And, most weeks, he comes off second best.
It is nothing new for the 2.01m 21-year-old University of Otago commerce student. He has probably been learning the hard way since the backyard battles with his older brother, former Tall Black Jeremiah Trueman.
But he would not have it any other way. Trueman won a championship with the Nelson Giants in 2007 and, while that was satisfying, he watched the action from the bench. There is only so much you can learn from the sidelines.
"It was great winning a championship but I got no court time," he said.
"Down here, I'm getting all this court time and I'm learning so much more going up against the big men from the other teams.
It is so different to just training.
"Most of the guys are taller than me, heavier than me and have a lot more experience. So it has been a big learning curve but I'm definitely enjoying it."
One of those taller, heavier and more experienced players has been his brother. Jeremiah plays for the Taranaki Mountain Airs and has family bragging rights, with the Mountain Airs dispatching the Nuggets 95-82 and 82-61.
"It was great fun. The only time we've played against each other was in high school back in Taranaki."
The Trueman brothers have an interesting story. Their parents are Christian missionaries and the siblings spent five years growing up in Brazil. The Truemans returned to New Zealand when Matt was 10.
The boys both picked up some Portuguese and some handy football skills. But, once back in the country, the pair took up basketball. Jeremiah quickly rose through the ranks and was a surprise selection in the 2006 Tall Blacks.
He signed a two-year deal with an Australian NBL, the Perth Wildcats, this month and, according to his younger brother, has not ruled out a shift south next season.
The Nuggets could certainly use another big body. The struggling franchise has a tough match this Saturday against the top-of-the-table Waikato Pistons.
The Pistons have a talented line-up including Tall Blacks Alex Pledger and Thomas Abercrombie, veteran forward Tony Ronaldson and classy guard Hayden Allen.
Pledger is the competition's leading rebounder and, at 2.13m tall, the Nuggets are going to have their hands full keeping him off the boards and out of the paint. He scored 12 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help his side beat the Nuggets 97-64 in Te Awamutu in March.
Ronaldson will be equally difficult to defend. His ability to shoot from the outside or force his way to the hoop is a handy attribute.
"I've marked him [Ronaldson] once already this year and he pushed me around a bit."
The Nuggets have lost all 10 of their games this season and a win this week is unlikely. Trueman said the team knew its comeback season would be difficult and the wins hard to come by, but he remains hopeful the franchise will break the drought soon.
"We want to win games, but for us younger guys the big thing is too learn as much as we can. The main thing is to have fun and go out there and give it our all."
That is something Trueman does each week. He is not the sort of player to dominate the scoring or pull down 10 rebounds a game. But he is a wholehearted, honest player who never stops running and, with experience, will be a valuable asset for the team in the years to come.
Trueman expects to finish his studies at the end of next year but indicated he was happy to stay with the Nuggets and continue developing his game.
