2018 New Zealand NBL season
| 2018 New Zealand NBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | New Zealand NBL | 
| Sport | Basketball | 
| Duration | 26 April – 5 August | 
| Number of games | 18 | 
| Number of teams | 8 | 
| Regular season | |
| Minor premiers | Wellington Saints | 
| Season MVP | Shea Ili (Wellington Saints) | 
| Top scorer | Daishon Knight (Manawatu Jets) | 
| Final Four | |
| Champions | Southland Sharks | 
| Runners-up | Wellington Saints | 
| Finals MVP | Reuben Te Rangi | 
The 2018 NBL season was the 37th season of the National Basketball League. In 2018, the league welcomed back the Manawatu Jets after a two-season hiatus.
The regular season commenced on Thursday 26 April in Napier with the Hawke's Bay Hawks hosting the Southland Sharks at Pettigrew Green Arena.[1] The season contained 14 weeks of regular season games followed by a Final Four weekend in August. The competition included a one-week international break, from 25 June to 1 July, and started later than normal due to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.[2]
Team information
| Team | City | Arena | Colours | Head coach | Import | Import | Import | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury Rams | Christchurch | Cowles Stadium | |||||
| Hawke's Bay Hawks | Napier | Pettigrew Green Arena | |||||
| Manawatu Jets | Palmerston North | Arena Manawatu | |||||
| Nelson Giants | Nelson | Trafalgar Centre | |||||
| Southland Sharks | Invercargill | Stadium Southland | |||||
| Super City Rangers | Auckland | The Trusts Arena | |||||
| Taranaki Mountainairs | New Plymouth | TSB Stadium | |||||
| Wellington Saints | Wellington | TSB Bank Arena | 
Summary
Regular season standings
| Pos | Team | W | L | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wellington Saints | 15 | 3 | Final Four | 
| 2 | Nelson Giants | 14 | 4 | |
| 3 | Southland Sharks | 13 | 5 | |
| 4 | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 12 | 6 | |
| 5 | Canterbury Rams | 8 | 10 | |
| 6 | Super City Rangers | 4 | 14 | |
| 7 | Taranaki Mountainairs | 3 | 15 | |
| 8 | Manawatu Jets | 3 | 15 | 
Final Four
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Wellington Saints | 99 | |||||||
| 4 | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 73 | |||||||
| Wellington Saints | 96 | ||||||||
| Southland Sharks | 98 | ||||||||
| 2 | Nelson Giants | 93 | |||||||
| 3 | Southland Sharks | 98 | |||||||
Awards
Player of the Week
| Round | Player | Team | Ref | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Javonte Douglas | Taranaki Mountainairs | [3] | 
| 2 | Kyle Adnam | Nelson Giants | [4] | 
| 3 | Kuran Iverson | Manawatu Jets | [5] | 
| 4 | Winston Shepard | Canterbury Rams | [6] | 
| 5 | Shea Ili | Wellington Saints | [7] | 
| 6 | Ethan Rusbatch | Hawke's Bay Hawks | [8] | 
| 7 | Shea Ili | Wellington Saints | [9] | 
| 8 | Julian Washburn | Canterbury Rams | [10] | 
| 9 | Lindsay Tait | Super City Rangers | [11] | 
| 10 | |||
| 11 | Finn Delany | Nelson Giants | [12] | 
| 12 | Daishon Knight | Manawatu Jets | [13] | 
| 13 | Orlando Coleman | Southland Sharks | [14] | 
| 14 | Dominique Kelman-Poto | Super City Rangers | [15] | 
Statistics leaders
Stats as of the end of the regular season[16]
| Category | Player | Team | Stat | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Daishon Knight | Manawatu Jets | 28.9 | 
| Rebounds per game | Kuran Iverson | Manawatu Jets | 11.1 | 
| Assists per game | Lindsay Tait | Super City Rangers | 7.6 | 
| Steals per game | Winston Shepard | Canterbury Rams | 2.3 | 
| Blocks per game | Xavier Smith | Taranaki Mountainairs | 1.7 | 
Regular season
- Most Valuable Player: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints)[17][18]
 - NZ Most Valuable Player: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints)
 - Most Outstanding Guard: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints)
 - Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints)
 - Most Outstanding Forward: Finn Delany (Nelson Giants)
 - Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Finn Delany (Nelson Giants)
 - Scoring Champion: Daishon Knight (Manawatu Jets)
 - Rebounding Champion: Kuran Iverson (Manawatu Jets)
 - Assist Champion: Lindsay Tait (Super City Rangers)
 - Rookie of the Year: Max Darling (Canterbury Rams)
 - Coach of the Year: Jamie Pearlman (Nelson Giants)
 - All-Star Five:
- G: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints)
 - G: Jarrad Weeks (Southland Sharks)
 - F: Winston Shepard (Canterbury Rams)
 - F: Finn Delany (Nelson Giants)
 - C: Angus Brandt (Hawke's Bay Hawks)
 
 
Final Four
- Finals MVP: Reuben Te Rangi (Southland Sharks)[19]
 
References
- ^ "NZ NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE DRAW ANNOUNCED FOR 2018". nz.basketball. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
 - ^ Eade, Shaun (19 December 2017). "Plenty of challengers for Saints' NBL unbeaten run as 2018 NBL draw revealed". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
 - ^ "2018 Sals NBL Round Two Media Guide" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Round Three" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Round Four" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Round Five" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Round Six" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Round Seven" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Round Eight" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Round Nine" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Week 11" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Round 12" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
 - ^ "2018 Sals National Basketball League Media Guide Round 13" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
 - ^ "2018 National Basketball League Media Guide Round 14" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
 - ^ "2018 Sals National Basketball League Final Four Media Guide" (PDF). nznbl.basketball. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
 - ^ "2018 NBL Regular Season Leaders". Twitter. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
 - ^ "ILI CLAIMS MVP, DELANY FORWARD OF THE YEAR". nznbl.basketball. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
 - ^ O'Connell, Tim (9 August 2018). "Season goals reached as Nelson Giants net national nods". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 August 2018. 
Administrator/Management of the Year: Bill Dahlberg and Julie Bensemann (Mike Pero Nelson Giants)
 - ^ "SHARKS CLAIM THIRD TITLE WITH GUTSY WIN OVER DEFENDING CHAMPION SAINTS". nznbl.basketball. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.