# 2015 New Zealand NBL season

The 2015 NBL season was the 34th season of the National Basketball League. The season draw was supposed to be released in December 2014, but the withdrawal of Otago and Waikato prompted a rethink for the 2015 competition format. In the past, each team played each other twice in a 10-team competition, meaning each franchise had nine home games. However, with two fewer teams in 2015, it was decided the new format would be played over two and half rounds to keep incomes at a similar rate for the remaining sides. Each team was scheduled to play each other twice and play three of the sides in a third game.
The 2015 pre-season tournament was held at the Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua on Saturday 21 March and Sunday 22 March. The Wellington Saints were the only team to go undefeated over the two days, finishing with a 3–0 record. The regular season commenced on Wednesday 1 April in Invercargill with the Southland Sharks hosting the Manawatu Jets at Stadium Southland.
In the regular-season finale on Sunday 28 June, Taranaki Mountainairs import Aaron Fuller set the National Basketball League record for points scored in a game. With 54 points, Fuller broke John Whorton's record of 50 points, which was set in 2003. Despite Fuller's 54 points and 19 rebounds, the Mountainairs lost to the Super City Rangers to finish the season with a winless record (0–18). The 2015 Mountainairs side joined the 1998 Northland Suns, 2009 Mountainairs and 2010 Otago Nuggets as the only sides in NBL history to go an entire season without a win.
The Final Four weekend was held in Wellington for the fourth time in five years, with the semifinals on Saturday 4 July, followed by the championship game on Sunday 5 July.

## Team information

| Team | City | Arena | Head coach | Import | Import |
| Canterbury Rams | Christchurch | Cowles Stadium | Mark Dickel | Mickell Gladness | Jermaine Taylor |
| Hawke's Bay Hawks | Napier | Pettigrew Green Arena | Paora Winitana | Zack Atkinson | Suleiman Braimoh |
| Manawatu Jets | Palmerston North | Arena Manawatu | Darron Larsen | Dion Harris | Brandon Jenkins |
| Nelson Giants | Nelson | Saxton Stadium | Tim Fanning | McKenzie Moore | DeRonn Scott |
| Southland Sharks | Invercargill | Stadium Southland | Paul Henare | Todd Blanchfield | Kevin Braswell |
| Super City Rangers | Auckland | Otara Recreation Centre | Jeff Green | Jason Cadee | Tom Garlepp |
| Taranaki Mountainairs | New Plymouth | TSB Stadium | Daryn Shaw | Aaron Fuller | Chris Hagan |
| Wellington Saints | Wellington | TSB Bank Arena | Pero Cameron | Torrey Craig | Daniel Johnson |

## Summary
### Regular season standings

| Pos |
| Pos | Team | W | L |
| 1 | Southland Sharks | 15 | 3 |
| 2 | Nelson Giants | 13 | 5 |
| 3 | Wellington Saints | 12 | 6 |
| 4 | Super City Rangers | 11 | 7 |
| 5 | Canterbury Rams | 9 | 9 |
| 6 | Manawatu Jets | 6 | 12 |
| 7 | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 6 | 12 |
| 8 | Taranaki Mountainairs | 0 | 18 |

### Final Four

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 1 | Southland Sharks | 95 | | |
| 4 | Super City Rangers | 80 | | |
| 4 | Super City Rangers | 80 | Southland Sharks | 72 |
| | | | Wellington Saints | 68 |
| 2 | Nelson Giants | 85 | Wellington Saints | 68 |
| 3 | Wellington Saints | 97 | | |

## Awards
### Player of the Week

| Round | Player | Team |
| 1 | Lindsay Tait | Wellington Saints |
| 2 | Tai Wesley | Southland Sharks |
| 2 | Aaron Fuller | Taranaki Mountainairs |
| 3 | Torrey Craig | Wellington Saints |
| 4 | Suleiman Braimoh | Hawke's Bay Hawks |
| 5 | McKenzie Moore | Nelson Giants |
| 6 | McKenzie Moore | Nelson Giants |
| 7 | Tom Garlepp | Super City Rangers |
| 8 | Todd Blanchfield | Southland Sharks |
| 9 | Kevin Braswell | Southland Sharks |
| 10 | McKenzie Moore | Nelson Giants |
| 11 | Tai Wesley | Southland Sharks |
| 11 | Torrey Craig | Wellington Saints |
| 12 | Luke Aston | Hawke's Bay Hawks |
| 13 | Aaron Fuller | Taranaki Mountainairs |

### Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points per game | Aaron Fuller | Taranaki Mountainairs | 28.4 |
| Rebounds per game | Jeremiah Trueman | Manawatu Jets | 12.4 |
| Assists per game | Lindsay Tait | Wellington Saints | 8.9 |
| Steals per game | Chris Hagan | Taranaki Mountainairs | 2.7 |
| Blocks per game | Mickell Gladness | Canterbury Rams | 2.3 |

### Regular season

* Most Valuable Player: Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints)
* NZ Most Valuable Player: Lindsay Tait (Wellington Saints)
* Most Outstanding Guard: Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints)
* Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Lindsay Tait (Wellington Saints)
* Most Outstanding Forward: Tai Wesley (Southland Sharks)
* Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Josh Duinker (Nelson Giants)
* Scoring Champion: Aaron Fuller (Taranaki Mountainairs)
* Rebounding Champion: Jeremiah Trueman (Manawatu Jets)
* Assist Champion: Lindsay Tait (Wellington Saints)
* Rookie of the Year: Josh Duinker (Nelson Giants)
* Coach of the Year: Paul Henare (Southland Sharks)
* All-Star Five:
** G: McKenzie Moore (Nelson Giants)
** G: Torrey Craig (Wellington Saints)
** F: Todd Blanchfield (Southland Sharks)
** F: Tai Wesley (Southland Sharks)
** C: Aaron Fuller (Taranaki Mountainairs)

### Final Four

* Finals MVP: Tai Wesley (Southland Sharks)