Basketball: Rakeem Christmas settles into the Breakers following strong performance

Basketball star Rakeem Christmas has been settling into the Kiwi lifestyle after being named as the New Zealand Breakers' latest import.

Christmas, who only landed in the country last Monday, had his debut on Saturday night when the Breakers took on the Illawarra Hawks.

"I hadn't played basketball in two months so I thought it was gonna be way off and just to come on and play hard and play my game … I just wanted to come out, have fun, enjoy and just try to do as much as I could to help the team," he told New Zealand Herald Focus.

Despite the busy week, Christmas showcased a stunning performance on court, tallying 14 points and eight rebounds in his first NBL game.

"I've just been gelling my way in, it's a great group, everyone's been working hard and I've been working hard with them."

Former NBA player Rakeem Christmas made his debut for the Breakers on Saturday night. Photo / Getty

Christmas, who was joined in the interview by long-term friend and prominent Breaker, DJ Newbill, said knowing Newbill "definitely helped" ease the transition into the team.

However, it seemed Newbill forgot to give Christmas the full low-down on Kiwi knowledge after Christmas made a hilarious blunder in an interview last week, misnaming New Zealand basketballer Steve Adams for the late Steve Irwin.

"I said the wrong thing bro, I said the wrong thing," Christmas admitted when asked about the comment.

"I'm surprised they didn't kick you out of the country for that one," Newbill laughed.

"I apologise for the commentary last week, my fault," added Christmas.