.[3] He made his NBL debut in September 2017.[3] In his first three NBL seasons, he appeared in just 17 games.[2]
In the 2020–21 NBL season, Harrison appeared in all 36 games for the Bullets, averaging 5.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.[2] In the 2021–22 NBL season, Harrison increased his minutes and on-court production, but ultimately succumbed to an elbow injury late in the season.[4] He averaged 6.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 17 games.[2]
In the 2022 off-season, Harrison underwent elbow surgery after battling through pain over the previous two seasons. It started as a stress fracture in the 2020–21 season, healed from the stress fracture and then never got better.[4]
In the 2022–23 NBL season, Harrison averaged 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 16 games[2] while shooting 82% from the field.[5] He was ruled out for six weeks in late November 2022 with a knee injury.[6]
On 6 March 2023, Harrison re-signed with the Bullets on a two-year deal.[5] He participated in all but one game in the 2023–24 NBL season, averaging 9.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks, establishing himself as the starting center.[7]
On 29 September 2024, Harrison signed a two-year contract extension with the Bullets.[7] Coming into the 2024–25 NBL season, Harrison was named the most valuable player of the NBL Blitz pre-season tournament.[8][9] On 12 October 2024, he recorded 21 points and 17 rebounds (12 offensive) in an 87–85 win over the South East Melbourne Phoenix.[10] His 12 offensive rebounds set the record for the most ever by a player in a 40-minute NBL game.[11] On 6 December, he recorded 19 points and 18 rebounds in a 102–83 win over the Adelaide 36ers.[12]
QBL/NBL1 North and New Zealand NBL
editIn 2017, Harrison debuted in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) for the South West Metro Pirates. He continued with the Pirates in the 2018 QBL season.[13]
Harrison joined the Nelson Giants of the New Zealand NBL for the 2019 season, where he averaged 13.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks in 18 games.[13] He was subsequently named the NZNBL Youth Player of the Year.[14]
In 2020, Harrison played for the Southern Districts Spartans in the Queensland State League (QSL).[13][15]
Harrison joined the Franklin Bulls for the 2023 New Zealand NBL season[1] but injury restricted him to just seven games while averaging 14.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.[16]
Harrison began the 2024 New Zealand NBL season with the Manawatu Jets[17] before joining the Southern Districts Spartans of the NBL1 North for the rest of the 2024 NBL1 season. With the Spartans, he averaged 23.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game, earning selection to the NBL1 North First Team.[2][18]
National team career
editIn 2017, Harrison played for the Australian University National Team at the World University Games in Taiwan.[19]
After high school, Harrison switched allegiances to play for the New Zealand Tall Blacks.[1] He played for the Tall Blacks during 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, 2022 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, and at the 2024 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece.[20]
NBL statistics
edit| Season | Games Played | Minutes Per Game | FG% | FT% | Rebounds Per Game | Assists Per Game | Steals Per Game | Blocks Per Game | Turnovers Per Game | Fouls Per Game | Points Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | 10 | 26.0 | 57 | 75 | 9.1 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 12.9 |
| 2023-2024 | 27 | 20.9 | 59 | 64 | 6.2 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 9.6 |
| 2022-2023 | 16 | 13.0 | 82 | 80 | 4.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 5.0 |
| 2021-2022 | 17 | 19.6 | 51 | 72 | 5.7 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 6.2 |
| 2020-2021 | 36 | 17.1 | 54 | 77 | 5.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 5.2 |
| 2019-2020 | 6 | 3.1 | 50 | 100 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| 2018-2019 | 6 | 1.9 | 75 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| 2017-2018 | 5 | 1.3 | 50 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
Personal life
editHarrison's family hail from the Coromandel in New Zealand, with roots in the Ngāti Porou and Ngāpuhi iwi.[1]
Harrison and his partner, fellow basketball player Kalani Purcell, had their first child in 2023.[1][21]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Hinton, Marc (20 April 2023). "Tyrell Harrison standing tall for Franklin Bulls through impressive start to NBL". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Tyrell Harrison". NBL. Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Cormack, Michael (27 September 2017). "Logan teen Tyrell Harrison impresses on Brisbane Bullets debut in front of home crowd". couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Bullet Big Reveals Career-Saving Surgery". NBL Official Website. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Tyrell Harrison re-signs to continue Bullets journey". Brisbane Bullets | Official NBL Website. 6 March 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Bullets Lose Key Big Men". NBL Official Website. 26 November 2022. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Tyrell Harrison Extends Contract With Brisbane Bullets For Two Years". Brisbane Bullets | Official NBL Website. 29 September 2024. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Tyrell Harrison named Blitz MVP". NBL Official Website. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Harrison shines for unbeaten Bullets at NBL Blitz". ESPN.com. 14 September 2024. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Bullets prevail to send Phoenix to 0-5". NBL Official Website. 12 October 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Pike, Chris (14 October 2024). "Schueller proud of Bullets for self-reflection". authory.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Prather, Harrison star in Bullets' win". NBL Official Website. 6 December 2024. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "Tyrell Harrison, Basketball Player, News, Stats - australiabasket". Eurobasket LLC. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "SEASON'S BEST CELEBRATED AT ANNUAL AWARDS". nznbl.basketball. 19 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "2020 QSL Teams – Southern Districts Spartans". basketballqld.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Kiwi Ballers Worldwide - Men & Women in Australia (23-24) |Basketball New Zealand". nz.basketball. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Heagney, George (30 March 2024). "Changes to Manawatū Jets squad as NBL gets under way". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "2024 NBL1 Awards Tracker". NBL1.com.au. 22 July 2024. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024.
- ^ Hickey, Matt (22 June 2017). "Rising NBL and NCAA stars named as Emerging Boomers". pickandroll.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 June 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Tyrell Harrison , (New Zealand) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age". www.fiba.basketball. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Tailor, Leena (18 May 2023). "Basketball stars Tyrell and Kelani's baby joy". nowtolove.co.nz. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.