The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's semi-professional
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 ...
league in New Zealand.
In 1981, a group of club and provincial teams came together to create a men's national basketball league. The following year, the league was brought under the management of the New Zealand Basketball Federation. The league quickly grew in size and popularity due to the influx of sponsors and American import players. The early 1990s held dwindling fortunes for New Zealand basketball, with reduced TV coverage, sponsorships, and crowd numbers. The sport's popularity increased in the 2000s with the success of the
Tall Blacks and the introduction of the
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...
in the
Australian NBL.
In the early days, Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington were the benchmark teams of the league. During the 1990s, Auckland and Nelson were the teams to beat, before Waikato joined Auckland as the dominant sides during the 2000s. During the 2010s, Wellington and Southland became the league's premier teams.
History
The 1980s ushered in a period of exceptional growth and popularity for
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 ...
in New Zealand. Late in 1981, six men's teams – a mixture of club and provincial representative sides – went out alone and created an inaugural national league. It was enough of a success to come under the control of the New Zealand Basketball Federation the following year, when it grew in size and secured a naming sponsor. An allowance of two imported players (invariably Americans with college basketball experience) per team, and the fact that games were played in the evening indoors, helped turn the league into a new family entertainment option. Spectators filled gymnasiums and media coverage reached unprecedented levels.
The early 1990s held dwindling fortunes for New Zealand basketball and many teams in the NBL, with reduced TV coverage, sponsorships, and crowd numbers. With the success of the
Tall Blacks at the
2002 FIBA World Championship
The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation i ...
and the introduction of the
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...
in the
Australian NBL in 2003, basketball in New Zealand rose in popularity again.
The number of teams each season has constantly changed since the league's inception, with many promotions and relegations between the first division and
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as many withdrawals due to financial reasons. The league began with 8 teams in
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...
, then peaked at 13 teams in
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
, before dropping to a low of 7 in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
. In
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, the
Southern Huskies from
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
became the first ever Australian team to join a New Zealand competition. The league returned to 7 teams in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
following a revised small-scale format due to the
coronavirus pandemic. In
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
, the league was hailed for reaching competitive balance after years of unbalanced competition, with evenly spread talent and resources across the ten teams.
Current teams
Expansion teams
Former and defunct teams
*
Auckland Pirates
The Auckland Pirates were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. 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 Baske ...
(2011–2012)
*
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 ...
(1982–2009)
* Centrals (1982–1985)
*
Christchurch Cougars
The Christchurch Cougars were a New Zealand basketball team based in Christchurch. The Cougars competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at Cowles Stadium. The Cougars pulled out of the NBL in 2011 after just ...
(2009–2010)
*
Harbour Heat
The Harbour Heat were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Heat competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at North Shore Events Centre.
Team history
The Harbour Heat, then known as North Shore ...
(1986–2010, 2012)
*
Hutt Valley Lakers
The Hutt Valley Lakers were a New Zealand basketball team based in Hutt Valley, Wellington. The Lakers competed in the National Basketball League (NBL).
Team history
The Hutt Valley Lakers started in the second-tiered Conference Basketball Le ...
(1990–1996)
*
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 ...
(1995–1998)
* Ponsonby (1984–1988)
* Porirua (1982–1983)
*
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 ...
(1990–1995, 2013–2019)
*
Waikato Pistons
The Waikato Pistons were a New Zealand basketball team based in Hamilton. The Pistons competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at Hamilton Boys' High School.
After sitting out the 2012 NBL season, the Piston ...
(1982, 1984–2011, 2013–2014)
*
Waitemata Dolphins
The Waitemata Dolphins were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Dolphins competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at Auckland YMCA.
Team history
The Waitemata Dolphins were a foundation memb ...
(1982–1983, 1988–1989)
League eligibility rules
There are two categories of players in the NBL:
*Non-Restricted Player – players eligible to play for New Zealand in FIBA competitions
*Restricted Player – a player who is not eligible to play for New Zealand
Broadcasting details
In 2016 and 2017, the NBL began to more freely livestream and broadcast their games. In 2020, the league had all 75 games broadcast by
Sky Sport, marking the first time in the league's four-decade history that every game would be made available to viewers across the nation. That same year, the league secured a deal to broadcast live in the United States through
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
.
In 2022, the NBL and Sky Sport signed a five-year commercial deal estimated to be worth $7.5 million for the teams.
New Zealand's soaring National Basketball League proving ratings hit for partners
/ref>
Honours
List of Champions
Awards
;Current
*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 partic ...
* Finals MVP
* Most Outstanding Guard
* Most Outstanding NZ Guard
* Most Outstanding Forward
* Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre
* Scoring Champion
* Rebounding Champion
* Assist Champion
* Most Improved Player
*Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding Defense (sports), defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for D ...
* Youth Player of the Year
* Coach of the Year
* All-Star Five
* Best Team Free Throws
;Past
* NZ Most Valuable Player
See also
* Conference Basketball League
The Conference Basketball League (CBL) was a second-tiered men's semi-professional basketball league in New Zealand. During the 1980s and 1990s, the CBL served as a means of promotion and relegation between the National Basketball League (NBL) ...
* List of National Basketball League (New Zealand) awards
* National Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Australasia, currently composed of 10 teams: 9 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand. It is the premier professional men's basketball league in Australia and New Ze ...
* New Zealand men's national basketball team
The New Zealand men's national basketball team is the senior men's national basketball team of New Zealand. The team is nicknamed the Tall Blacks. The ''Tall Blacks'' name is one of many New Zealand national team nicknames related to the All ...
* Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa
The Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa is a women's semi-professional basketball league in New Zealand.
History
In December 2021, a new women's national basketball league was established for 2022 with five new franchises. The league's name ''Tauihi Bas ...
References
External links
New Zealand NBL official website
New Zealand NBL 2003 to 2006
Basketball New Zealand Results Archive
Basketball: Several changes on the agenda for NZ NBL
State of the NBL: National Basketball League at critical juncture
Basketball: Tasmania's Southern Huskies set to join New Zealand National Basketball League
Tasmanian franchise eyeing place in New Zealand's National Basketball League
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