Final standings
| # | Team |
|---|---|
 | Auckland |
 | Nelson |
| 3 | Hawke's Bay |
| 4 | Otago |
| 5 | North Harbour |
| 6 | Wellington |
| 7 | Canterbury |
| 8 | Northland |
| 9 | Waikato |
| 10 | Palmerston North |
| 11 | Taranaki |
| 1997 New Zealand NBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | New Zealand NBL |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| Regular season | |
| Minor premiers | Auckland |
| Top scorer | Jim DeGraffenreid (Waikato) |
| Playoffs | |
| Champions | Auckland |
| Runners-up | Nelson |
The 1997 NBL season was the 16th season of the National Basketball League. Basketball in New Zealand began to dwindle during the 1990s, with TV coverage reduced, sponsorships scarce, and crowd numbers on the decline. At the end of the 1996 season, with both Wellington and Hutt Valley struggling to survive, the two teams amalgamated for the 1997 season. [1]
Auckland won the championship in 1997 to claim their fifth league title, as they became the first team in league history to record a three-peat. [2] Auckland had a near-perfect season, with their only loss in 24 regular-season games coming against Canterbury at Cowles Stadium when American import Adrian Boyd was called for a contentious travelling call while going for an uncontested lay-up in the game's final seconds. [3]
| # | Team |
|---|---|
| | Auckland |
| | Nelson |
| 3 | Hawke's Bay |
| 4 | Otago |
| 5 | North Harbour |
| 6 | Wellington |
| 7 | Canterbury |
| 8 | Northland |
| 9 | Waikato |
| 10 | Palmerston North |
| 11 | Taranaki |
Sean Pero MacPherson Cameron is a New Zealand basketball coach and former professional basketball player. A FIBA Hall of Fame player, he captained the New Zealand Tall Blacks from 2000 to 2010, helping lead New Zealand to the semifinal of the 2002 FIBA World Championship, earning an All-Tournament Team selection in the process.
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The 2001 NBL season was the 20th season of the National Basketball League. The Waikato Titans won the championship in 2001 to claim their first league title. The Titans set an NBL record with a 15-game winning streak during the season, a streak that was not broken until the 2015 Southland Sharks squad recorded a 16-game winning streak.
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