2017 New Zealand NBL season
# 2017 New Zealand NBL season

The 2017 NBL season was the 36th season of the National Basketball League. For the second year in a row, the league fielded seven teams.

The regular season commenced on Thursday 16 March in Invercargill with the Southland Sharks hosting the Nelson Giants at Stadium Southland. The season contained 13 weeks of regular season games followed by a Final Four weekend in June at Tauranga's ASB BayPark Arena. The seven teams played every team on three occasions to make up an 18-game round robin season.

With an 18–0 record, the Wellington Saints made NBL history by becoming the first team to complete a perfect regular season. They went on to post a perfect 20–0 campaign after sweeping the Final Four and collecting their 10th NBL championship in the process.

## Team information

| Team | City | Arena | Head coach | Import | Import |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Canterbury Rams | Christchurch | Cowles Stadium | Mark Dickel | Jeremy Kendle | McKenzie Moore |
| Hawke's Bay Hawks | Napier | Pettigrew Green Arena | Ben Hill | Kareem Johnson | Amir Williams |
| Nelson Giants | Nelson | Trafalgar Centre | Brendon Bailey | Kyle Adnam | Morgan Grim |
| Southland Sharks | Invercargill | Stadium Southland | Judd Flavell | Nick Kay | Mitch Norton |
| Super City Rangers | Auckland | The Trusts Arena | Jeff Green | Nnanna Egwu | Mitch McCarron |
| Taranaki Mountainairs | New Plymouth | TSB Stadium | Trent Adam | Daniel Gomis | Tylor Ongwae |
| Wellington Saints | Wellington | TSB Bank Arena | Kevin Braswell | Josh Duinker | |

## Summary

### Regular season standings

| Pos |
| - |
| Pos | Team | W | L |
| 1 | Wellington Saints | 18 | 0 |
| 2 | Southland Sharks | 12 | 6 |
| 3 | Super City Rangers | 11 | 7 |
| 4 | Canterbury Rams | 10 | 8 |
| 5 | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 4 | 14 |
| 6 | Nelson Giants | 4 | 14 |
| 7 | Taranaki Mountainairs | 4 | 14 |

### Final Four

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Wellington Saints | 94 | | |
| 4 | Canterbury Rams | 73 | | |
| 4 | Canterbury Rams | 73 | Wellington Saints | 108 |
| | | | Southland Sharks | 75 |
| 2 | Southland Sharks | 106 | Southland Sharks | 75 |
| 3 | Super City Rangers | 67 | | |

## Awards

### Player of the Week

| Round | Player | Team |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Marcel Jones | Canterbury Rams |
| 2 | Jeremy Kendle | Canterbury Rams |
| 3 | Corey Webster | Wellington Saints |
| 4 | Corey Webster | Wellington Saints |
| 5 | Corey Webster | Wellington Saints |
| 6 | Leon Henry | Wellington Saints |
| 7 | Marcel Jones | Canterbury Rams |
| 8 | Corey Webster | Wellington Saints |
| 9 | Nick Kay | Southland Sharks |
| 10 | McKenzie Moore | Canterbury Rams |
| 11 | McKenzie Moore | Canterbury Rams |
| 12 | Tai Wesley | Wellington Saints |
| 13 | Jeremy Kendle | Canterbury Rams |

### Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| - | - | - | - |
| Points per game | Corey Webster | Wellington Saints | 26.0 |
| Rebounds per game | Amir Williams | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 10.2 |
| Assists per game | Jarrod Kenny | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 7.5 |
| Steals per game | Dillon Boucher | Super City Rangers | 2.4 |
| Blocks per game | Amir Williams | Hawke's Bay Hawks | 1.7 |

### Regular season

* Most Valuable Player: Corey Webster (Wellington Saints)
* NZ Most Valuable Player: Corey Webster (Wellington Saints)
* Most Outstanding Guard: Corey Webster (Wellington Saints)
* Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Corey Webster (Wellington Saints)
* Most Outstanding Forward: Tai Wesley (Wellington Saints)
* Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams)
* Scoring Champion: Corey Webster (Wellington Saints)
* Rebounding Champion: Amir Williams (Hawke's Bay Hawks)
* Assist Champion: Jarrod Kenny (Hawke's Bay Hawks)
* Coach of the Year: Kevin Braswell (Wellington Saints)
* All-Star Five:
   * G: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints)
   * G: Corey Webster (Wellington Saints)
   * F: Mitch McCarron (Super City Rangers)
   * F: Marcel Jones (Canterbury Rams)
   * C: Tai Wesley (Wellington Saints)

### Final Four

* Finals MVP: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints)
