Tupaea’s career comes full circle after signing with Flames
The Sydney Flames are excited to unveil Tahlia Tupaea as their final signing of the WNBL25 season.
The 27-year-old, who is currently playing for the Northern Kahu in the Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa and producing averages of 20.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, will become the 11th rostered player on Guy Molloy’s side and will join the Hoops Capital season at the end of December.
The Penrith junior is excited to return to her first professional club, one which she debuted in 2012 as a 15-year-old (second-youngest in WNBL history).
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“It’s an exciting, full-circle moment for me for sure, as the Flames is where my professional basketball journey first started,” said Tupaea, who is looking forward to playing alongside former teammates Shaneice Swain and Mikaela Ruef once again.
“Not to mention, it allows me to get back into the WNBL, which is a competition that has given me so much.
“Sydney is home to me and I can’t wait to get back there, in that Flames jersey, and play in front of friends and family.”‘
The NSW junior spent eight seasons with the Flames, from 2012-2020, while also attending Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Canberra.
During this time, the guard won a WNBL title with the Flames (2017) and was also drafted with the 36th pick by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2017 WNBA Draft.
At an international level, Tupaea represented Australia at the 2013 FIBA Oceania under 16s Championship (gold medal) and FIBA under 19s World Championship (bronze), the 2014 FIBA Oceania under 18s Championship (gold) and 2014 FIBA under 17s World Championship and the 2015 FIBA under 19s World Championship (bronze).
After her time in Sydney, Tupaea spent two seasons with the UC Capitals before stepping away from the sport.
Upon her return, she dominated the NSW-based Waratah and NBL1 East competitions for Bankstown and her junior club, the Penrith Panthers.
On the back of this, she changed her international allegiance and made her New Zealand Tall Ferns debut at the 2023 Asia Cup in Sydney, under the coaching of Guy Molloy – who was a big factor in her returning to the harbour city.
“Guy and I have a really good relationship and I enjoyed playing for him in the limited time we were together,” said Tapaea, who is confident she can be an asset to the Flames in WNBL25.
“I feel my style of play suits the way Guy likes his teams to, not to mention I feel as though I have his full support whenever I step on the court – allowing me to play to my strengths.
“He’s had a positive impact on my career and I’m looking forward to building our relationship once I arrive in Sydney next month.”
Coach Molloy echoed Tupaea’s sentiments, being very keen to team up with the skilful guard.
“Tahlia is a high IQ player and honestly one of the best guards I’ve worked with,” said Molloy, who admitted the process it took to reclassify Tupaea to the Tall Ferns showed how highly he regarded her as a talent.
“She’s a great gamer on the court and just has a good feel for what’s going on – I think she’s going to provide the team with a lot of what Loz [Nicholson] did.
“While she and Loz are obviously different players, Tahlia has been really impressive in the current New Zealand, where I think she’s honestly been the best player in the competition- which says a lot when there are WNBA players over there currently.
“That’s not just on the offensive end but on defence too, where she’s guarded really well so far – which probably has a bit to do with her being arguably in the best shape I’ve seen.
“Adding to all that, it gives our club a chance to add another homegrown talent to our team, which highlights our commitment to creating a pathway for NSW products.”
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In terms of how she will fit with the current squad, Molloy is confident Tupaea will complement the team’s other weapons.
“The game style we play here at the Flames is not too dissimilar to what I had at the Tall Ferns, which is a system Tahlia thrived in,” he said.
“We like to play in the pick and roll, create chances through drives and kicks and shoot a lot of threes – all aspects she does at a high level.”
Tupaea will return to Sydney once her Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa season with the Northern Kahu is completed.