Proud Nes'eya only continuing to get better

Featured image: Michael Farnell @sportsimageryau

She has won championships in the WNBL, NBL1 West and Malaysia, is now living her dream playing professionally and is thriving in 2026 at Northside Wizards in NBL1 North, but First Nations Round to honour her culture will always be special to Nes'eya Parker-Williams.

It's remarkable to think that Parker-Williams is still only 24 years of age when she has already achieved so much in her basketball career having made her debut with the Perth Redbacks, then in the SBL which has now transformed into the NBL1 West, back in 2017.

She was only 15 when she first hit the court for the Redbacks, but was always such a natural talent where big things were clearly in her future. Not only has that transpired over the almost decade since, but she feels she is only getting better.

Along the way, Parker-Williams was part of a WNBL championship with the Townsville Fire in 2023, she won a championship with the Joondalup Wolves in 2020 and then with the Rockingham Flames at RAC Arena in the NBL1 West in 2024, and then in Malaysia in 2025 for Selangor EST.

Success has followed her, but she's been a big part of that and it's continuing in her first NBL1 North season in 2026 with the Wizards with her now producing 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals on a team on a five-game winning streak to be on track to play finals.

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Parker-Williams will always be proud of her culture as a Ballardong and Minang woman, and being part of the Binar program back in Perth with mentors including Adam Desmond and Uncle Ricky Baldwin, that will always be with her.

That's what made First Nations Round special when she was playing back home with the Redbacks, Wolves and Flames, and she can't wait to pull on the Indigenous uniform this Saturday night now with the Wizards.

"It means so much to me and I love to represent my culture, my family and my culture's a big part of who I am," Parker-Williams said.

"Of course it does mean a lot and it's really special when I put the Indigenous uniform on any time that I can so I can't wait for this weekend to get the chance to do that.

"I'm excited to wear the uniform and when I was back in the West I was able to have some uniforms that we wore, but I'm just very grateful that we have a round for that."

Winning seems to follow you around

On top of the way Parker-Williams' individual game continues to grow, she has already enjoyed a great degree of success in her career too.

That did appear a far off in some tough seasons early on at the Redbacks, but then she won a championship in 2020 at the Wolves and then they reached the 2021 Grand Final before she was part of the Townsville Fire squad that won the 2023 WNBL championship.

She joined the Rockingham Flames in 2024 and was part of that historic first championship win at RAC Arena and then enjoyed more success in Malaysia too.

She hopes it's not done yet too and his hoping to lift another trophy with the Wizards in 2026.

"It definitely has been a crazy journey especially how lucky I've been with those championships along the way and it's very surreal to think back about," Parker-Williams said.

"I'm very grateful that I got to experience those and I'm hoping that this season with the Wizards that happens again as well so I can enjoy that feeling again."

Chances to play professionally

Parker-Williams picked up playing basketball aged 10 and by 15 was already playing against professionals at state league level, and always dreamed of doing it herself.

She did receive opportunities in the WNBL at both the Perth Lynx and Townsville Fire but never really could crack the rotation, but she continued to bang down the door by playing outstanding basketball in the NBL1 West.

By the end of 2024 after winning a championship with Rockingham, she earned a contract in Malaysia and won a championship with Selangor. That led to a huge chance to play in Germany this past season with TSV 1880 Wasserburg.

Across 22 games, she put up 19.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals which led into this Wizards season in the NBL1 North and in a lot of ways she's living the dream right now.

"It's been amazing and it's pretty surreal for me to be able to do this and I'm honestly grateful to have the opportunity to go and play in places like Malaysia and Germany," Parker-Williams said.

"I was out in Germany for 10 months for this last season and it was a great journey for me and I loved it.

"It just keeps me excited to want to go back overseas and continue to live that lifestyle and keep on growing as a professional athlete, and keep on going at it."

Continuing to get better

Because it's been almost 10 years since Parker-Williams started playing at a state league level, it's easy to forget that at just 24 still, she's far from reaching her peak and is getting better all the time.

She also has no doubt that getting to experience different playing styles like in Malaysia and Germany compared to what she's used to back home has only helped her game continue to evolve too.

"I definitely feel like I keep getting a lot better especially with my confidence," Parker-Williams said.

"Playing in Europe was a different basketball style for me from anything I've played before just with how physical it is. Once you go to different leagues you learn different styles of play and it adds to your IQ and it's helped me a lot."

Team coming together nicely

It is a largely new-look Wizards team for 2026 under coach Dwight Hicks and there were some early growing pains with them winning just four of the first eight games.

But they are now on a five-game winning run and Parker-Williams couldn’t be happier with how it's coming together with teammates like Nadeen Payne, Grace Ellis, Courtney Virgo, Kelsey Ransom and Courtney Middap.

"I'm feeling really great and every game and every week that we play we seem to get a lot better and better," Parker-Williams said.

"We have an understanding of what we are, and what we are capable of so it's very exciting coming through to finals time. We've just got to keep looking ahead and playing as a team, and doing what we do."

Comparing the North and the West

Having played 141 games in the NBL1 West (previously SBL) back home in Perth for the Redbacks, Wolves and Flames, and winning two championships along the way, Parker-Williams wasn’t too sure what to expect from the NBL1 North.

She wasted no time settling in at the Wizards with 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals on debut and has thrived since including a 30-point night against the Gold Coast Rollers.

She does feel the standard of both conferences is comparable, but the shorter North season takes some getting used to as does the physicality.

"I feel like both conferences are pretty strong in both the men's and women's, but one thing is that it's definitely a much shorter season over here," Parker-Williams said.

"I still think it's a lot more physical I would say over here and that's after taking a season off from playing over in the West so I'm not sure what that's like now, but other than that they are both at a pretty good standard I think."

Taking on defending champions

With the Wizards having now won five straight matches in the NBL1 North and with just four games in the season left, every game matters and Parker-Williams can't wait for their challenge this Saturday night.

Northside are at home to the defending champion Logan Thunder who are on their own nine-game winning run so she's looking forward to the challenge and for her team to make a statement.

"It is a big game for us this week and we're all excited for it," Parker-Williams said.

"We've prepared well for it and hopefully we get the win and we'll really showcase how well we've been put together especially for such a new team."

Support of partner who is also a gun player

Not only has the last four years been amazing in a basketball sense for Parker-Williams with her winning championships at Rockingham and in Malaysia, spending her first season in Europe, and achieving a lot of her dreams, but she's never been happier personally.

A lot of that comes down to her relationship now with Quintin Dove with the pair meeting when they were both playing in the NBL1 West at the Joondalup Wolves, and they have now just celebrated four years together.

They are both now playing at the Wizards in 2026 with Parker-Williams thankful for the way they are building a life together and for how he has helped her confidence grow and to come out of her shell a little.

"It's been amazing and I feel like God puts us in really good places to be and I'm a bit speechless trying to think about how to describe it, but I feel so lucky to be playing another season with him here and he's just been so supportive along the way," Parker-Williams said.

"He's helped me grow as a person and as a professional player as well, and he had the confidence behind me to help me grow as well and to let me really do what I can do.

"I was actually very shy around him at first, but he's definitely brought out another side of me that I haven't really shown to anyone else so I'm very thankful to him for that.

"He's an amazing person and it's been the best four years on and off the court, I think you could say that, and he's helped me a lot in so many ways and I just love being with him."