“World tour” lands Santa Cruz’s Kiwi Gardner in Australia

Like many elite-level basketball players around the world, new Illawarra recruit Keyondrei ‘Kiwi’ Gardner’s basketball journey began in the USA.

After showcasing his skills in a viral YouTube video, Gardner quickly caught the attention of the Santa Cruz Warriors, the Golden State Warriors’ NBA G-League affiliate.

Before he knew it, he was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson before going on to win a championship with the team in 2015.

“Those guys were great for me,” Gardner says of the likes of Curry and Thompson.

“Coming in every day, I knew I wasn’t going to have any easy days.

“I knew I wouldn’t be playing the most minutes but I tried to get all my work in at practice and get those guys ready for the game.

“I really took pride in that.”

After two years with the Warriors, Gardner jetted off to continue his hoops journey around the world.

One of his first stops was Saudi Arabia, where he scored 74 points in a single game playing for Al-Ansar.

While he’s not making any promises, he says Aussie fans can expect that same attacking nature from him this NBL1 East season.

He is off to the perfect start, having registered 33 points, nine rebounds, three assists and seven steals in his Hawks debut and following it up with 29 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals a day later.

“I definitely had a different mindset back then,” Gardner says, reflecting on his 74-point performance.

“I was all go and attacking.

“Early on (in NBL1 East), it’s not about scoring a lot of points, it’s taking what the defence gives us.

“I do want to get back to that sort of attacking while also being what the team needs me to be on any given night.

“I’m not going to make any promises but I’m going to come down and play hard, with a chip on my shoulder.”

Ahead of Round 3 in NBL1 East, Gardner says his number one priority is to help develop the Hawks’ young roster.

“I want to make sure any player that has potential with the Hawks understands what it takes to make it to that next level,” the 29-year-old says.

“I want to make sure our younger guys are in the gym as much as possible and I’ll be leading by example.

“Before anything, my presence and leading by example, being early, staying late, and being ready to play is my biggest task at hand.

“That’s the most important thing about any import coming to any overseas situation is bringing the American way.

“We have an elite brand of basketball, we are the number one basketball country in the world and I want to show that great basketball players are not only great players, we’re upstanding citizens.”

Since his first professional basketball contract with Santa Cruz and his stint in Saudi Arabia, Gardner’s basketball journey has also taken him to Mexico, Malaysia, China, Japan and Hong Kong.

Then just before the pandemic hit, his career came full circle when he was again acquired by the Warriors for a second stint.

When reflecting on each destination, Gardner struggles to pick a favourite.

“Every place has its pros and cons,” he says.

“Each place has something that I miss.

“They all mean a lot to me.

“Wollongong already has a special place in my heart.

“I’m excited to create a new part of my family, my Australian family.”

When asked what he was most excited about in Australia going forward, Garner said he was simply content with getting back to competing.

“I just want to bring some fun to the game,” the point guard says.

“I want to get up and down and run as much as possible.

“I want to bring some high-level basketball to the NBL1.

“The NBL is one of the top leagues in the world and I want to try to bridge that gap between the NBL1 and NBL a little bit.

“I’m excited to learn, to meet people, broaden my network, learn new things and embrace the whole situation.

“I want to bring a positive attitude and some good basketball.”

Fans can catch Gardner in action on NBL1.com.au and the NBL1 App in Illawarra’s next NBL1 East game on Saturday.