Wildcats welcome Keanu Pinder home to Perth

The Perth Wildcats are thrilled to announce the signing of star forward Keanu Pinder for the next two seasons.

The 27-year-old comes off an outstanding two-year NBL stint with the Cairns Taipans, averaging 16.9 points and 9.3 rebounds over the NBL23 season.

During his time at the Taipans, Pinder won consecutive NBL Most Improved Player awards in 2022 and 2023, becoming the only player in league history to win the award twice.  

Born and raised in Derby, Pinder is familiar with the WA basketball scene, having played for local teams Lakeside Lightning and East Perth Eagles.  

Pinder will touch down in Perth following a season with Spanish team Fuenlabrada in the Liga ACB. 

Pinder said he can’t wait to be back in Perth and play in front of his family.

“It feels great to be able to play in front of my family and the best fans in the country,” he said.

“I can’t wait to get started and I feel like we’re going to win a championship.

“Wildcats have such a rich culture and tradition of winning championships and I feel like I can be a part of that I think we will have the team to do it, I like the vision the club has for me and I think we’re going to do well.”

 Perth Wildcats head coach John Rillie said bringing Pinder back to Perth is a great start to building our roster for next season. 

“We have put an emphasis on getting elite, local talent to the Wildcats this offseason and Keanu fits that mood so to bring a home-grown talent back, we’re off to a great start,” he said.

“Keanu has shown great improvement in his all-round game over the last few seasons, his desire to work and compete for a championship is what caught my attention.   

“He also rebounds at a high level so that addresses one of our weaknesses of last season.”

Perth Wildcats General Manager of Basketball Operations Danny Mills said securing Pinder’s signature in the prime of his career is a huge move for the club.

“We are incredibly excited to be able to secure the signature of Keanu for the next two seasons and bring him back home to Perth and WA,” he said.

“From watching the development of his game over the last few years in the NBL, he has been high on our list of targeted players to build next year’s roster around and we can’t wait to see him in a Wildcats jersey playing in front of the Red Army.

“His ability to put pressure on the rim at both ends of the floor as an efficient finisher offensively and a rim presence and elite rebounder defensively is what we set out to address in free agency, and we feel we have done just that in bringing a star of the NBL back home in the prime of his career”.