Ethan Rusbatch (born 24 May 1992) is a New Zealand basketball player for Tampereen Pyrintö of the Finnish Korisliiga.

He began playing basketball at a young age thanks to family influence from his mother, aunt and uncle.

He began attending regular camps and after-school basketball programs alongside players such as Brook Ruscoe and Dion Prewster.

[3] In January 2009, Rusbatch captained the New Zealand under 18 team to a bronze medal at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival.

[5] He went on to captain the same squad in Spain at the Vilagarcía Basket Cup in April 2009,[6] a tournament they finished last in.

[10] In July 2010, Rusbatch competed in the five-day Conference Basketball League tournament in Porirua for the Junior Tall Blacks.

There he played for the school's basketball team, the Statesmen,[12] and during the 2010–11 season, he averaged 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 28 games.

[17] With high school over and his college stint lasting just one year, a number of NZNBL teams were keen to acquire Rusbatch's services.

[20] He scored in double figures five times, including a 24-point, 12-rebound performance in the team's season finale on 6 July against the Otago Nuggets, a game the Mountainairs lost 145–137 in quadruple overtime.

[25] He had a breakout season for the Rams in 2015, which led to his coach Mark Dickel calling for him to receive a Tall Blacks trial.

Granted more of an offensive license by Dickel in 2015, Rusbatch flourished and was dubbed the most improved New Zealand player in the league, along with Manawatu's Brook Ruscoe.

[18] Following the 2015 season, Rusbatch gave up his furniture moving job to focus on basketball full time.

[29] He helped the Rams win the minor premiership with a first-place finish and a 13–5 record, but they went on to lose 104–85 to the fourth-seeded Super City Rangers, with Rusbatch having a season-worst performance of four points on 1-of-16 shooting.

[35] The Rams finished the regular season in fourth place with a 10–8 record,[36] and lost in the semi-finals to the Wellington Saints.

[43] The Hawks finished the regular season in fourth place with a 12–6 record before losing 99–73 to the Wellington Saints in the semi-finals.

[68] The Hawks finished the season in sixth place with a 10–8 record[69] and lost to the Otago Nuggets 91–80 in the play-in game despite a team-high 29 points from Rusbatch.

[74] In January 2016, Rusbatch spent 10 days working out with the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian National Basketball League.

[84] In June 2015, Rusbatch was named in a 22-man Tall Blacks squad to trial and be considered for selection for the Oceania Series against Australia in August.

[85][86] He attended a camp in Auckland in early July, but was cut prior to the team's European tour.

[88] He was later cut from the squad on 17 June prior to the team's European tour,[89] but did join the group as injury cover for Corey Webster in July.

Webster pulled up lame with a calf strain during New Zealand's tour of Europe, leading to Rusbatch flying to Manila on stand-by ahead of the Olympic qualifying tournament.

[90] On 16 May 2017, Rusbatch was named in an inexperienced New Zealand Select team ahead of their invitational tournament in China in June.

[91] Two months later, he was invited to a six-day Tall Blacks camp in Auckland, ahead of a final 12-man roster being named to travel to the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon, via preparation matches in China.

[103] Rusbatch developed his love of basketball through his uncle, former Ram and NZNBL stalwart Kenny Perkins.

His cousin is NBA centre Kendrick Perkins, Kenny's son, who won a championship in 2008 with the Boston Celtics.