AUCKLAND (New Zealand) - New Zealand Basketball icon Dillon Boucher has been appointed as the next Chief Executive of Basketball New Zealand, taking over from Iain Potter starting next month.

Basketball New Zealand Chair Brian Yee announced the designation, crediting Boucher’s decorated career built on playing and administration experience on top of overall game knowledge as the key factors in the federation’s decision.

“The appointment of Dillon is a fantastic result. His experience as an administrator, a professional basketball player, coach, plus his knowledge of community and high-performance basketball, means he has the essentials required to take the helm,” said Yee.

“Dillon’s leadership during the next three years will be important to see ongoing success. Ultimately, the Board felt Dillon understands the challenges and opportunities, and shares the desire to see the game thrive at all levels.”

Boucher boasts almost two decades worth of experience both on the playing, coaching, and managerial ranks throughout his career starting from 1994.

The national team member was a nine-time NZ National Basketball League (NZNBL) champion, Season MVP, Finals MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year.

He also thrived in Australia NBL with four championships apart from being part of the legendary Tall Blacks team that finished fourth in the 2002 FIBA World Championships.

His immortal No. 24 jersey has been retired by the NZ Breakers.

Boucher also served in front offices as Commercial Manager and General Manager of the NZ Breakers. He has also played roles at the Board level with NZ NBL and Drug-Free Sport NZ.

In 2014, he was inducted as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) due to his incomparable contributions to Kiwi basketball.

Now, he’s locked and loaded for a bigger challenge, opportunity, and responsibility of sustaining Potter’s resounding success in Basketball New Zealand.

“Basketball has always been a great passion of mine. Coming into Basketball New Zealand, especially at a time when it is once again poised to take another leap, is truly exciting and I can’t wait to get stuck in,” he beamed.

“We also want to continue pushing the success of the exceptional growth in participation, the ongoing media and broadcast success that the sport has experienced, driving our high-performance success, and further developing commercial opportunities during what is a difficult time with the challenges of COVID-19.”

Boucher, 45, will succeed Potter starting October 18 with numerous tasks on deck starting with the Tall Blacks’ World Cup and Olympic bids together with the Tall Ferns goal in the 2022 World Cup to be held in Australia.

FIBA