Ronnie Joyner

Ronnie Joyner (born c. 1961)^[1] is an American former professional basketball player who spent 17 seasons playing in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NBL). He finished his career with 8,828 career points, nearly 2,000 points more than the next best individual scoring total.^[2]

Scoring was always Joyner's forte. He averaged 18.1 and 21.5 points per game respectively during his final two prep seasons at Collierville High School in Collierville, Tennessee. He picked up the offensive pace even more at Cloud County CC in Concordia, Kansas, averaging 23.8 points as a freshman in 1978–79, with a 37-point average in his final eight games. He came back a year later and averaged 30.1 points per game,^[3] third among the nation's junior college scorers, and earned first-team JC All-America honors. Following his sophomore season, Joyner transferred to Washington State where he was a streak shooter in his first season with the Cougars. However, he worked on his defensive game during his senior year, earning praise from head coach George Raveling.^[4] In 54 games for the Cougars over two seasons, he averaged 6.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per game.^[5]

Joyner attended Washington State with future NBL teammate Kenny McFadden and was later recruited by his old schoolmate when the Wellington Saints needed a replacement import on the eve of the 1984 finals. The resulting title was Joyner's only championship in a 17-year career that included five league scoring titles and left him as the competition's leading scorer (8,828)^[6] and fifth leading rebounder (2,459).^[2] He also earned Outstanding Forward honors in 1985 and was twice named to the All-Star Five. Despite his scoring ability, the 1984 Grand Final marked the only grand final appearance of his career.^[7]

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