Winners
| Year | Player | Nationality | Team | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Ethan Rusbatch |  New Zealand | Hawke's Bay Hawks | [1] |
| 2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A | [2] |
| 2021 | Sam Timmins | New Zealand | Otago Nuggets | [3] [4] |
| 2022 | Sam Dempster | New Zealand | Nelson Giants | [5] |
| National Basketball League awards and honors |
|---|
| Championship |
| Individual awards |
| Honours |
The National Basketball League Most Improved Player is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award first presented in the 2019 New Zealand NBL season to an up-and-coming player who made a dramatic improvement from the previous season or seasons. [1] It was not awarded in 2020. [2]
| Year | Player | Nationality | Team | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Ethan Rusbatch | New Zealand | Hawke's Bay Hawks | [1] |
| 2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A | [2] |
| 2021 | Sam Timmins | New Zealand | Otago Nuggets | [3] [4] |
| 2022 | Sam Dempster | New Zealand | Nelson Giants | [5] |
The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's semi-professional basketball league in New Zealand.
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 Nuggets.
The National Basketball League Finals Most Valuable Player is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award currently given to the best performing player over the NBL's annual Final Four weekend. The award has previously been known as Final MVP and Final Four MVP.
The National Basketball League Scoring Champion is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the league's inaugural season to the player with the highest points per game average of the regular season. The winner receives the Alan Bland Memorial Trophy, which is named in honour of Bland, a Wellington native who played for the New Zealand men's national basketball team during the 1960s.
The National Basketball League Rebounding Champion is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the league's inaugural season to the player with the highest rebounds per game average of the regular season. The winner receives the Garry Pettis Memorial Trophy, which is named in honour of Pettis, a former New Zealand player and coach who is most notable for guiding the Canterbury Rams to the 1986 championship as head coach.
The National Basketball League Assist Champion is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 1984 New Zealand NBL season to the player with the highest assists per game average of the regular season. The winner receives the Dave Taylor Trophy.
The National Basketball League Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 1989 New Zealand NBL season to the best head coach of the regular season.
The National Basketball League All-Star Five is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) honour bestowed on the five best players in the league following every NBL season. The five-player team has been selected in every season of the league's existence, dating back to its inaugural season in 1982.
Ethan Rusbatch is a New Zealand basketball player for the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He began his NZNBL career in 2012 with the Southland Sharks after spending one season in the United States playing college basketball for Lincoln Trail College. After playing for the Taranaki Mountainairs in 2013, he spent the next four seasons with the Canterbury Rams. He joined the Hawks in 2018 and won the NZNBL's Most Improved Player in 2019. He also played two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL.
The Auckland Tuatara are a semi-professional basketball team based in Auckland, New Zealand. The Tuatara compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Eventfinda Stadium. Founded in Tasmania in 2019 as the Southern Huskies, the team relocated to Auckland in 2020 and for two years were known as the Auckland Huskies. In December 2021, the team was purchased by the Auckland Tuatara baseball team.
The 2019 NBL season was the 38th season of the National Basketball League. The competition increased to nine teams in 2019 with the Southern Huskies joining the league for the first time, marking the first time ever that an Australian team has joined a New Zealand competition.
The Franklin Bulls are a New Zealand basketball team based in Pukekohe, Auckland. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the EnviroNZ Franklin Bulls.
The 2020 NBL season was the 39th season of the National Basketball League.
The National Basketball League Defensive Player of the Year is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 2019 New Zealand NBL season to the best defensive player of the regular season.
Thomas James Vodanovich is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball in the United States for the James Madison Dukes between 2013 and 2017 before having a two-year stint with the Breakers. He joined the Sydney Kings in 2021 and won an NBL championship in 2022. In 2020, he was named the New Zealand NBL MVP playing for the Manawatu Jets.
The 2021 NBL season was the 40th season of the National Basketball League.
Brent Matehaere is a New Zealand basketball coach who currently serves as head coach of the Otago Nuggets in the National Basketball League (NBL).
Jordan Hunt is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He debuted in the NZNBL in 2015 with the Wellington Saints and won a championship with them in 2016. After four years of college basketball in the United States with the Southern Oregon Raiders, he helped the Otago Nuggets win the NZNBL championship in 2020 while earning grand final MVP. He subsequently spent the 2020–21 NBL season in Australia with the Cairns Taipans as a development player.
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He began his career in the New Zealand NBL, playing three seasons for the Wellington Saints before moving to the United States in 2016 to play college basketball for the Sacramento State Hornets. After graduating in 2020, he played a season for the Auckland Huskies and earned NZNBL Defensive Player of the Year and NZNBL All-Star Five. He subsequently joined the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the NBL and played two seasons before joining the Breakers in 2022.
...who started off hot and went from strength to strength...