2025 New Zealand NBL season
| 2025 New Zealand NBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | New Zealand NBL |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | 12 March – 20 July |
| Number of games | 20 |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| Regular season | |
| Minor premiers | Wellington Saints |
| Season MVP | TBD |
| Top scorer | Jeremy Combs (Nelson Giants) |
| Finals | |
| Champions | TBD |
| Runners-up | TBD |
| Grand Final MVP | TBD |
The 2025 NBL season is the 44th season of the National Basketball League. The competition increased to 12 teams in 2025 with the debut of the Indian Panthers, but later decreased to 11 teams in May following the withdrawal of the Panthers.
The 2025 season saw the pre-season blitz return,[1] followed by the regular season starting on 12 March.[2] The finals will take place from 9 to 20 July.[3]
Team information
Mid-season withdrawal
| Team | City | Arena | Colours | Head Coach | Import | Import | Import |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Panthers | Auckland | Pulman Arena | Jonathan Goodman | Shengzhe Li |
Summary
On 1 May 2025, the Indian Panthers were suspended from the 2025 season with immediate effective, following the team's failure to take the court for their 29 April game against the Canterbury Rams.[4] On 9 May, the league postponed the Panthers' scheduled games for 14 May against the Southland Sharks and 16 May against the Otago Nuggets.[5] On 19 May, the Panthers' 20 May game against the Tauranga Whai was postponed.[6] On 22 May, the Panthers officially withdrew from the NBL due to not being in a position to meet the requirements of the league to complete the season for a variety of reasons. As a result of the Panthers withdrawal, the NBL advised that the 2025 season would be completed with 11 teams and that all results from the nine games played by the Panthers would be removed entirely.[7] The Panthers had a 0–9 record at the time of their withdrawal.[8]
Regular season standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wellington Saints | 20 | 16 | 4 | Semi Finals |
| 2 | Canterbury Rams | 20 | 15 | 5 | |
| 3 | Taranaki Airs | 20 | 12 | 8 | Play-in |
| 4 | Southland Sharks | 20 | 12 | 8 | |
| 5 | Auckland Tuatara | 20 | 10 | 10 | |
| 6 | Tauranga Whai | 20 | 9 | 11 | |
| 7 | Franklin Bulls | 20 | 9 | 11 | |
| 8 | Manawatu Jets | 20 | 9 | 11 | |
| 9 | Nelson Giants | 20 | 8 | 12 | |
| 10 | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 20 | 7 | 13 | |
| 11 | Otago Nuggets | 20 | 3 | 17 | |
| 12 | Indian Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrawn |
Finals
| Play-In Matches | Semi Finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Wellington Saints | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Taranaki Airs | 67 | 6 | Tauranga Whai | ||||||||||
| 6 | Tauranga Whai | 83 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Canterbury Rams | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Southland Sharks | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Auckland Tuatara | |||||||||||||
Awards
Statistics leaders
Stats as of the end of the regular season[9][10][11]
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Jeremy Combs | Nelson Giants | 24.4 |
| Rebounds per game | Josiah Allick | Southland Sharks | 11.1 |
| Assists per game | Caleb Asberry | Southland Sharks | 7.3 |
| Steals per game | Quinton Rose | Manawatu Jets | 3.7 |
| Blocks per game | Nick Muszynski | Wellington Saints | 2.7 |
Regular season
- Most Valuable Player: TBD
- Most Outstanding Guard: TBD
- Most Outstanding NZ Guard: TBD
- Most Outstanding Forward: TBD
- Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: TBD
- Scoring Champion: Jeremy Combs (Nelson Giants)
- Rebounding Champion: Josiah Allick (Southland Sharks)
- Assist Champion: Caleb Asberry (Southland Sharks)
- Most Improved Player: TBD
- Defensive Player of the Year: TBD
- Youth Player of the Year: TBD
- Coach of the Year: TBD
- All-Star Five:
- G: TBD
- G: TBD
- F: TBD
- F: TBD
- C: TBD
Finals
- Grand Final MVP: TBD
References
- ^ "NBL Blitz Returns to the West Coast, Bigger and Better in '25". nznbl.basketball. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ "Sal's NBL 2025 Schedule Unveiled". nznbl.basketball. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ "NBL 2025 Schedule" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ "Indian Panthers Suspended". nznbl.basketball. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ^ "Indian Panthers Update". nznbl.basketball. 9 May 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
- ^ "Indian Panthers Game Postponed". nznbl.basketball. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
- ^ Frank, Casey (22 May 2025). "Indian Panthers Withdraw From National Basketball League". NZNBL. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ Hinton, Marc (22 May 2025). "Indian Panthers withdraw from New Zealand NBL, unable to meet conditions to continue". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ "STAT LEADERS AFTER ROUND 16". facebook.com/NZNBL. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
- ^ "Competition Stats". nznbl.basketball. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025.
- ^ "Leaders". nznbl.basketball. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025.
External links
- 2025 schedule
- "NBL rosters filling up as season approaches" at nzsportswire.com
- 2025 Trade Window