After he wrapped up his playing career, Matt Walsh, an alumnus of St. Bede the Venerable School in Southampton, bought the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian Basketball League in the hopes of transforming the franchise into the “31st NBA team,” writes Matt Breen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Walsh started his basketball career as a high school star at Germantown Academy, continued at the University of Florida, and left early for the NBA after three seasons.
He signed with the Miami Heat, but was released after three months. However, he did get to know Shaquille O’Neal pretty well during that time, something he still finds joy in.
Walsh played in Europe for 10 seasons before he retired and purchased the Breakers.
The relatively unknown team has since grown to become a source of great players for NBA players and just played the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night in a preseason game at the Wells Fargo Center.
“When I bought the team, people thought I was totally insane,” said Walsh. “The response would be, ‘What the heck is a guy from Philly buying a team in New Zealand for?’ I always laugh about it.”
Seven years later, Walsh is far from finished.
Read more about Matt Walsh, his basketball journey, and his dream of transforming his New Zealand basketball team into an NBA franchise in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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