Neha Patil (Editor)

2015 New Zealand NBL season

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Sport
  
Basketball

Number of games
  
18

Minor premiers
  
Duration
  
1 April – 5 July

Number of teams
  
8

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.

Contents

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

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. 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.

The Final Four weekend was held in Wellington, with the semi-finals on Saturday 4 July, followed by the grand final on Sunday 5 July.

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.

Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season

Regular season

  • Most Valuable Player: Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints)
  • NZ Most Valuable Player: Lindsay Tait (Wellington Saints)
  • Regular Season Winners: Southland Sharks (15–3)
  • Keith Carr Trophy – Most Outstanding Guard: Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints)
  • John Macdonald Trophy – Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Lindsay Tait (Wellington Saints)
  • Commissioners Cup – Most Outstanding Forward: Tai Wesley (Southland Sharks)
  • Stan Hill Trophy – Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Josh Duinker (Nelson Giants)
  • Garry Pettis Memorial Trophy – Leading Individual Rebounder: Jeremiah Trueman (12.4) (Manawatu Jets)
  • Dave Taylor Trophy – Leading Assists: Lindsay Tait (8.9) (Wellington Saints)
  • Leading Scorer: Aaron Fuller (28.4) (Taranaki Mountainairs)
  • Nial Forsyth Trophy – Best Team Free Throws: Nelson Giants
  • Rookie of the Year: Josh Duinker (Nelson Giants)
  • Coach of the Year: Paul Henare (Southland Sharks)
  • Referee of the Year: Tim Brown (Auckland)
  • Media Award: Logan Savory (Southland Times)
  • All-Star Five:
  • G: McKenzie Moore (Nelson Giants)
  • G: Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints)
  • F: Todd Blanchfield (Southland Sharks)
  • F: Tai Wesley (Southland Sharks)
  • C: Aaron Fuller (Taranaki Mountainairs)
  • Final Four

  • Final Four MVP: Tai Wesley (Southland Sharks)
  • References

    2015 New Zealand NBL season Wikipedia


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