Otago Nuggets

CBL years

Otago basketball began with the inception of the Conference Basketball League (CBL) in 1981. Otago was the inaugural CBL champion, and went on to finish runners-up in 1983, claim a second championship in 1985, and finish runners-up again in 1986.

In 1988, legendary coach Tab Baldwin made his New Zealand coaching debut with Otago in a pre-season clash with the Canterbury Rams. Baldwin helped elevate Otago to the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1990.

NBL struggles

Between 1990 and 1997, the Nuggets made the NBL semi-finals three times (1991, '95 and '97), but never made it to the grand final. Following this early success, however, the Nuggets failed to make a playoff appearance in 15 straight seasons. Between 2001 and 2008, the Nuggets finished in last place every season bar 2003 (7th) and 2004 (9th, second last). They did have some individual success during this time though, with 2002 bringing in a Scoring Champion in Ron Grady, and 2006 bringing in a Rookie of the Year winner in Shaun Tilby and a Rebounding Champion in Miles Pearce.

Rock bottom

Despite hiring American head coach Don Simms for the 2008 season, the Nuggets finished with a 2–16 win/loss record for the second straight year. To make matter worse, guards Nat Connell and Steve Robinson were suspended mid-season for breaching the league's drug protocols.

In 2009, Basketball Otago pulled the Nuggets out of the league, citing financial concerns. The Nuggets returned to the NBL in 2010, albeit with a modest budget. In October 2009, Basketball Otago announced that a new partnership had been confirmed with OceanaGold, as the company became the principal sponsor for the franchise for the 2010 season, with the new name for Basketball Otago's NBL team being "OceanaGold Otago Nuggets". However, despite a fresh start, new sponsor, and new coach, the Nuggets once again struggled in 2010, finishing the season with a winless record (0–18), becoming just the third team in NBL history to finish a season without a win (joining the 1998 Northland Suns and the 2009 Taranaki Mountainairs).

On 21 May 2011, the Nuggets defeated the Manawatu Jets 74–67 to end the team's 33-game losing streak in the NBL. The Nuggets' last win before this game was also against the Jets, on 12 April 2008. They managed to win one more game in 2011, finishing the season in last place again with a 2–14 record.

Franchise turning point

The Nuggets showed signs of life in 2012 with imports Antoine Tisby and Akeem Wright, as they finished seventh on the ladder with six wins and ten losses, recording the team's best season since 2003.

In what was a turning point year for the team in 2012, the Nuggets went on to establish themselves as one of the teams to beat in 2013 as they won their first eight games and finished the regular season in second spot on the ladder with a 12–4 record. The Nuggets thus made the playoffs for the first time since 1997 with the help of B. J. Anthony, Antoine Tisby, Akeem Wright, Brendon Polyblank and Mark Dickel. The Nuggets faced the Nelson Giants in the semi-finals, where they were defeated 87–72, as the Giants moved on to face the Southland Sharks in the grand final. During the season, 15-year-old centre Sam Timmins became the youngest player to debut for the team since Mark Dickel did so in 1993 as a 16-year-old.

The Nuggets' demise

After losing B. J. Anthony during the off-season to the Wellington Saints, the Nuggets took a huge step back in 2014 as they missed the playoffs with a record of 7–11. Despite Mark Dickel leading them as player/coach, the Nuggets never got going as they had mid-season import changes, bringing in Brandon Bowdry for Troy Payne, and injury problems with Marques Whippy's season-ending Achilles injury following the first game of the season.

Shortly after Mark Dickel and Marques Whippy departed the team following a disappointing 2014 season, the Nuggets announced their decision to pull out of the 2015 season on 11 November 2014 due to financial reasons. In September 2015, Basketball Otago announced their decision to keep the Nuggets out of the NBL in 2016, looking instead to bringing them back in 2017. However, in September 2016, Basketball Otago opted not to apply for a position in the 2017 competition.