# 2018 New Zealand NBL season

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. 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.

## Team information

| Team | City | Arena | Head coach | Import | Import | Import |
| Canterbury Rams | Christchurch | Cowles Stadium | Mark Dickel | Winston Shepard | Xavier Thames | Julian Washburn |
| Hawke's Bay Hawks | Napier | Pettigrew Green Arena | Zico Coronel | Angus Brandt | Jamie Skeen | |
| Manawatu Jets | Palmerston North | Arena Manawatu | Tim McTamney | Kuran Iverson | Daishon Knight | Brandon Lucas |
| Nelson Giants | Nelson | Trafalgar Centre | Jamie Pearlman | Kyle Adnam | Jerry Evans Jr. | Damon Heuir |
| Southland Sharks | Invercargill | Stadium Southland | Judd Flavell | Orlando Coleman | Conor Morgan | Jarrad Weeks |
| Super City Rangers | Auckland | The Trusts Arena | Jeff Green | Okesene Ale | Clayton Wilson | |
| Taranaki Mountainairs | New Plymouth | TSB Stadium | Trent Adam | Javonte Douglas | Xavier Smith | Roger Woods |
| Wellington Saints | Wellington | TSB Bank Arena | Kevin Braswell | Shaun Bruce | Majok Majok | L. J. Peak |

## Summary
### Regular season standings

| Pos | Team | W | L | Qualification |
| 1 | Wellington Saints | 15 | 3 | Final Four |
| 2 | Nelson Giants | 14 | 4 | Final Four |
| 3 | Southland Sharks | 13 | 5 | Final Four |
| 4 | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 12 | 6 | Final Four |
| 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 | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 1 | Wellington Saints | 99 | | |
| 4 | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 73 | | |
| 4 | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 73 | Wellington Saints | 96 |
| | | | Southland Sharks | 98 |
| 2 | Nelson Giants | 93 | Southland Sharks | 98 |
| 3 | Southland Sharks | 98 | | |

## Awards
### Player of the Week

| Round | Player | Team |
| 1 | Javonte Douglas | Taranaki Mountainairs |
| 2 | Kyle Adnam | Nelson Giants |
| 3 | Kuran Iverson | Manawatu Jets |
| 4 | Winston Shepard | Canterbury Rams |
| 5 | Shea Ili | Wellington Saints |
| 6 | Ethan Rusbatch | Hawke's Bay Hawks |
| 7 | Shea Ili | Wellington Saints |
| 8 | Julian Washburn | Canterbury Rams |
| 9 | Lindsay Tait | Super City Rangers |
| 10 | | |
| 11 | Finn Delany | Nelson Giants |
| 12 | Daishon Knight | Manawatu Jets |
| 13 | Orlando Coleman | Southland Sharks |
| 14 | Dominique Kelman-Poto | Super City Rangers |

### Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season
| 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)
* 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)