The 2015 NBL season was the 34th season of the National Basketball League. The season draw was supposed to be released in December 2014, but the withdrawal of

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

and

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

prompted a rethink for the 2015 competition format. In the past, each team played each other twice in a 10-team competition, meaning each franchise had nine home games. However, with two fewer teams in 2015, it was decided the new format would be played over two and half rounds to keep incomes at a similar rate for the remaining sides. Each team was scheduled to play each other twice and play three of the sides in a third game. The 2015 pre-season tournament was held at the

Te Rauparaha Arena Te Rauparaha Arena is a multi-purpose indoor sports and entertainment centre, with pools, dash swim school, a fitness centre and indoor sports stadium and venues, in Porirua, New Zealand. The centre, which cost NZ$17.5 million to construct, was of ...

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

on Saturday 21 March and Sunday 22 March. The

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

were the only team to go undefeated over the two days, finishing with a 3–0 record. The regular season commenced on Wednesday 1 April in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

with the

Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank So ...

hosting the

Manawatu Jets The Manawatu Jets are a New Zealand basketball team based in Palmerston North. The Jets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Central Energy Trust Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Pro ...

Stadium Southland ILT Stadium Southland in Invercargill, New Zealand is a multi-purpose venue, capable of conducting a wide range of events from large scale concerts to sporting events and exhibitions. Incorporating the SIT Zero Fees Velodrome, the stadium com ...

. In the regular-season finale on Sunday 28 June,

Taranaki Mountainairs The Taranaki Airs are a New Zealand basketball team based in New Plymouth. The Airs compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Steelformers Airs. Te ...

import Aaron Fuller set the National Basketball League record for points scored in a game. With 54 points, Fuller broke John Whorton's record of 50 points, which was set in 2003. Despite Fuller's 54 points and 19 rebounds, the Mountainairs lost to the

Super City Rangers The Super City Rangers were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Rangers competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games across multiple venues in Auckland. Team history The Waitakere Rangers debut ...

to finish the season with a winless record (0–18). The 2015 Mountainairs side joined the 1998

Northland Suns The Northland Suns were a New Zealand basketball team based in Whangarei. The Suns competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). Team history The Northland Suns started in the second-tiered Conference Basketball League The Conference ...

, 2009 Mountainairs and 2010

Otago Nuggets The Otago Nuggets are a New Zealand basketball team based in Dunedin. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Edgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Night 'n Day Otago ...

as the only sides in NBL history to go an entire season without a win. The Final Four weekend was held in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

for the fourth time in five years, with the semifinals on Saturday 4 July, followed by the championship game on Sunday 5 July.

Team information

Summary

Regular season standings

Final Four

Awards

Player of the Week

Statistics leaders

''Stats as of the end of the regular season''

Regular season

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

Torrey Craig Torrey Craig (born December 19, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Upstate Spartans, where he was named an honorable ment ...

(Wellington Saints)CRAIG WINS MVP
/ref> * NZ Most Valuable Player:

Lindsay Tait Lindsay Michael Tait (born 8 January 1982) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. Early life Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Tait moved to Auckland as a four-year-old and later attended Avondale College where he was a member of ...

(Wellington Saints) * Most Outstanding Guard:

(Wellington Saints) * Most Outstanding NZ Guard:

(Wellington Saints) * Most Outstanding Forward:

Tai Wesley Tai William Evans Wesley (born May 13, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Utah State Aggies, where he was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2011. After begin ...

(Southland Sharks) * Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre:

Josh Duinker Joshua Duinker (born 18 April 1989) is an Australian-Dutch former professional basketball player who last played for the Kumamoto Volters of the Japanese B.League . He has been a member of the Dutch national basketball team and holds a New Zeal ...

(Nelson Giants) * Scoring Champion: Aaron Fuller (Taranaki Mountainairs) * Rebounding Champion:

Jeremiah Trueman Jeremiah Kloeten Trueman (born 19 May 1987) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. Early life Trueman was born in New Plymouth and originally grew up in nearby Stratford. He joined his parents, first in Tasmania and then in Bra ...

(Manawatu Jets) * Assist Champion:

(Wellington Saints) * Rookie of the Year:

(Nelson Giants) *

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

: Paul Henare (Southland Sharks) * All-Star Five: ** G:

McKenzie Moore McKenzie Zachary Moore (born May 11, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the TNT Tropang Giga of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Moore earned a name for himself in New Zealand between 2015 and 2017. ...

(Nelson Giants) ** G:

(Wellington Saints) ** F:

Todd Blanchfield Todd Blanchfield (born 7 November 1991) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). He began his NBL career in 2009 with the Townsville Crocodiles, where he played six seasons. ...

(Southland Sharks) ** F:

(Southland Sharks) ** C: Aaron Fuller (Taranaki Mountainairs)

Final Four

* Finals MVP:

(Southland Sharks)Southland Sharks players keen to return to defend National Basketball League title
/ref>

References

External links

2015 League Handbook

The Year Of #ClassicNBL

Season preview
{{DEFAULTSORT:2015 New Zealand Nbl season National Basketball League (New Zealand) seasons NBL