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.
The 2016 pre-season tournament was held at the Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua from Friday 26 February through Sunday 28 February. The four-team event featured the Canterbury Rams (2–1), Nelson Giants (3–0), Wellington Saints (0–3) and a Porirua invitational team (1–2). The regular season commenced on Thursday 10 March in Wellington with the Wellington Saints hosting the Super City Rangers at TSB Bank Arena. The season contained 12 weeks of regular season games and a Final Four series on Queens' Birthday weekend in June. As the only team based north of Hawke's Bay, the Rangers utilised two new 'home' venues around the Upper North Island, Te Awamutu and Whangārei, providing increased exposure for elite basketball in that area of the country.
The regular season concluded with the Rams earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2002 and their first minor premiership since 1993, while the Hawks recorded their first winless season in franchise history and joined the 1998 Northland Suns, 2009 Taranaki Mountainairs, 2010 Otago Nuggets and 2015 Taranaki Mountainairs as the only sides in NBL history to go an entire season without a win.
For the first time in the competition's history, Invercargill hosted the Final Four weekend, with the semifinals on Friday 3 June, followed by the championship game on Saturday 4 June.
Team information Team City Arena Colours Head coach Import Import Canterbury Rams Christchurch Cowles Stadium Mark Dickel Justin Graham McKenzie Moore Hawke's Bay Hawks Napier Pettigrew Green Arena Kirstin Daly-Taylor Kareem Johnson Chris Porter Nelson Giants Nelson Trafalgar Centre Tim Fanning Raymond Cowels Ben Strong Southland Sharks Invercargill Stadium Southland Judd Flavell Nick Kay Mitch Norton Super City Rangers Auckland AUT North Shore Jeff Green Eric Devendorf Terrence Roberts Taranaki Mountainairs New Plymouth TSB Stadium Ross McMains Marcus Johnson Daniel Miller Wellington Saints Wellington TSB Bank Arena Kevin Braswell Torrey Craig Bryan Davis
Summary
Regular season standings Team 1Canterbury Rams 13 52Wellington Saints 13 53Southland Sharks 11 74Super City Rangers 9 9 5Nelson Giants 9 96Taranaki Mountainairs 8 107Hawke's Bay Hawks 0 18
Final Four
Awards
Player of the Week Round Player Team Ref 1 Torrey Craig Wellington Saints Leon Henry Wellington Saints Ben Strong Nelson Giants 2 Finn Delany Nelson Giants 3 Jordair Jett Southland Sharks 4 Jordair Jett Southland Sharks 5 McKenzie Moore Canterbury Rams 6 Torrey Craig Wellington Saints Terrence Roberts Super City Rangers 7 Marcel Jones Canterbury Rams 8 Raymond Cowels Nelson Giants 9 Marcel Jones Canterbury Rams 10 Nick Kay Southland Sharks 11 Ben Strong Nelson Giants 12 Dion Prewster Wellington Saints
Statistics leaders Stats as of the end of the regular season Category Player Team Stat Points per game Eric Devendorf Super City Rangers 25.8 Rebounds per game Alex Pledger Southland Sharks 11.4 Assists per game McKenzie Moore Canterbury Rams 8.2 Steals per game McKenzie Moore Canterbury Rams 3.4 Blocks per game Daniel Miller Taranaki Mountainairs 1.9
Regular season Most Valuable Player: McKenzie Moore (Canterbury Rams) NZ Most Valuable Player: Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams) Most Outstanding Guard: McKenzie Moore (Canterbury Rams) Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints) Most Outstanding Forward: Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams) Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams) Scoring Champion: Eric Devendorf (Super City Rangers) Rebounding Champion: Alex Pledger (Southland Sharks) Assist Champion: McKenzie Moore (Canterbury Rams) Rookie of the Year: Logan Elers (Taranaki Mountainairs) Coach of the Year: Ross McMains (Taranaki Mountainairs) All-Star Five: G: McKenzie Moore (Canterbury Rams) G: Raymond Cowels (Nelson Giants) F: Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints) F: Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams) C: Alex Pledger (Southland Sharks)
Final Four Finals MVP: Tai Wesley (Wellington Saints)
References
External links 2016 fixtures Live broadcasting Southland to hold the 2016 NBL Final Four 2016 season preview Round 1 preview Final Four preview Grand Final preview Grand Final re-watch Promise for Bay Hawks despite 0-14 record