Building around brilliance: PJC at heart of Breakers' blueprint

Parker Jackson-Cartwright was a genuine MVP contender midway through last season.

It’s no surprise the Breakers are building around their marquee man - now, the focus is on finding the right pieces to elevate him even further.

With Karim Lopez and Sam Mennenga already locked in, the Breakers will hit Summer League with one goal in mind: build around their leader.

And this time, Jackson-Cartwright isn’t just part of the plan - he’s helping shape it.

“We are finding a guard that can complement Parker and what Parker does,” New Zealand’s President of Basketball Operations Dillon Boucher said.

“We talked to him last night about it, what sort of player we want to look for. We need a guy who can shoot the ball, stretch the floor, but also be able to play out some on-balls and be able to create as well … everyone I'm describing is probably in the NBA right now.

“We know how Parker plays, we know what he brings to the floor. We know that if he's off the floor, that's a big piece of the puzzle missing. So you need someone, when he's off, to be able to step up and make plays.

“To have someone on the floor, another general that's willing to play off the ball is something that's really important. And then someone that will buy into that. That's hard for an import a lot of times, to know that there's going to be a primary ball-handler and then a secondary ball handler. So making sure that Parker is also comfortable with the kind of player we're looking for.”

The search doesn’t stop there.

“We obviously want a big man, an athletic four,” Boucher continued.

“We've got some great bigs, but we feel like we need an athletic four that can get on the rim and give us some rim protection as well.

“There are some great athletes out here competing and we look forward to watching them.”

Few players have made a bigger splash this NBL off-season than Mennenga.

A key figure in the Breakers’ homegrown core, the 23-year-old impressed in Puerto Rico and now heads to Las Vegas with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“We were talking about it yesterday actually, just saying how excited we are for Sam and how he played in the NBL last year,” Boucher added.

“… but also how he played in Puerto Rico. Now he's had a call-up to Summer League. His confidence will be sky-high and hopefully we get a Sam Mennenga that's hungry and ready to prove a point and come out and dominate out there.”

The Breakers are coming off a ninth-place finish in the Hungry Jack’s NBL25 Season, but with new ownership and a renewed focus on homegrown talent, they’ll be determined to bounce back.

The 2025 NBA Summer League starts from July 11, Australian time, with exclusive interviews and insights available on the NBL App and NBL.com.au.