ONE OF the brightest young talents in New Zealand basketball, Jackson Ball has continued to impress in the NZNBL and remains a consistently strong performer for the Hawke’s Bay Hawks throughout the 2025 season.

At 17 years of age, Ball has truly emerged as one of the premier young basketball talents in Oceania, thriving in a competition full of fully developed players and professional athletes. Although he is far younger than his teammates and opponents, Ball has been one of the best performers this year.

A genuine three-level scoring threat, the young gun has not looked overwhelmed by the stature of the competition, with many players his age still playing in school or junior leagues around the world, but such is the talent Ball possesses.

He had a breakout performance to kick off his season, dropping 40 points in the opener against the Indian Panthers in a clear demonstration of his capabilities and showcase of just how many ways he can find the bottom of the net.

He backed it up in the same round with an astounding 36-point performance in the three-point win over the Manawatu Jets a few days later on 13/19 shooting from the field to go with eight rebounds in the best individual start to the year for any player.

19 points and five assists followed in Round 2, continuing to perform efficiently by shooting 7/11 from the field, and he was officially one of the most dangerous offensive players in the competition, which was remarkable given his age.

Although his efficiency has fluctuated at times since his blistering opening round antics, Ball remains a consistent 20-plus point performer, and is the central point of Hawke’s Bay’s offence despite being the least experienced player on the roster.

On the season, Ball is averaging 23.2 points per game on 59.1 per cent shooting from the field and 37 per cent shooting from behind the arc to go with 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists to be truly in conversation for the league’s MVP award at the end of the season.

In his most recent outing against the Jets again on Friday night, Ball dropped another 20 points on 6/9 shooting from the field and a perfect 5/5 shooting from the charity stripe. He is clearly showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Having committed to the University of Wisconsin for the 2026 season at NCAA level, Ball seems destined for great things on the basketball court, and if he continues to perform as well as he has been, NBA scouts may just be forced to pay attention.