The Auckland Pirates were a New Zealand

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. The Pirates competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at ASB Stadium.

Team history

In March 2011, the franchise was unveiled by Basketball Auckland ahead of the 2011 NBL season, marking the return of an Auckland presence to the NBL, a year after the

Auckland Stars The Auckland Stars were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Stars competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at ASB Stadium. Team history The Auckland Stars, then known as Auckland Metro, were ...

folded. The inaugural squad included imports Raheim Brown and Kevin Mickens alongside

Dillon Boucher Dillon Matthew Boucher (born 27 December 1975) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. His 13 combined career championships is the most in ANBL/NZNBL history. Early life Growing up in Bell Block, a small township just outside ...

Luke Martin Luke Martin (born 22 January 1981) is an Australian former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career playing in the National Basketball League (NBL). In 2004 and 2005, he represented the Australian national team. Ea ...

and Brook Ruscoe. The Pirates finished their first season in seventh place with a 5–11 record. For the 2012 season, the Pirates retained Boucher and Ruscoe, and acquired Lindsay Tait, Alex Pledger,

Hayden Allen Hayden Allen (born 10 November 1979) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career in the National Basketball League (NBL). He played close to 300 games and scored over 4000 points in his NBL career ...

Duane Bailey Duane Benjamin Bailey (born 28 October 1991) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player who played in the New Zealand NBL and the Australian NBL. Early life Born in Auckland, Bailey played both rugby and basketball in primary sch ...

and Ron Dorsey. They subsequently helped the Pirates finish the regular season in second place with a 13–3 record. After defeating 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 ...

in the semi-finals, they faced 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 ...

in the final, where they won 89–83 to claim the NBL championship. Pledger was named Finals MVP, while Tait was named Most Outstanding Guard, Most Outstanding Kiwi Guard and All-Star Five for the 2012 season. On 2 November 2012, the Pirates withdrew from the NBL, with Basketball Auckland revealing their financial model was unsustainable.

References

External links

Official team website
{{National Basketball League (New Zealand) 2011 establishments in New Zealand Basketball teams established in 2011 Basketball teams in Auckland Basketball teams in New Zealand National Basketball League (New Zealand) teams Sport in Auckland