The 2003 NBL season was the 22nd season of the National Basketball League. 2003 marked the first year a league-wide MVP award winner was named, allowing imports the opportunity to be recognised; in all previous seasons, only a Kiwi MVP was named, an award given to the best New Zealand player. Australian import David Cooper of the Manawatu Jets was subsequently awarded the first league MVP. 2003 also marked the return of Taranaki after a three-year hiatus. The Wellington Saints won the championship over the Waikato Titans in overtime, as the Saints claimed their fifth league title.
Summary
Regular season standings Team 1Waikato Titans 16 22Wellington Saints 12 63Manawatu Jets 12 64Auckland Stars 12 6 5Nelson Giants 11 76Hawke's Bay Hawks 8 107Otago Nuggets 7 118Taranaki Mountainairs 5 139Canterbury Rams 4 1410Harbour Heat 3 15
Playoff bracket
Awards
Player of the Week Round Player Team Ref 1 Issiah Epps Otago Nuggets 2 Dillon Boucher Waikato Titans Mike Pegues Canterbury Rams 3 Issiah Epps Otago Nuggets 4 Dillon Boucher Waikato Titans 5 Ed Book Nelson Giants Dillon Boucher Waikato Titans 6 Lindsay Tait Auckland Stars 7 John Whorton Canterbury Rams 8 John Whorton Canterbury Rams 9 David Cooper Manawatu Jets 10 Paul Henare Hawke's Bay Hawks 11 Casey Frank Auckland Stars 12 Willie Banks Taranaki Mountainairs 13 John Whorton Canterbury Rams 14 Mark Dickel Otago Nuggets 15 Michael Tompson Wellington Saints SF Iona Enosa Waikato Titans F Ben Knight Wellington Saints
Statistics leaders Stats as of the end of the regular season Category Player Team Stat Points per game John Whorton Canterbury Rams 29.3 Rebounds per game John Whorton Canterbury Rams 16.5 Assists per game George Le'afa Wellington Saints 6.2 Steals per game Dillon Boucher Waikato Titans 4.5 Blocks per game David Cooper Manawatu Jets 2.8
Regular season Most Valuable Player: David Cooper (Manawatu Jets) NZ Most Valuable Player: Dillon Boucher (Waikato Titans) Most Outstanding Guard: Lindsay Tait (Auckland Stars) Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Lindsay Tait (Auckland Stars) Most Outstanding Forward: David Cooper (Manawatu Jets) Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Dillon Boucher (Waikato Titans) Scoring Champion: John Whorton (Canterbury Rams) Rebounding Champion: John Whorton (Canterbury Rams) Assist Champion: George Le'afa (Wellington Saints) Rookie of the Year: Adrian Majstrovich (Hawke's Bay Hawks) Coach of the Year: Mike McHugh (Wellington Saints) All-Star Five: G: Paul Henare (Hawke's Bay Hawks) G: Lindsay Tait (Auckland Stars) F: Dillon Boucher (Waikato Titans) F: Link Abrams (Taranaki Mountainairs) C: David Cooper (Manawatu Jets)
References
External links 2003 NBL Teams and Draw Team stats links 2003 season links