Ngor Nai: Basketballer pleads not guilty to rape charge, committed to stand trial

The trial of a professional basketball player accused of raping a woman by not wearing a condom has begun.

Ngor Nai, 26, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday morning, where he formally denied a single charge of rape.

Mr Nai was part of the squad of the Adelaide 36ers for the NBL25 season and has been selected for the New Zealand Basketball League team Manawatu Jets for the upcoming 2026 season.

Mr Nai has also previously played for the Ringwood Hawks and Ipswich Force in the NBL1 league.

At Mr Nai’s first hearing on February 2, the court was told the 6ft 1in forward was in the process of moving to New Zealand.

But on March 27, just before the 2026 season opener, the Jets posted on social media that the team and Mr. Nai “mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately.”

In court the defendant’s legal aid lawyer said Mr Nai had returned to live in Melbourne.

According to the indictments, Mr Nai is alleged to have deliberately engaged in sexual intercourse with a woman without a condom in May last year when he did not reasonably believe that the woman had consented without using a condom.

Mr Nai is on bail with conditions including living at a fixed address and a ban on leaving the country.

He will next appear in the District Court for a directions hearing on May 15.