2002 New Zealand NBL season
# 2002 New Zealand NBL season

The 2002 NBL season was the 21st season of the National Basketball League. Two name changes occurred heading into the 2002 season, with Palmerston North now called Manawatu, and North Harbour now called Harbour. The Waikato Titans won the championship in 2002 to claim their second league title. In the final, Titans' forward Dillon Boucher made two free throws with 1.7 seconds to lift Waikato over the Nelson Giants 85–83.

## Summary

### Regular season standings

| Pos |
| - |
| Pos | Team | W | L |
| 1 | Nelson Giants | 11 | 5 |
| 2 | Waikato Titans | 11 | 5 |
| 3 | Canterbury Rams | 11 | 5 |
| 4 | Manawatu Jets | 9 | 7 |
| 5 | Wellington Saints | 7 | 9 |
| 6 | Auckland Stars | 7 | 9 |
| 7 | Harbour Kings | 6 | 10 |
| 8 | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 5 | 11 |
| 9 | Otago Nuggets | 5 | 11 |

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Nelson Giants | 83 | | |
| 4 | Manawatu Jets | 64 | | |
| 4 | Manawatu Jets | 64 | Nelson Giants | 83 |
| | | | Waikato Titans | 85 |
| 2 | Waikato Titans | 91 | Waikato Titans | 85 |
| 3 | Canterbury Rams | 81 | | |

## Awards

### Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| - | - | - | - |
| Points per game | Ron Grady | Otago Nuggets | 25.1 |
| Rebounds per game | John Whorton | Canterbury Rams | 13.4 |
| Assists per game | Carlo Varricchio | Canterbury Rams | 5.3 |
| Steals per game | Prem Krishna | Waikato Titans | 2.4 |
| Blocks per game | Kenny Stone | Auckland Stars | 2.1 |

### Regular season

* NZ Most Valuable Player: Terrence Lewis (Canterbury Rams)
* Most Outstanding Guard: Terrence Lewis (Canterbury Rams)
* Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Terrence Lewis (Canterbury Rams)
* Most Outstanding Forward: John Whorton (Canterbury Rams)
* Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Ed Book (Nelson Giants)
* Scoring Champion: Ron Grady (Otago Nuggets)
* Rebounding Champion: John Whorton (Canterbury Rams)
* Assist Champion: Carlo Varricchio (Canterbury Rams)
* Rookie of the Year: Miles Pearce (Manawatu Jets)
* Coach of the Year: John Watson (Canterbury Rams)
* All-Star Five:
   * G: Mark Dickel (Wellington Saints)
   * G: Terrence Lewis (Canterbury Rams)
   * F: Dillon Boucher (Waikato Titans)
   * F: John Whorton (Canterbury Rams)
   * C: Ed Book (Nelson Giants)
