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
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 ...
in
Porirua 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 at
TSB Bank Arena
The TSB Bank Arena (formerly known as the Queens Wharf Events Centre) is an indoor arena in Wellington.
About
The arena hosts mainly basketball games and is the home arena for the Century City Saints and part-time home arena of the New Zealand ...
. 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,
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 Hamilt ...
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
The Conference ...
, 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 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:
McKenzie Moore (Canterbury Rams)
*
NZ Most Valuable Player:
Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams)
*
Most Outstanding Guard:
McKenzie Moore (Canterbury Rams)
*
Most Outstanding NZ Guard:
Shea Ili (Wellington Saints)
*
Most Outstanding Forward:
Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams)
*
Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre:
Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams)
*
Scoring Champion:
Eric Devendorf (Super City Rangers)
*
Rebounding Champion:
Alex Pledger
Alex John Pledger (born 27 March 1987) is a New Zealand professional basketball player who last played for the Southland Sharks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball in the United States before play ...
(Southland Sharks)
*
Assist Champion:
McKenzie Moore (Canterbury Rams)
*
Rookie of the Year: Logan Elers (Taranaki Mountainairs)
*
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 ...
:
Ross McMains (Taranaki Mountainairs)
*
All-Star Five:
** G:
McKenzie Moore (Canterbury Rams)
** G:
Raymond Cowels (Nelson Giants)
** F:
Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints)
** F:
Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams)
** C:
Alex Pledger
Alex John Pledger (born 27 March 1987) is a New Zealand professional basketball player who last played for the Southland Sharks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball in the United States before play ...
(Southland Sharks)
Final Four
*
Finals MVP:
Tai Wesley (Wellington Saints)
References
External links
2016 fixturesLive broadcastingSouthland to hold the 2016 NBL Final Four2016 season previewRound 1 previewFinal Four previewGrand Final previewGrand Final re-watchPromise for Bay Hawks despite 0-14 record
{{DEFAULTSORT:2016 New Zealand Nbl season
National Basketball League (New Zealand) seasons
NBL