Wigness has NBL redemption in his sights

• Tamuri Wigness is a contender for NBL1 North MVP, averaging 25.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game
• He has dramatically improved his three-point shooting this season, shooting at almost 40% from long range
• Wigness played two seasons with the Brisbane Bullets from 2020-22

He's fought off a severe knee injury which kept him away from the game he loves for three years, now Tamuri Wigness is in career-best form as he fights for "one more opportunity" in the NBL.

The 23-year-old has battled his way back from a fractured patella to put himself back on the radars of NBL teams, leading the Southern Districts Spartans to a remarkable turnaround in the NBL1 North, where they had just two wins halfway through the season to win six of their next seven to earn a home elimination final, where they recorded a comeback win over Mackay.

During that run, Wigness established himself as a candidate for the conference MVP award, averaging 25.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game — winning a Player of the Week award along the way but more importantly addressing his three-point shooting issues to shoot almost 40% from beyond the arc.

Having struggled to transfer his game to the senior professional level during his two seasons with the Brisbane Bullets from 2020-22 and also being starved of opportunity to develop at that level, the Cairns junior has made his intentions clear. He wants a second chance in the NBL.

"One more opportunity that’s all I need," Wigness told basketball.com.au.

"I feel like I never really got to show the NBL how I really play, so I'm praying that I get one more opportunity because that’s all I need."

The former standout junior from the Torres Strait Islands burst onto the world basketball scene as a teen talent — playing for both Queensland North and Australia - and seemed destined for a long professional career, especially after moving to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra as a 14-year-old.

Following his two seasons with the Bullets, disaster struck as a patella fracture forced him to spend an extended period on the sidelines. But while it may have seemed like a disaster, Wigness called it a "blessing and a curse".

"Being away from the game for three years really taught me a lot about myself, I called it a blessing and a curse," he said.

"Blessing being that it brought me close to my faith but also finding who I am away from basketball, finding new passions and what I want to be after basketball, because ever since moving to the AIS at 14, basketball has always been my main priority but having that patella fracture really was an eye opener."

Wigness, who had played in the NBL1 North for the Brisbane Capitals and North Gold Coast Seahawks in the past, then saw the opportunity to be coached by 2012 Olympian Peter Crawford at the Spartans as a perfect chance to boost his chances of returning to the NBL.

"I chose Spartans because PC knows me best and how I play, he has seen what happens when the rock is in my hands, we’ve been to championship games together, so just knowing he’s by my side when I return, I knew would be great for me," he said.

"It was also just really exciting to get back on the court after being away from the game for that long, it made me real hungry but also gave me a lot of time to pick apart my game and really see where I can take my game to a different level for when I return. I never had any doubts that I'd be back playing at a high level, I just made sure when the time came that I was ready to go."

The improvements he's made in his game since his return, most notably his perimeter shooting, have made him a nightmare for other teams from around the league to defend.

"When he's shooting like he has been, there's no bloody way to stop him," one NBL1 North coach said.

Basketball.com.au understands Wigness is in consideration to earn a development player contract for the 2025-26 season, but that wouldn't even be possible if the Spartans didn't turn their season around, which their point guard puts down to the team's resilience.

"We’ve stuck with it night in and night out and Matthew (Hodgson) being back was a whole different level the pressure and ability he brings to the game and then just the team trusting me to lead them on the court, we've come a long way and I'm real proud of the boys but the job isn't done."

Southern Districts are just 40 minutes away from a grand final appearance as they prepare to face the Gold Coast Rollers on the road in the semi-final on Saturday and Wigness' belief he can help take his group to a championship is strong.

"Being away from the game, my focus hasn’t been being player of the week every week, it's been how can I show that I’m a winner every time I step on the court, how can I involve everyone and make them feel elite. My scoring ability isn’t an issue but making my teammates feel elite and give them 10-plus points, that’s a different level player," he said.

"Day in and day out, I've been building on that every week."