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 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 ...

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 ...

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 The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand basketball team based in Christchurch. The Rams compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as The Wheeler Motor Can ...

(2–1),

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Mike Pero Nelson ...

(3–0),

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 ...

(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 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-largest ...

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 The Conference ...

, 2009

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 ...

, 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 ...

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 t ...

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 (Canterbury Rams) * NZ Most Valuable Player: Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams) * Most Outstanding Guard: McKenzie Moore (Canterbury Rams) * Most Outstanding NZ Guard:

Shea Ili Shea Ili (born 6 October 1992) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). Ili was raised in Māngere Bridge, playing his basketball at Onehunga High School and appearing for Co ...

(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 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 me ...

(Wellington Saints) ** F: Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams) ** C:

(Southland Sharks)

Final Four

* Finals MVP:

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 ...

(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