National Basketball League (New Zealand)
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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 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 ...
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 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 ...
at the 2002 FIBA World Championship 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
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, then peaked at 13 teams in
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, before dropping to a low of 7 in
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. In
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, the Southern Huskies from
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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 impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
following a revised small-scale format due to the
coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. In
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, 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 Lea ...
(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 (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 Pist ...
(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 particu ...
* 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 * Youth Player of the Year *
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 ...
* 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 Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with th ...
*
List of National Basketball League (New Zealand) awards The National Basketball League (NBL) presents a number of annual awards to recognise its teams, players, and coaches for their accomplishments. This does not include the NBL championship trophy, which is given to the winning team of the NBL Gr ...
*
National Basketball League (Australia) The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's Professional sports#Basketball, professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australasia, currently composed of 10 teams: 9 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand. It is the premier ...
*
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


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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