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Story: Basketball

Men's league winners

NBL champion   Year Runner-up
Auckland Rebels 1982 Waitemata Dolphins
1983 Wellington Saints
Wellington Saints 1984 Auckland Rebels
1985 Auckland Rebels
Canterbury Rams 1986 Wellington Saints
Wellington Saints 1987 Canterbury Rams
1988 North Harbour Vikings
Canterbury Rams 1989 Auckland Rebels
1990 Nelson Giants
Hutt Valley Lakers 1991 Wellington Saints
Canterbury Rams 1992 Palmerston North Jets
Hutt Valley Lakers 1993 Canterbury Rams
Nelson Giants 1994 Canterbury Rams
Auckland Rebels 1995 Hawke’s Bay Hawks
1996 Nelson Giants
1997 Nelson Giants
Nelson Giants 1998 North Harbour Kings
Auckland Rebels 1999 Canterbury Rams
2000 Nelson Giants
Waikato Titans 2001 Wellington Saints
2002 Nelson Giants
Wellington Saints 2003 Waikato Pistons
Auckland Stars 2004 Nelson Giants
2005 Hawke's Bay Hawks
Hawke's Bay Hawks 2006 Auckland Stars
Nelson Giants 2007 Hawke's Bay Hawks
Waikato Pistons 2008 Wellington Saints
2009 Nelson Giants
Wellington Saints 2010 Waikato Pistons
2011 Hawke's Bay Hawks
Auckland Pirates 2012 Wellington Saints
Southland Sharks 2013 Nelson Giants
Wellington Saints 2014 Hawke’s Bay Hawks
Southland Sharks 2015 Wellington Saints

In 1981 a group of club and provincial teams came together to create a men's national basketball league. The following year the league was brought under the management of the New Zealand Basketball Federation. The regionally based league has waxed and waned in popularity with the general public. This table lists the national title winners.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: National Basketball League (New Zealand)

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How to cite this page

John Saker, Basketball – Fall and rise, 1990s onwards, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/diagram/39895/mens-league-winners (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Saker, published 3 December 2012, updated 1 October 2015.