| Max Darling | |
| Number: | 12 |
| Team: | New Zealand Breakers |
| Position: | Forward |
| League: | NBL |
| Birth Date: | 30 September 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Nationality: | Vincentian / New Zealand |
| Height Cm: | 198 |
| Weight Kg: | 118 |
| High School: |
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| Draft Year: | 2022 |
| Career Start: | 2017 |
| Years1: | 2017–2018 |
| Team1: | Canterbury Rams |
| Years2: | 2018–2020 |
| Team2: | Vrijednosnice Osijek |
| Years3: | 2020–2021 |
| Team3: | Illawarra Hawks |
| Years4: | 2021–2024 |
| Team4: | Canterbury Rams |
| Years5: | 2021–2022 |
| Team5: | CSM Constanța |
| Years6: | 2023–present |
| Team6: | New Zealand Breakers |
| Highlights: | |
Maxwell Ronaldo McKenzie Darling (born 30 September 2000) is a Vincentian-New Zealand professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).
Darling was born in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.[1] He spent most of his childhood in New Zealand.[2] Darling learnt how to dunk a basketball at the age of 12.[3] He attended high school at Christ's College in Christchurch and Nelson College in Nelson.[4] Darling participated in the Mainland Eagles Basketball Academy in Christchurch where he first caught the attention of the Canterbury Rams of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL).[3]
Darling played two games for the Canterbury Rams of the NZNBL in 2017 when he was sixteen-years-old.[5] He returned to the Rams for the 2018 season when he averaged 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and earned the NZNBL Youth Player of the Year Award.[3]
On 18 August 2018, Darling signed with Vrijednosnice Osijek of the Croatian Premijer liga.[1] He became the first New Zealand teenage basketball player to sign in Europe who did not have a European passport.[1] Darling averaged 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds during the 2019–20 season before it was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
On 5 August 2020, Darling signed with the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) on a three-year deal.[6] He appeared in 17 games and averaged five minutes per game.[7] On 19 July 2021, Darling and the Hawks mutually agreed to part ways.[7]
Darling returned to the Rams for the 2021 NZNBL season.[4] He played for CSM Constanța of the Romanian Liga Națională during the 2021–22 season.[8] Darling again returned to the Rams for the 2022 NZNBL season.[8] He won a NZNBL championship with the Rams during the 2023 NZNBL season and averaged 12.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.[9]
On 26 September 2023, Darling signed with the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL as a development player. He only appeared in one game for the Breakers during the 2023–24 NBL season.[10] Darling returned to the Rams for the 2024 NZNBL season, winning a second consecutive championship.[11]
On 7 August 2024, Darling was elevated to a full roster spot by the Breakers and signed a new two-year contract with a third-year option.[12] On 19 October 2024, he scored 15 points in an 89–85 win over the Perth Wildcats.[13] [14]
In 2018, Darling was invited to participate in training camp for the New Zealand men's national basketball team in preparation for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[15] He played for the New Zealand men's national under-19 basketball team at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.[4]
Darling was named to the final roster for the New Zealand men's national basketball team at the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup,[16] where the team finished in third place.[17]