1997 New Zealand NBL season

The 1997 NBL season was the 16th season of the National Basketball League. Basketball in New Zealand began to dwindle during the 1990s, with TV coverage reduced, sponsorships scarce, and crowd numbers on the decline. At the end of the 1996 season, with both Wellington and Hutt Valley struggling to survive, the two teams amalgamated for the 1997 season.[1]

1997 New Zealand NBL season
LeagueNew Zealand NBL
SportBasketball
Number of teams11
Regular season
Minor premiersAuckland
Top scorerJim DeGraffenreid (Waikato)
Playoffs
ChampionsAuckland
  Runners-upNelson

Auckland won the championship in 1997 to claim their fifth league title, as they became the first team in league history to record a three-peat.[2] Auckland had a near-perfect season, with their only loss in 24 regular-season games coming against Canterbury at Cowles Stadium when American import Adrian Boyd was called for a contentious travelling call while going for an uncontested lay-up in the game's final seconds.[3]

Final standings
# Team
Auckland
Nelson
3 Hawke's Bay
4 Otago
5 North Harbour
6 Wellington
7 Canterbury
8 Northland
9 Waikato
10 Palmerston North
11 Taranaki

Season awards
  • NZ Most Valuable Player: Pero Cameron (Auckland)[2]
  • Most Outstanding Guard: Tony Bennett (North Harbour)
  • Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Phill Jones (Nelson)[4]
  • Most Outstanding Forward: Jim DeGraffenreid (Waikato)[5]
  • Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Willie Burton (Hawke's Bay)
  • Scoring Champion: Jim DeGraffenreid (Waikato)
  • Rebounding Champion: Daryn Shaw (Taranaki)
  • Assist Champion: Mike Foster (Northland)
  • Rookie of the Year: Brendon Polyblank (Palmerston North)
  • Coach of the Year: Tab Baldwin (Auckland)
  • All-Star Five:
    • G: Tony Bennett (North Harbour)
    • G: Adrian Boyd (Auckland)
    • F: Jim DeGraffenreid (Waikato)
    • F: Kenny Stone (Auckland)
    • C: Pero Cameron (Auckland)

References
  1. "Locations - Exodus Saints". Wotzon.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013.
  2. "2005 League Handbook" (PDF). Basketball.org.nz. pp. 32–36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  3. Egan, Brendon (9 May 2014). "Baldwin predicts Rams ready for a winning spurt". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  4. McNae, Pete (24 June 2010). "Phill Jones available for Tall Blacks". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  5. Warner, Neil K. (26 July 2008). "DeGraffenreid up for the challenge of starting hoops program". HeraldExtra.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
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