Kenny McFadden

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

Early life and college McFadden grew up in East Lansing, Michigan, and attended J. W. Sexton High School. He planned to attend Kentucky State University in 1978 but he instead enrolled at Lorain County Community College where he played basketball for two seasons. McFadden played two seasons of college basketball for Washington State University between 1980 and 1982.

Professional career McFadden moved to New Zealand in 1982 to play for the Wellington Saints. 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. and in 2021, he was named the second greatest NBL player of all time.

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. He was well known as the mentor and manager of New Zealand NBA player Steven Adams. The Saints won championships all four years with McFadden as assistant.

Personal life McFadden's father and three uncles played gridiron professionally.

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.

McFadden died in March 2022 in Wellington at age 61 from polycystic kidney disease.