The team's current haka, Tu Kaha O Pango Te Kahikatea, was composed and created in 2006[4] by Don Hutana and former Tall Black Paora Winitana.

Both teams finished without medals, and the New Zealand Basketball Federation (NZBF), hoping to make a profit, suffered a $50,000 loss.

[citation needed] That same year, New Zealand finished second in the Oceania series, beating French Polynesia and losing to Australia.

In 2000, the Tall Blacks participated in the Slam Down Under tournament in Sydney in June, the William Jones Cup in Taiwan in July, and the Summer Olympics in September.

[19] In their first ever Olympic appearance, the Tall Blacks were placed in Group A alongside the United States, Italy, China, Latvia and France.

[21] In the FIBA Oceania Championship,[22] the Tall Blacks won the first fixture of the three-game series against Australia 85–78 but lost the second game 81–79 in overtime.

In the third game, New Zealand made history with an 89–78 win, beating Australia 2–1 to qualify for the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis.

[24] The team had Sean Marks and Pero Cameron in career-best form alongside two world-class sharpshooters in Phill Jones and Kirk Penney.

Losses came at the hands of the United States, Argentina and Germany in Group D. In the quarter-finals, they beat Puerto Rico 65–63 to earn a spot in the semi-final against Yugoslavia.

[24] Cameron was named to the All-Tournament team and Jones finished the tournament as its ninth-leading scorer with 18.2 points per game.

[27] In 2003, the Tall Blacks participated in the Efes Pilsen World Cup in Turkey[28][29] and lost 0–3 to Australia in the FIBA Oceania Championship.

[31] They finished the Athens Olympics with a 1–5 record in group A against Italy, China, Serbia and Montenegro, Argentina and Spain.

[36][37] Later that year at the FIBA World Championship, New Zealand were considered a long shot for a medal following the retirements of Sean Marks and Ed Book.

They came back to win that game 60–57 and beat Panama to advance to the second round, where they lost to the reigning Olympic champions, Argentina.

In 2008, the Tall Blacks went 0-2 against Australia in the Al Ramsay Shield series in Melbourne[42] and 2–1 at the Jack Donohue International Classic tournament in Toronto.

In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the Tall Blacks suffered heavy defeats in Brazil without injured duo Penney and Abercrombie.

[63] Later at the FIBA World Cup, the Tall Blacks missed out on the second round with a 103–97 loss to Greece in their final pool game.

[72] The Tall Blacks made history in their first game of the 2022 Asia Cup Qualifiers, beating the Boomers in Australia for the first time in over 10 years.

[76] New Zealand was one of the first countries to qualify for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, having secured a spot in the 32-team tournament a year earlier.

[78][79] Confirmed for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus, Greece, the Tall Blacks prepared by facing Finland and Poland in June 2024.

[80][81][82] The team beat Croatia but lost to Serbia in the Qualifying Tournament, which ended their contention for the Paris Olympics.

[86] 1978 Commonwealth Championships finished 2nd John Macdonald, Stan Hill, John Hill, John Van Uden, Gordon Reardon, Warwick Meehl, John Rademakers, Stuart Ferguson, John Fairweather, Paul Barrett, (Head Coach: Steve McKean, Assistant Coach: Peter Schmidt, Manager: Ivan Dominikovich) 1986 World Championship: finished 21st among 24 teams Gilbert Gordon, Peter Pokai, Stan Hill, Neil Stephens, Dave Edmonds, Ian Webb, Dave Mason, Tony Smith, Colin Crampton, Frank Mulvihill, Glen Denham, John Rademakers (Head Coach: Robert Bishop) 2000 Olympic Games: finished 11th among 12 teams Sean Marks, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey, Nenad Vučinić, Tony Rampton, Paul Henare, Brad Riley, Ralph Lattimore, Peter Pokai (Head Coach: Keith Mair) 2002 World Championship: finished 4th among 16 teams Sean Marks, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey, Dillon Boucher, Damon Rampton, Ed Book, Paul Henare, Paora Winitana, Judd Flavell (Head Coach: Tab Baldwin) 2004 Olympic Games: finished 10th among 12 teams Sean Marks, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Pero Cameron, Kirk Penney, Dillon Boucher, Ed Book, Paul Henare, Paora Winitana, Tony Rampton, Aaron Olson, Craig Bradshaw (Head Coach: Tab Baldwin) 2006 World Championship: finished 16th among 24 teams Kirk Penney, Pero Cameron, Phill Jones, Mark Dickel, Casey Frank, Paul Henare, Dillon Boucher, Paora Winitana, Tony Rampton, Craig Bradshaw, Aaron Olson, Mika Vukona (Head Coach: Tab Baldwin) 2010 World Championship: finished 12th among 24 teams Thomas Abercrombie, Benny Anthony, Craig Bradshaw, Pero Cameron, Michael Fitchett, Casey Frank, Phill Jones, Jeremy Kench, Kirk Penney, Alex Pledger, Lindsay Tait, Mika Vukona (Head Coach: Nenad Vučinić) 2014 World Championship: finished 15th among 24 teams 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship Corey Webster, Dion Prewster, Everard Bartlett, Isaac Fotu, Jarrod Kenny, Lindsay Tait, Mika Vukona (C), Reuben Te Rangi, Robert Loe, Shea Ili, Tai Wynyard, Thomas Abercrombie.

(Head CoachPaul Henare), (Assisants Ross McMains, Mike Fitchett) 2019 World Championship: finished 19th among 32 teams Tai Webster, Finn Delany, Shea Ili, Jarrod Kenny, Corey Webster (C), Thomas Abercrombie, Robert Loe, Tohi Smith-Milner, Jordan Ngatai, Ethan Rusbatch, Alex Pledger, Isaac Fotu.

(Head coach Paul Henare), (assistants Pero Cameron, Ross McMains) 2023 World Cup : finished 22nd among 32 teams Reuben Te Rangi (C), Izayah Le'afa, Finn Delany, Taylor Britt, Shea Ili, Yanni Wetzell, Flynn Cameron, Tohi Smith-Milner, Jordan Ngatai, Hyrum Harris, Walter Brown, Isaac Fotu.