Former NBA player Tacko Fall joins the NZ Breakers. Photo: AFP
Towering centre Tacko Fall has signed a two-year deal with the Breakers after months of speculation of what role he would have with the Auckland-based basketball club.
The 2.29 metre tall player was a strategic signing who had originally signed with the Breakers just for the team's three-game US tour against NBA sides but he never took the court after a quad injury ruled him out.
The 28-year-old, who had previously played in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, was able to join the Breakers' roster in the US because the exhibition games against the Jazz, 76ers and Thunder did not fall under the same rules that governed NBL teams and allowed for only three import players.
Despite not seeing Fall in action first hand the Breakers management stuck with the Senegalese player and brought him back to New Zealand to rehabilitate his injury for the last month.
Fall has been training in the Breakers gym and was courtside at games.
With import players American guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright, American guard Matt Mooney and American centre Freddie Gillespie already on their books the Breakers had to wait for an opening to bring Fall into the mix.
Gillespie was granted a release from the remainder of his contract last week which allowed him to join Italian club Olimpia Milano and for Fall to take his place.
Gillespie left the NBL having played nine games for the Breakers and despite missing the first game of the season, as he was suspended for a head butt on an opposition player in pre-season, he was ranked among the top defensive players at the halfway point of the season.
The Breakers are currently sitting second on the NBL ladder with seven wins from 10 games.
Fall is one of the tallest players to ever grace a basketball court and will change the way the Breakers play.
Chief executive officer Lisa Edser echoed the thoughts of team owner Matt Walsh when she described Fall as a "game-changer".
"His size, shot-blocking ability and rebounding give him a unique edge," she said.
"Beyond the court, he's a team-first player with an incredible work ethic. He has been working hard to get playing fit, and we are pleased to see him fully integrated into our squad."
Fall said he was looking forward to the opportunity to get out on court.
"I'm honoured to have the opportunity to play for the Breakers. New Zealand has a great basketball culture, and the fans here are incredible. I'm ready to give my all for this team."
When he first joined the Breakers Fall had said despite having limited court time and a low output across his 37 NBA games he believed he was only now hitting his physical prime.
"At the end of the day, we all want to play in the NBA but I'm really focused on going out there and showing that I still belong. Whatever comes out of it, comes out of it," Fall said in September of his time with the Breakers.
Fall most recently played in China with the Nanjing Monkey Kings.
His prodigious height - complete with 2.50m wingspan and size 22 shoes - meant Fall was still recognised everywhere he went, he said.
The Breakers will want him to turn heads in the NBL as they have a double-header in Round 10 with away games against Illawarra Hawks on Thursday night and Perth Wildcats on Sunday.