Bubba Lau'ese (born Barry Papalii;[1] 13 September 1983) is a New Zealand former rugby and basketball player.
[2] Lau'ese flirted with basketball at secondary school and club level, but made a name for himself on the rugby field.
[1][3] That same year, Lau'ese played on the same club basketball team as Southland Sharks coach Richard Dickel.
He decided to give the Sharks trials a crack on Dickel's advice and was successful in making the inaugural roster for the 2010 New Zealand NBL season.
[5] In July 2010, he played for the Southland Flyers in the Conference Basketball League.