The New Zealand basketball leagues are set to introduce new teams in 2025, which will be backed by owners of the Indian National Basketball League (INBL).
The men’s (NBL) and women’s (Tauihi) competitions are set to include new teams backed by the INBL, and would allow some of the best players from India to play in NZ, while also allowing for imports and Kiwi players to also make the rosters.
Former NBL general manager Justin Nelson was behind the idea and told the NBL and Tauihi teams about the proposed expansion earlier this week.
Nelson currently headed Sky NZ’s basketball league management team and said the partnership would offer the national basketball competitions exposure to a new audience.
"India is the most populated country in the world, so the chance to take New Zealand basketball to more than 1.4 billion new fans is an incredible opportunity," said Nelson.
"Basing the INBL-owned franchises in New Zealand would also open our leagues to new fans in Aotearoa NZ where more than 300,000 people of Indian ethnicity live."
BBNZ chief executive Dillon Boucher said the proposal was exciting because it could generate exposure for New Zealand’s local leagues to a global market.
INBL chief executive Parveen Batish said the potential move to New Zealand created new opportunities to grow basketball in India.
"Playing in these two strong New Zealand leagues will help create aspirational pathways for Indian players, which will drive participation and engagement across India," said Batish.
"Indian ballers need increased opportunities to play in high-quality leagues. By operating teams in New Zealand in partnership with BBNZ, we will give our athletes and coaches the chance to learn modern skills of game preparation, scouting, game adjustment and individual skills. It will also give them a platform to demonstrate their skills to a wider international audience."
There were currently 11 teams in the NBL and five in the Tauihi competition, which was founded in late 2021.
Sky’s chief content and commercial officer, Jonny Errington, is keen to back the innovative project and supports the initiative of BBNZ to widen its reach to audiences overseas.
With a memorandum of understanding between BBNZ and INBL in place, the two parties were now in the process of finalising participation agreements with the INBL-owned teams. The parties were optimistic the deal could be done in the next 3-4 weeks.
The 2025 competitions were due to commence in March for the men and October for the women.
The men's NBL was currently heading into their playoffs with the Wellington Saints hosting the Franklin Bulls tonight for a place in the semifinals.
Last season's champions the Canterbury Rams take on the Taranaki Airs on Sunday in the first semifinal while the Auckland Tuatara would face the winner of the Saints v Bulls match. This season's champion would be crowned next Sunday in the grand final.
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