Tai Wynyard

Early life and career

Born in Auckland, Wynyard attended Rangeview Intermediate School and then Rangitoto College where he helped the school's basketball team win the Auckland premier championship in September 2014, recording 24 points and seven rebounds in the final over Auckland Grammar.

After appearing in the Super City Rangers' first three games of the 2014 New Zealand NBL season, Wynyard travelled to the United States to participate in the 2014 Jordan Brand Classic held on 18 April. He scored two points and grabbed one rebound as he fouled out in just 11 minutes. Following the event, he returned to New Zealand and re-joined the Rangers, playing a further six games for the club to finish the season with averages of 4.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.

On 15 July 2014, Wynyard became the youngest Tall Black when he took to the court against South Korea in Wellington. He later missed out on making the final squad for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain as he went on to lead the Junior Tall Blacks in December during the 2014 Oceania Championships in Fiji.

On 15 August 2014, Wynyard signed with the New Zealand Breakers as a non-contracted development player so as to keep his amateur status and his NCAA eligibility. He made his debut for the Breakers in just the second game of the 2014–15 season on 17 October, recording one assist and one block in 44 seconds of play against the Adelaide 36ers.

On 26 January 2015, Wynyard committed to the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball program with the aim of joining the team in 2016–17. On 12 March, he was named to take part in the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon. In the 11 April game, Wynyard recorded two points, two assists and one rebound as the World Team defeated Team USA, 103–101. He then returned to New Zealand and made his season debut for the Super City Rangers on 24 April against the Wellington Saints, recording six points and four rebounds in a 102–94 win. In 10 games for the Rangers, he averaged 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

After helping lead the Tall Blacks to the 2015 Stanković Cup title, Wynyard played in the two-game FIBA Oceania Championship series against Australia in mid-August. New Zealand were defeated 2–0 as Wynyard did not play in Game 1, and scored two points in Game 2.

On 24 August 2015, Wynyard reacquired his development player spot with the New Zealand Breakers, maintaining a non-payment contract status in order to continue protecting his amateur status ahead of joining Kentucky in December 2015. On 3 October, Wynyard helped Rangitoto College win the 2015 Secondary Schools National Championships, as his performance earned him All-Tournament Team selection and MVP honours. On 16 November, he signed a National Letter of Intent with Kentucky, the last official act required before joining coach John Calipari's squad in December.

Wynyard appeared in seven games for the Breakers over one and a half seasons, recording totals of five points and six rebounds in limited minutes.

College career

On 16 December 2015, Wynyard departed Auckland and the New Zealand Breakers, travelling to the United States to join the Kentucky Wildcats. However, in late February 2016, he was ruled unlikely to play in 2015–16 by coach John Calipari, redshirting the season in order to retain four full years of college eligibility at Kentucky starting in 2016–17.

In 2016–17, Wynyard logged a mere 34 minutes in Kentucky's first 20 games, while stuck behind fellow Wildcat big men Edrice Adebayo, Isaac Humphries and Sacha Killeya-Jones. In March 2017, Wynyard was touted as a possible returnee to the Super City Rangers to get some much-needed game time after he was used only sparingly by coach Calipari throughout the 2016–17 season. In 15 games for the Wildcats as a freshman, Wynyard averaged 3.6 minutes per game and totalled 11 points and 13 rebounds.

On 26 May 2017, Wynyard was named in a 12-man Junior Tall Blacks squad for the Under-19 World Cup in Cairo, Egypt in July. He saw action in all seven contests during the tournament, averaging team highs of 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Personal

Wynyard is the son of world champion woodchoppers Jason and Karmyn Wynyard. His mother also played college basketball for the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves from 1992 to 1995. His grandfather, Pae Wynyard, also won world titles in the sport, while his uncles compete as well.