The Southland Sharks are 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team based in

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 ...

. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank Southland Sharks.

Team history

The Southland Sharks brand dates back to the 1990s when the Smokefree Southland Sharks competed in the

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 ...

(CBL) and won championships in 1995 and 1998. In 2002, a group of local businessmen launched a bid to enter a Southland team into the National Basketball League (NBL), but that attempt fell over late in the piece when the Community Trust of Southland declined a $150,000 application. In October 2009, Southland Basketball Association was granted a three-year NBL license. In December 2009, the Sharks were confirmed for the 2010 NBL season. The Sharks made playoff appearances in their first two seasons in the NBL, before missing the post-season in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, the Sharks won their maiden NBL championship with a 92–81 win over the Nelson Giants in the final. After another playoff appearance in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, the Sharks won their first minor premiership in 2015, before going on to reach the NBL final, where they won their second championship with a 72–68 win over 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 ...

. With the win, they broke the 2001 Waikato Titans 15-game winning streak to finish the season with 16 wins in a row. The 2015 season also saw the Sharks retire Kevin Braswell's No. 12 jersey. After another playoff appearance 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 ...

, the Sharks made their third NBL final in

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, where they lost 108–75 to the Saints. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, the Sharks returned to the NBL final for the fourth time in six years, where they won their third championship with a 98–96 win over the Saints. The Sharks sat out the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 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 identi ...

. In 2022, the Sharks' inaugural sponsors SIT Zero Fees decided to end its long-term partnership with the team.

Honour roll

Players

Current roster

Notable past players

Larry Abney Lawrence Abney (born May 19, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current player development coach/ basketball operations assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers. Born in Nyack, New York, he was nicknamed ''Birdman'' thro ...

Everard Bartlett Everard Verdon Bartlett (born 6 February 1986) is a New Zealand basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as the head coach of the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). Bartlett was a regular ...

* Todd Blanchfield *

Craig Bradshaw Craig Robert Bradshaw (born 28 July 1983) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. Bradshaw played four years of college basketball at Winthrop University in the United States before playing professionally with clubs in New Zeala ...

* Kevin Braswell * Brian Conklin * Gareth Dawson * / Mark Dickel *

Kaniel Dickens Kaniel Dickens (born July 21, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round (50th pick overall) in the 2000 NBA draft. College career Dickens first played college basketball for ...

* Mike Helms * Paul Henare * Leon Henry * / Martin Iti * Jordair Jett *

Nick Kay Nicholas Colin Kay (born 3 August 1992) is an Australian professional basketball player who last played for Shimane Susanoo Magic of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the Metro State Roadrunners before beginning his profe ...

* / Adrian Majstrovich * /

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 ...

Daniel Munday Daniel Munday (born 7 March 1985) is an Australian former basketball player. Early life Munday was born in Karratha, Western Australia. He graduated from Willetton Senior High School in Perth in 2002. Basketball career Munday played for the Ma ...

Mitch Norton Mitchell Robert Norton (born 1 April 1993) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). He began his career in 2011 with the Townsville Crocodiles before joining the Illawarra H ...

* James Paringatai *

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 ...

* Brendon Polyblank * /

Dion Prewster Dion Anthony Prewster (born 10 January 1990) is an American-born New Zealand professional basketball player for the Sandringham Sabres of the NBL1 South. He played college basketball for San Jacinto College and Stephen F. Austin State University ...

* Mike Rose * René Rougeau * Reuben Te Rangi * / Arthur Trousdell * / Tai Wesley

References

External links

Official team website

"Southland Sharks: Standing tall among us"
at stuff.co.nz
"Jill Bolger's 40 years of dedication to Southland basketball recognised"
at stuff.co.nz {{National Basketball League (New Zealand) Basketball teams established in 2010 Basketball teams in New Zealand National Basketball League (New Zealand) teams 2010 establishments in New Zealand