2023 New Zealand NBL season

The 2023 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League. For the third year in a row, the league fielded 10 teams.

2023 New Zealand NBL season
League	New Zealand NBL
Sport	Basketball
Duration	6 April – 23 July
Number of games	18
Number of teams	10
Regular season
Minor premiers	Auckland Tuatara
Season MVP	Robert Loe (Auckland Tuatara)
Top scorer	Jeremy Kendle (Southland Sharks)
Finals
Champions	Canterbury Rams
Runners-up	Auckland Tuatara
Grand Final MVP	Tevin Brown (Canterbury Rams)

The regular season commenced on 6 April in Pukekohe, with the Franklin Bulls hosting the Hawke's Bay Hawks at Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre, and contained 15 weeks followed by a four-day finals schedule in July.^[1][2]

Team information

Team	City	Arena	Colours	Head Coach	Import	Import	Import
Auckland Tuatara	Auckland	Eventfinda Stadium		Aaron Young	Cameron Gliddon	Joe Lawson	Jarrad Weeks
Canterbury Rams	Christchurch	Cowles Stadium		Judd Flavell	Troy Baxter Jr.	Tevin Brown	Galin Smith
Franklin Bulls	Auckland	Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre		Daniel Sokolovsky	Jamaal Brantley	Rickey McGill	Jared Wilson-Frame
Hawke's Bay Hawks	Napier	Pettigrew Green Arena		Everard Bartlett	Ira Lee	Bryce McBride
Manawatu Jets	Palmerston North	Arena Manawatu		Natu Taufale	Javion Blake	Mustapha Heron	Danny Pippen
Nelson Giants	Nelson	Trafalgar Centre		Michael Fitchett	Matur Maker	Avery Woodson
Otago Nuggets	Dunedin	Edgar Centre		Brent Matehaere	Michael Harris	JaQuori McLaughlin	Todd Withers
Southland Sharks	Invercargill	Stadium Southland		Guy Molloy	Grant Anticevich	Josh Cunningham	Jeremy Kendle
Taranaki Airs	New Plymouth	TSB Stadium		Trent Adam	Anthony Hilliard	Armon Fletcher	Kendrick Ray
Wellington Saints	Wellington	TSB Bank Arena		Troy McLean	Kyle Adnam	Isaiah Mucius	Elijah Thomas

Summary

Regular season standings

Pos	Team	W	L	Qualification
1	Auckland Tuatara	13	5	Semi Finals
2	Otago Nuggets	12	6
3	Canterbury Rams	12	6	Preliminary Finals
4	Franklin Bulls	12	6
5	Wellington Saints	9	9
6	Hawke's Bay Hawks	8	10
7	Taranaki Airs	7	11
8	Southland Sharks	6	12
9	Nelson Giants	6	12
10	Manawatu Jets	5	13

Source: NZNBL

Finals

	Preliminary Finals					Semi Finals					Final
						1	Auckland Tuatara	92
	4	Franklin Bulls	124			4	Franklin Bulls	67
	5	Wellington Saints	104									Auckland Tuatara	82
												Canterbury Rams	93
						2	Otago Nuggets	103
	3	Canterbury Rams	103			3	Canterbury Rams	114
	6	Hawke's Bay Hawks	95

Awards

Performance of the Week

Round	Player	Team	Ref
1	Danny Pippen	Manawatu Jets	[3]
2	Tai Wynyard	Canterbury Rams	[4]
3	Walter Brown	Canterbury Rams	[5]
4	Jeremy Kendle	Southland Sharks	[6]
5	Kyle Adnam	Wellington Saints	[7]
6	JaQuori McLaughlin	Otago Nuggets	[8]
7	JaQuori McLaughlin	Otago Nuggets	[9]
8	Troy Baxter Jr.	Canterbury Rams	[10]
9	Kyle Adnam	Wellington Saints	[11]
10	Jeremy Kendle	Southland Sharks	[12]
11	Robert Loe	Auckland Tuatara	[13]
12	Dan Fotu	Franklin Bulls	[14]
13	Avery Woodson	Nelson Giants	[15][16]
14	Jeremy Kendle	Southland Sharks	[17]
15	Jordan Ngatai	Hawke's Bay Hawks	[18][19]

Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season^[20][21]

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	Jeremy Kendle	Southland Sharks	24.6
Rebounds per game	Robert Loe	Auckland Tuatara	11.5
Assists per game	Jeremy Kendle	Southland Sharks	8.9
Steals per game	Rickey McGill	Franklin Bulls	2.5
Blocks per game	Robert Loe	Auckland Tuatara	2.1

Regular season

• Most Valuable Player: Robert Loe (Auckland Tuatara)^[22][23]
• Most Outstanding Guard: Jarrad Weeks (Auckland Tuatara)
• Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Derone Raukawa (Hawke's Bay Hawks)
• Most Outstanding Forward: Robert Loe (Auckland Tuatara)
• Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Robert Loe (Auckland Tuatara)
• Scoring Champion: Jeremy Kendle (Southland Sharks)
• Rebounding Champion: Robert Loe (Auckland Tuatara)
• Assist Champion: Jeremy Kendle (Southland Sharks)
• Most Improved Player: Charlie Dalton (Auckland Tuatara)
• Defensive Player of the Year: Robert Loe (Auckland Tuatara)
• Youth Player of the Year: Walter Brown (Canterbury Rams)
• Coach of the Year: Aaron Young (Auckland Tuatara)^[24]
• All-Star Five:
  • G: Jeremy Kendle (Southland Sharks)
  • G: Jarrad Weeks (Auckland Tuatara)
  • F: Tevin Brown (Canterbury Rams)
  • F: Todd Withers (Otago Nuggets)
  • C: Robert Loe (Auckland Tuatara)

Finals

• Grand Final MVP: Tevin Brown (Canterbury Rams)^[25][26]