The 2016 NBL season was the 35th season of the National Basketball League. The league's team total dropped to an all-time low for the 2016 season, with the departure of the Manawatu Jets leaving the competition with seven teams. The 2016 pre-season tournament was held at the Te Rauparaha Arena in

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 ...

from Friday 26 February through Sunday 28 February. The four-team event featured the Canterbury Rams (2–1), Nelson Giants (3–0), Wellington Saints (0–3) and a Porirua invitational team (1–2). The regular season commenced on Thursday 10 March in Wellington with the Wellington Saints hosting 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 ...

at TSB Bank Arena. The season contained 12 weeks of regular season games and a Final Four series on Queens' Birthday weekend in June. As the only team based north of Hawke's Bay, the Rangers utilised two new 'home' venues around the Upper

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south of Hamilto ...

and Whangarei, providing increased exposure for elite basketball in that area of the country. The regular season concluded with the Rams earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2002 and their first minor premiership since 1993, while the Hawks recorded their first winless season in franchise history and 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 (CBL). Teams repres ...

, 2009 Taranaki Mountainairs, 2010 Otago Nuggets and 2015 Taranaki Mountainairs as the only sides in NBL history to go an entire season without a win. For the first time in the competition's history,

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 ...

hosted the Final Four weekend, with the semifinals on Friday 3 June, followed by the championship game on Saturday 4 June.

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 ...

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. ...

(Canterbury Rams) * NZ Most Valuable Player:

Marcel Jones Marcel Jones (born September 4, 1988) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was selected in the seventh round, 234th overall, by the Saints in the 2012 NFL Draft and On July 2, 2012, Jones signed a four-year deal with the Saints. He ...

(Canterbury Rams) * Most Outstanding Guard:

(Canterbury Rams) * Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints) * Most Outstanding Forward:

(Canterbury Rams) * Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre:

(Canterbury Rams) * Scoring Champion:

Eric Devendorf Eric Michael Devendorf (born April 21, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. Devendorf played at Syracuse from 2005 to 2009. He averaged 15.7 points per game in his final season at Syracuse. He ranks 14th on the school's all ...

(Super City Rangers) * Rebounding Champion: Alex Pledger (Southland Sharks) * Assist Champion:

(Canterbury Rams) * Rookie of the Year: Logan Elers (Taranaki Mountainairs) * Coach of the Year: Ross McMains (Taranaki Mountainairs) * All-Star Five: ** G:

(Canterbury Rams) ** G:

Raymond Cowels Raymond Cowels III (born November 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Legia Warszawa of the Polish Basketball League. He played college basketball for Santa Clara University before playing professionally in the Netherla ...

(Nelson Giants) ** F: Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints) ** F:

(Canterbury Rams) ** C: Alex Pledger (Southland Sharks)

Final Four

* Finals MVP: Tai Wesley (Wellington Saints)

References

External links

2016 fixtures

Live broadcasting

Southland to hold the 2016 NBL Final Four

2016 season preview

Round 1 preview

Final Four preview

Grand Final preview

Grand Final re-watch

Promise for Bay Hawks despite 0-14 record
{{DEFAULTSORT:2016 New Zealand Nbl season National Basketball League (New Zealand) seasons NBL