LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Former Hawai'i Hilo Men's Basketball student-athlete Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones will be one of 16 players on the Toronto Raptors roster set to compete in the upcoming NBA 2K26 Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
A member of Vulcans head coach Kaniela Aiona's inaugural recruiting class in 2020-21, the New Zealand native spent three seasons on the Big Island (2020-2023) collecting PacWest Conference Newcomer of the Year and PacWest Conference Freshman of the Year awards along with being named a three-time All-PacWest First Team selection in addition to three All-West Region accolades. He surpassed 1,000 career points as a Vulcan and still ranks No. 5 in program history for points (1,061), free throws (270) and rebounds (528).
"I loved it," Tait-Jones said about his time in Hawai'i in an interview with Justin Baptiz in May. "The coaching staff was amazing there — coach Aiona, coach (Steve) Kinder and coach (Jamison) Montgomery — I consider them family for life. I got nothing but good things to say about Hilo."
Tait-Jones started and played in all but three contests and was the team's leading scorer each of those three seasons, helping the Vulcans collect 41 wins while qualifying for the Pacific West Conference Championships postseason tournament each year — with the exception of 2020-21 during the shortened COVID-19 spring season.
"The guys were awesome. Those are my really close friends — Darren (Williams), I consider him one of my best friends. We still talk every week," Tait-Jones said. "It's just a testament to who coach Aiona is — he brought in high-character guys and I think that's why we were able to turn the program around and win a lot of games. He brought in great guys who not only knew how to play basketball but were also just good people off the court."
Having grown up playing rugby and soccer in New Zealand before picking up basketball in the ninth grade, Tait-Jones credited the late Kenny McFadden, a New Zealand National Basketball League all-time great, as one of his many mentors in addition to Hilo native and former Vulcan player/coach Aukai Wong (2010-11; 2017-20) — who landed a tryout with the Toronto Raptors' D-League team in 2015.
Following the 2022-23 season, Tait-Jones transferred to NCAA Division-I UC San Diego to wrap up his collegiate career, earning 2023-24 Big West Conference Newcomer of the Year and 2024-25 Big West Conference Player of the Year honors as the Tritons captured the Big West Conference Championship with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament South Region First Round.
"I consider Hilo my second home. I love the people of Hawai'i," Tait-Jones told Hawaii News Now in March. "They understood where I was at with my game and they knew I wanted to take it to another level ... they were just really supportive of me throughout the whole process."
Tait-Jones is the second student-athlete recruited by Aiona to appear on a NBA Summer League roster (now in its 20th year), joining Ross Williams (Detroit Pistons in 2024), who played for Aiona at Menlo College (2018-2020) before finishing his career at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
NBA 2K26 Summer League: Toronto Raptors
- Link to Roster
- Head Coach: Raptors assistant coach James Wade
- Location: UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center or Cox Pavilion
- Schedule:
- Friday, July 11 (2 PM HT) vs Chicago Bulls (NBA TV / ESPN+)
- Sunday, July 13 (Noon HT) vs Orlando Magic (ESPN2)
- Tuesday, July 15 (2 PM HT) vs Denver Nuggets (ESPN+)
- Thursday, July 17 (4 PM HT) vs Golden State Warriors (NBA TV / ESPN+)
- Format: Four preliminary games with the top four teams (via win percentage) advancing to the playoffs. All other teams conclude with a fifth and final game July 18-20.
Coach Jimmy Yagi Vulcan Basketball Camp Quickly Approaching
Limited space is still available for the upcoming Coach Jimmy Yagi Vulcan Basketball Camp set for July 21-24 at Pana'ewa Park Gym (grades 3-8) and UH Hilo's on-campus Vulcan Gymnasium (grades 9-12).
See HiloAthletics.com/camps for further details and sign-up information.
Registration fee for the four-day camp is $130 per participant and features fun, drills, games, contests and guest speakers with instruction from Aiona, men's basketball assistant coach Steve Kinder, women's basketball head coach David Kaneshiro and former/current Vulcans basketball players among many more.
Earlier this summer, the Vulcans Men's Basketball coaches took a six-day six-island tour hosting free clinics across the state.
