Kenny McFadden
McFadden in 2018
Personal information
Born(1960-08-18)18 August 1960
Died24 March 2022(2022-03-24) (aged 61)
Wellington, New Zealand
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Career information
High schoolSexton (Lansing, Michigan)
CollegeWashington State (1980–1982)
Playing career1982–1996
PositionGuard
Number5
Coaching career2010–2021
Career history
As player:
1982–1996Wellington Saints
As coach:
2010–2011Wellington Saints (assistant)
2019; 2021Wellington Saints (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Kenny McFadden (18 August 1960 – 24 March 2022[1]) was an American basketball player and coach. Born in the United States, he moved to New Zealand in 1982 to play for the Wellington Saints, where he played 15 seasons and won four NBL championships. He was instrumental in developing and coaching New Zealand's young basketball players over 40 years.[2]

Early life and college

McFadden grew up in East Lansing, Michigan,[3] and attended J. W. Sexton High School.[4] He played two seasons of college basketball for Washington State University between 1980 and 1982.[3][5]

Professional career

McFadden moved to New Zealand in 1982 to play for the Wellington Saints.[6] In his first year, he guided the team to the second division title. The Saints went on to reach six straight NBL Grand Finals upon entering the top league. He led the Saints to championships in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988.[3] He finished his playing career as a four-time All-Star Five member, a two-time outstanding guard, a two-time scoring champion, and a three-time assist champion. He played 252 NBL games in total, scoring 5004 points for a career average over 20 points per game.[3] His No. 5 jersey was retired by the Saints in 2010[7][8] and in 2021, he was named the number 2 greatest NBL player of all time.[9]

Coaching career

Following his retirement in 1996, McFadden became heavily involved with junior player development, founding his own hoops academy in Wellington as well as coaching the Junior Tall Blacks to the under-19 world championships in 2009.[7][10] He was well known as the mentor and manager of New Zealand NBA player Steven Adams.[2]

In 2010 and 2011, McFadden served as an assistant coach for the Wellington Saints under coach Pero Cameron.[8] He returned to the role in 2019 under coach Paul Henare[8] and again in 2021 under Zico Coronel.[11][12] The Saints won championships all four years with McFadden as assistant.[13][14][15][16]

Personal life

McFadden's father and three uncles played gridiron professionally.[6] In the 1980s, McFadden's brother was a DJ in New York.[2]

McFadden was childhood friends with NBA legend Magic Johnson.[2][17]

Medical condition and death

In 2017, McFadden was rushed to hospital with acute respiratory failure and was subsequently diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, a genetic disorder.[7] For more than a year, he had to go to hospital three times a week to be hooked up to a dialysis machine for four and a half hours at a time. He had a kidney donated to him in 2018.[7][18]

McFadden died in March 2022 in Wellington at age 61 from polycystic kidney disease.[2][3][7][19]

References

  1. ↑ "Bay Hawks on Instagram". Hawke's Bay Hawks. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Basketball: Legendary player, coach and mentor Kenny McFadden dies". nzherald.co.nz. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "THE SAL'S NBL MOURNS THE LOSS OF THE GREAT KENNY MCFADDEN". nznbl.basketball. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  4. ↑ Horne, Erik (29 July 2018). "Meet Kenny McFadden, the man who shaped Steven Adams and New Zealand basketball". oklahoman.com. Retrieved 25 March 2022. McFadden, who played at J.W. Sexton High School..
  5. ↑ "Ken McFadden". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  6. 1 2 Romanos, Joseph (28 June 2012). "Wellingtonian Interview: Kenny McFadden". Stuff.co.nz. The Wellingtonian. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kiwi basketballing great Kenny McFadden dies". Stuff.co.nz. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Hyslop, Liam (11 April 2019). "'Mr Wellington Saints' Kenny McFadden back as assistant coach". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "40 IN 40: THE TOP 5". nznbl.basketball. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "IN RECOGNITION OF BASKETBALL LEGEND KENNY MCFADDEN". nz.basketball. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "Saints vs Hawks". fibalivestats. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "YOUR SAL'S NBL CHAMPIONS". twitter.com/nznbl. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "2010 NBL CHAMPIONS: WELLINGTON SAINTS". nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  14. ↑ "2011 NBL CHAMPIONS: WELLINGTON SAINTS". nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  15. ↑ "2019 CHAMPIONS: WELLINGTON SAINTS". nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  16. ↑ "SAINTS SNAP UP TWELFTH CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER THRILLER WITH HAWKS". nznbl.basketball. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  17. ↑ Hinton, Marc (1 November 2016). "Magic moment for Kenny McFadden as Steven Adams signs $140m extension with Thunder". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 25 March 2022. For Wellington-based Kiwi hoops legend McFadden, who grew up in the same neighbourhood as the great Earvin 'Magic' Johnson...
  18. ↑ "The Saint". YouTube. TVNZ Sunday. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  19. ↑ Hinton, Marc (25 March 2022). "Remembering hoops legend Kenny McFadden: One of the greats to lace 'em up in NZ". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 25 March 2022. ...the American from East Lansing, Michigan, had died at the age of 61 in his adopted home city of Wellington.
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