2015 New Zealand NBL season

The 2015 NBL season was the 34th season of the National Basketball League. The season draw was supposed to be released in December 2014, but the withdrawal of Otago and Waikato prompted a rethink for the 2015 competition format. In the past, each team played each other twice in a 10-team competition, meaning each franchise had nine home games. However, with two fewer teams in 2015, it was decided the new format would be played over two and half rounds to keep incomes at a similar rate for the remaining sides. Each team was scheduled to play each other twice and play three of the sides in a third game.[1][2]

2015 New Zealand NBL season
LeagueNew Zealand NBL
SportBasketball
Duration1 April – 5 July
Number of games18
Number of teams8
Regular season
  Minor premiersSouthland Sharks
Season MVPTorrey Craig (Wellington Saints)
Top scorerAaron Fuller (Taranaki Mountainairs)
Final Four
ChampionsSouthland Sharks
  Runners-upWellington Saints
Finals MVPTai Wesley

The 2015 pre-season tournament was held at the Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua on Saturday 21 March and Sunday 22 March.[3][4] The Wellington Saints were the only team to go undefeated over the two days, finishing with a 3–0 record.[5] The regular season commenced on Wednesday 1 April in Invercargill with the Southland Sharks hosting the Manawatu Jets at Stadium Southland.[6]

In the regular-season finale on Sunday 28 June, Taranaki Mountainairs import Aaron Fuller set the National Basketball League record for points scored in a game. With 54 points, Fuller broke John Whorton's record of 50 points, which was set in 2003.[7][8] Despite Fuller's 54 points and 19 rebounds, the Mountainairs lost to the Super City Rangers to finish the season with a winless record (0–18). The 2015 Mountainairs side joined the 1998 Northland Suns, 2009 Mountainairs and 2010 Otago Nuggets as the only sides in NBL history to go an entire season without a win.[9]

The Final Four weekend was held in Wellington for the fourth time in five years, with the semifinals on Saturday 4 July, followed by the championship game on Sunday 5 July.[10]

Team information
Team City Arena Head coach Import Import
Canterbury Rams Christchurch Cowles Stadium New Zealand Mark Dickel United States Mickell Gladness United States Jermaine Taylor
Hawke's Bay Hawks Napier Pettigrew Green Arena New Zealand Paora Winitana United States Zack Atkinson Nigeria Suleiman Braimoh
Manawatu Jets Palmerston North Arena Manawatu New Zealand Darron Larsen United States Dion Harris United States Brandon Jenkins
Nelson Giants Nelson Saxton Stadium United States Tim Fanning United States McKenzie Moore United States DeRonn Scott
Southland Sharks Invercargill Stadium Southland New Zealand Paul Henare Australia Todd Blanchfield United States Kevin Braswell
Super City Rangers Auckland Otara Recreation Centre New Zealand Jeff Green Australia Jason Cadee Australia Tom Garlepp
Taranaki Mountainairs New Plymouth TSB Stadium New Zealand Daryn Shaw United States Aaron Fuller United States Chris Hagan
Wellington Saints Wellington TSB Bank Arena New Zealand Pero Cameron United States Torrey Craig Australia Daniel Johnson

Summary

Regular season standings
Pos
Team W L
1 Southland Sharks153
2 Nelson Giants135
3 Wellington Saints126
4 Super City Rangers117
5 Canterbury Rams99
6 Manawatu Jets612
7 Hawke's Bay Hawks612
8 Taranaki Mountainairs018

Final Four
Semi-finals Final
      
1 Southland Sharks 95
4 Super City Rangers 80
Southland Sharks 72
  Wellington Saints 68
2 Nelson Giants 85
3 Wellington Saints 97

Awards

Player of the Week
RoundPlayerTeamRef
1Lindsay TaitWellington Saints[11]
2Tai WesleySouthland Sharks[12]
Aaron FullerTaranaki Mountainairs[12]
3Torrey CraigWellington Saints[13]
4Suleiman BraimohHawke's Bay Hawks[14]
5McKenzie MooreNelson Giants[15]
6McKenzie MooreNelson Giants[16]
7Tom GarleppSuper City Rangers[17]
8Todd BlanchfieldSouthland Sharks[18]
9Kevin BraswellSouthland Sharks[19]
10McKenzie MooreNelson Giants[20]
11Tai WesleySouthland Sharks[21]
Torrey CraigWellington Saints[21]
12Luke AstonHawke's Bay Hawks[22]
13Aaron FullerTaranaki Mountainairs[23]

Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season

CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameAaron FullerTaranaki Mountainairs28.4
Rebounds per gameJeremiah TruemanManawatu Jets12.4
Assists per gameLindsay TaitWellington Saints8.9
Steals per gameChris HaganTaranaki Mountainairs2.7
Blocks per gameMickell GladnessCanterbury Rams2.3

Regular season

Final Four

References
  1. Southland Sharks to host opening game of NZ National Basketball League
  2. Home games a strong feature in draw for Jets season
  3. P-TOWN PRE-SEASON DAY ONE
  4. P-TOWN PRESEASON: DAY TWO
  5. "NBL Preseason Wrap-Up". Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  6. "2015 NBL Draw Released". Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  7. Taranaki Mountain Airs' import smashes NBL scoring record but still loses
  8. "Aaron Fuller Breaks NBL Record With 54 Points". Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  9. Basketball: Nuggets closing on unwanted record
  10. 2015 BARTERCARD NBL SEMI-FINALS PREVIEW
  11. TAIT WINS OPENING PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  12. WESLEY AND FULLER ARE JOINT PLAYER’S OF THE WEEK
  13. SAINTS CRAIG IS R3 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  14. BRAIMOH IS ROUND FOUR PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  15. MOORE IS ROUND 5 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  16. TWO IN A ROW FOR MOORE
  17. GARLEPP WINS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  18. SHARKS BLANCHFIELD IS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  19. BRASWELL IS R9 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  20. MOORE WINS THIRD PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  21. CRAIG AND WESLEY WIN WEEKLY AWARD
  22. ASTON NABS WEEKLY AWARD
  23. FULLER GRABS LAST WEEKLY AWARD
  24. CRAIG WINS MVP
  25. Southland Sharks players keen to return to defend National Basketball League title
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