The New Zealand Breakers 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 Spark Arena. The team was founded in 2003 by three Waikato businessmen, Dallas Fisher, Michael Redman and Keith Ward, and remains the only team in the league to compete from New Zealand. The team was bought by Liz and Paul Blackwell in 2005. The couple owned the team until February 2018, when a consortium headed by former NBA player Matt Walsh became the majority shareholders via a newly-formed company called Breakers Basketball Ltd.
Kirk Samuel Penney is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. During an outstanding college career with the University of Wisconsin, Penney helped the Badgers to an NCAA Final Four his freshman year and a Sweet Sixteen in his senior year along with two Big 10 conference titles, and was twice named first team all-conference and an all-American. He is in the University of Wisconsin Hall of Fame. He represented New Zealand at the Sydney and Athens Olympics and averaged 16.9 points at the World Championships at Indianapolis in 2002 and 24.7 points at the World Championships at Turkey in 2010. He became the second Kiwi in the NBA when he appeared briefly for the Miami Heat in 2003 and the Los Angeles Clippers in 2005, and went on to play professionally in Spain, the NBA Development League, Israel, Lithuania, Germany and Turkey. In 2007, he joined the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). In 2009, he was named the NBL MVP, and in 2011, he won his first championship with the Breakers.
Lindsay Michael Tait is a New Zealand former professional basketball player.
The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. 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 SIT Zero Fees Southland Sharks.
Corey Webster is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League (NBL). A three-time NBL champion with the Breakers, Webster has had stints playing in Europe and spent the 2015 NBA preseason with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The National Basketball League Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 2003 New Zealand NBL season to the best performing player of the regular season. At the end of each season, the player with the most votes is awarded the Most Valuable Player for that season. Prior to the 2003 season, imports were deemed ineligible for receiving MVP honours, with the league instead awarding a Kiwi MVP each season as a way of recognising the best performing New Zealander. However, since 2003, only six imports have managed to claim the award.
Derone Jordan Raukawa is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Taranaki Mountainairs of the National Basketball League (NBL).
The National Basketball League Most Outstanding Kiwi Guard is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 1985 New Zealand NBL season to the best performing New Zealand guard(s) of the regular season. The winner receives the John Macdonald Trophy, which is named in honour of Macdonald, a New Plymouth native and a former captain of the New Zealand men's national basketball team.
The National Basketball League Most Outstanding Kiwi Forward/Centre is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 1985 New Zealand NBL season to the best performing New Zealand player of the regular season who is classified as a small forward, power forward or centre. The majority of recipients are power forwards who can also play centre when required. Notable small forwards to have won the award include Terrence Lewis (2001), Thomas Abercrombie and Duane Bailey (2014). The winner of the award receives the Stan Hill Trophy, which is named in honour of Hill, a former NBL player and coach who represented the New Zealand men's national basketball team during the 1970s and 1980s. Hill also won the league's inaugural Most Outstanding Forward Award in 1982.
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 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.
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 leaving the competition with seven teams.
Lincoln "Link" Abrams is an American-New Zealand former professional basketball player who played 10 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). He moved to New Zealand in 2002 to play for the Taranaki Stormers of the Conference Basketball League, helping the team win the league title and promoting them to the NBL in 2003. He continued on with the Taranaki franchise throughout the 2000s, carving out what was a decorated NBL career with numerous individual awards, but achieved little team success with the Mountainairs.
Shea Ili is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). Ili was raised in Mangere Bridge, playing his basketball at Onehunga High School and appearing for Counties Manukau in rep teams before appearing in the New Zealand NBL with the Auckland Pirates in 2012. In 2014, he joined the New Zealand Breakers as a development player. That season, he was a member of the Breakers' championship-winning team. In 2016, he was elevated to the Breakers' full-time roster, and in February 2018, he was named the NBL Most Improved Player for the 2017–18 season.
The Southern Huskies were an Australian basketball team based in Tasmania that played one season in the New Zealand National Basketball League.
Jordan Ngatai is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He is also a regular New Zealand Tall Black and has won three championships with the Wellington Saints in the New Zealand NBL.
