Location Nelson, New Zealand Main sponsor Mike Pero Real Estate Arena Trafalgar Centre Founded 1982 | Team colours Navy blue & white General manager Sharona Gordon Owner Nenad Vučinić Championships 3 (1994, 1998, 2007) | |
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League National Basketball League History Nelson Giants
1982–present Profiles | ||
Nelson giants v manawatu jets 2015
The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Mike Pero Nelson Giants.
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The Giants have won the three NBL championships in their history, with their first coming in 1994 before attaining two more in 1998 and 2007. They are the only remaining original team from the league's inaugural season, as all other teams have spent at least one year out of the league, for various reasons. Former Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vučinić is the owner and a former player, captain and coach of the Giants, winning championships as all four, the only person to do so.
Between 1982 and 2013, the Trafalgar Centre was the home of the Giants, but in early 2014, the venue was classified as earthquake prone. This forced the Giants to move to nearby Saxton Stadium for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The team returned to Trafalgar, or otherwise known as "the Hangar", for the 2016 season.
Team history
The Giants were one of eight foundation teams for the inaugural season of the National Basketball League (NBL). While they struggled to make an impact over the first eight seasons, the Giants were led by import Frank Smith, Kenny Stone and Nenad Vučinić. By 1990, the Giants made their first grand final appearance, which resulted in a 76–73 loss to the Canterbury Rams.
The mid-1990s marked the beginning of the Giants' halcyon era, as they played in seven grand finals between 1994 and 2004 and won two titles during that time, in 1994 and 1998. This era also marked the emergence of one of the greatest Giants of all-time, Phill Jones. Jones is a four-time Kiwi MVP, two-time Most Outstanding Guard, six-time Most Outstanding Kiwi Guard, and in 2016, he became the first player in NBL history to reach 400 games.
In 2007, import swingman Josh Pace helped lead the Giants to their third league title with an MVP season. 2007 also marked the final year of Ed Book's career. The Giants made two more grand final appearances in 2009 and 2013, both ending in runner-up finishes.