2015 New Zealand NBL season

2015 New Zealand NBL season
League National Basketball League
Sport Basketball
Duration 1 April – 5 July
Number of games 18
Number of teams 8
Regular season
Minor premiers Southland Sharks
Season MVP Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints)
Top scorer Aaron Fuller (Taranaki Mountainairs)
Final Four
Champions Southland Sharks
  Runners-up Wellington Saints
Finals MVP Tai Wesley

The 2015 New Zealand National Basketball League season was the 34th running of the competition. 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 teams pulling out of the 2015 season, 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]

The 2015 pre-season tournament was held at the Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua on Saturday 21 March and Sunday 22 March.[2][3] The Wellington Saints were the only team to go undefeated over the two days, finishing with a win/loss record of 3–0.[4] The regular season commenced on Wednesday 1 April in Invercargill with the Southland Sharks hosting the Manawatu Jets at Stadium Southland.[5]

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.[6][7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

The teams for this season were: Canterbury Rams, Hawke's Bay Hawks, Manawatu Jets, Nelson Giants, Southland Sharks, Super City Rangers, Taranaki Mountainairs and Wellington Saints.[10]

Team information

Standings

# Regular Season Standings
Team W L PCT PTS
1 Southland Sharks 15 3 83 30
2 Nelson Giants 13 5 72 26
3 Wellington Saints 12 6 67 24
4 Super City Rangers 11 7 61 22
5 Canterbury Rams 9 9 50 18
6 Manawatu Jets 6 12 33 12
7 Hawke's Bay Hawks 6 12 33 12
8 Taranaki Mountainairs 0 18 0 0

Final Four

Semi-finals Grand 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

Round Player Team Ref
1 Lindsay Tait Wellington Saints [11]
2 Tai Wesley Southland Sharks [12]
Aaron Fuller Taranaki Mountainairs [12]
3 Torrey Craig Wellington Saints [13]
4 Suleiman Braimoh Hawke's Bay Hawks [14]
5 McKenzie Moore Nelson Giants [15]
6 McKenzie Moore Nelson Giants [16]
7 Tom Garlepp Super City Rangers [17]
8 Todd Blanchfield Southland Sharks [18]
9 Kevin Braswell Southland Sharks [19]
10 McKenzie Moore Nelson Giants [20]
11 Tai Wesley Southland Sharks [21]
Torrey Craig Wellington Saints [21]
12 Luke Aston Hawke's Bay Hawks [22]
13 Aaron Fuller Taranaki Mountainairs [23]

Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Aaron Fuller Taranaki Mountainairs 28.4
Rebounds per game Jeremiah Trueman Manawatu Jets 12.4
Assists per game Lindsay Tait Wellington Saints 8.9
Steals per game Chris Hagan Taranaki Mountainairs 2.7
Blocks per game Mickell Gladness Canterbury Rams 2.3

Regular season

Final Four

References

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