2012 New Zealand NBL season

The 2012 NBL season was the 31st season of the National Basketball League. While the Harbour Heat returned for the 2012 season, the Waikato Pistons dropped out of the league. It marked the first time the league had no Waikato presence since 1983.

2012 New Zealand NBL season
League	New Zealand NBL
Sport	Basketball
Duration	1 March – 27 May
Number of games	16
Number of teams	9
Regular season
Minor premiers	Hawke's Bay Hawks
Season MVP	Nick Horvath (Manawatu Jets)
Top scorer	Josh Pace (Manawatu Jets)
Final Four
Champions	Auckland Pirates
Runners-up	Wellington Saints
Finals MVP	Alex Pledger

The Hawke's Bay Hawks were regular season winners in 2012.^[1] The final Four weekend was held in Wellington, with the semifinals on Saturday 26 May, followed by the championship game on Sunday 27 May. In the final, the Auckland Pirates were victorious over the two-time defending champion Wellington Saints.

Team information

Team	City	Arena	Head coach	Import	Import
Auckland Pirates	Kohimarama, Auckland	ASB Stadium	Judd Flavell	Ron Dorsey	Isma'il Muhammad
Harbour Heat	Wairau Valley, Auckland	North Shore Events Centre	Alex Stojkovic	Zack Atkinson	Justin Bailey
Hawke's Bay Hawks	Napier	Pettigrew Green Arena	Paul Henare	Kareem Johnson	Galen Young
Manawatu Jets	Palmerston North	Arena Manawatu	Ryan Weisenberg	Chris Hagan	Josh Pace
Nelson Giants	Nelson	Trafalgar Centre	Chris Tupu	Pete Campbell	Michael Harrison
Otago Nuggets	Dunedin	Edgar Centre	Anthony Arlidge	Antoine Tisby	Akeem Wright
Southland Sharks	Invercargill	Stadium Southland	Richard Dickel	Larry Abney	Kevin Braswell
Taranaki Mountainairs	New Plymouth	TSB Stadium	Dave Bublitz	Darryl Hudson	Jack Leasure
Wellington Saints	Wellington	TSB Bank Arena	Pero Cameron	Jason Crowe	Ernest Scott

Summary

Regular season standings

Pos
	Team	W	L
1	Hawke's Bay Hawks	13	3
2	Auckland Pirates	13	3
3	Manawatu Jets	10	6
4	Wellington Saints	9	7
5	Taranaki Mountainairs	7	9
6	Nelson Giants	6	10
7	Otago Nuggets	6	10
8	Southland Sharks	5	11
9	Harbour Heat	3	13

Final Four

	Semi-finals					Final
	1	Hawke's Bay Hawks	88
	4	Wellington Saints	94
							Wellington Saints	83
							Auckland Pirates	89
	2	Auckland Pirates	104
	3	Manawatu Jets	88

Awards

Player of the Week

Round	Player	Team	Ref
1	Akeem Wright	Otago Nuggets	[2]
2	Jason Crowe	Wellington Saints	[2]
3	Nick Horvath	Manawatu Jets	[2]
4	Lindsay Tait	Auckland Pirates	[2]
5	Anthony Gurley	Wellington Saints	[2]
6	Antoine Tisby	Otago Nuggets	[2]
7	Jack Leasure	Taranaki Mountainairs	[2]
8	Lindsay Tait	Auckland Pirates	[2]
9	Darryl Hudson	Taranaki Mountainairs	[2]
10	Justin Bailey	Harbour Heat	[3]
11	Jason Crowe	Wellington Saints	[4]
12	Larry Abney	Southland Sharks	[2]

Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season^[5]

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	Josh Pace	Manawatu Jets	23.0
Rebounds per game	Nick Horvath	Manawatu Jets	15.8
Assists per game	Jason Crowe	Wellington Saints	8.7
Steals per game	Kevin Braswell	Southland Sharks	3.0
Blocks per game	Michael Harrison	Nelson Giants	2.1

Regular season

• Most Valuable Player: Nick Horvath (Manawatu Jets)^[6]
• NZ Most Valuable Player: Nick Horvath (Manawatu Jets)
• Most Outstanding Guard: Lindsay Tait (Auckland Pirates)
• Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Lindsay Tait (Auckland Pirates)
• Most Outstanding Forward: Nick Horvath (Manawatu Jets)
• Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Nick Horvath (Manawatu Jets)
• Scoring Champion: Josh Pace (Manawatu Jets)
• Rebounding Champion: Nick Horvath (Manawatu Jets)
• Assist Champion: Jason Crowe (Wellington Saints)
• Rookie of the Year: Reuben Te Rangi (Harbour Heat)
• Coach of the Year: Paul Henare (Hawke's Bay Hawks)
• All-Star Five:
  • G: Lindsay Tait (Auckland Pirates)
  • G: Paora Winitana (Hawke's Bay Hawks)
  • F: Josh Pace (Manawatu Jets)
  • F: Antoine Tisby (Otago Nuggets)
  • C: Nick Horvath (Manawatu Jets)

Final Four

• Finals MVP: Alex Pledger (Auckland Pirates)^[7][8][9]