New Zealand Breakers: Five things you need to know

• The Breakers won the first NBL Ignite Cup in NBL26 and still missed the finals
• They are the only NBL club based outside Australia
• Gordon Herbert, who coached Germany to a World Cup, is the new head coach

New Zealand is the only NBL club based outside Australia, and the only one whose supporters are a country rather than a city. The Breakers won four championships in five seasons between 2011 and 2015 and have won one since. NBL26 was the strangest season in that stretch: they won a trophy and still finished seventh.

NBL26 SEASON SUMMARY

• Record: 13-20, finished 7th
• Finals: did not qualify
• Ignite Cup: WINNERS, beat Adelaide 111-107 in the first final
• Head coach: Petteri Koponen
• Captain: Parker Jackson-Cartwright

The Ignite Cup was new for NBL26 and the Breakers won it, beating Adelaide 111-107 in the final at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on 22 February 2026, with Sam Mennenga sealing it. The prize was $300,000.

It is worth being exact about what that is. The Ignite Cup is an in-season competition, not the NBL championship, and the Breakers finished the regular season seventh at 13-20 and did not make the finals. They are the first holders of a trophy that did not exist a year ago, in a season they otherwise lost.

THE COACH LEFT SIX DAYS LATER

Petteri Koponen and the Breakers parted ways on 28 February 2026, six days after the Ignite Cup final. It was the Finn's first head coaching job after he retired as a player, and he had been there two seasons.

"After two seasons of intense growth in the NBL and the immense satisfaction of bringing the Ignite Cup to Auckland, I am ready for a new challenge," Koponen said.

President of basketball operations Dillon Boucher framed it as mutual and as a matter of distance. "Professional coaching at this level demands immense sacrifice, especially half a world away from home," he said.

His replacement is a significant appointment. Gordon Herbert was named head coach on a two-year deal in July 2026. Herbert coached Germany to the 2023 FIBA World Cup title, and he arrives with Sebastian Gleim, his lead assistant from that campaign.

THE CLUB CHANGED HANDS

The Breakers were sold in March 2025. We reported the sale as it broke, and the NBL confirmed the new ownership on 30 March 2025.

American businessman and attorney Marc Mitchell became majority owner and chairman, in partnership with New Zealanders Leon Grice, Stephen Grice and Sean Colgan. Former owners Paul and Liz Blackwell, who ran the club from 2005, returned as shareholders, and Thomas Abercrombie joined the ownership group as a special advisor.

It ended the Matt Walsh era. Walsh, a former NBA player, had led the consortium that bought a majority stake in February 2018. The change brought a front office clean-out, and the first appointment under the new owners was Dillon Boucher as president of basketball operations.

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Caption: Parker Jackson-Cartwright of the New Zealand Breakers at Spark Arena in Auckland. Photo: [Name]/Getty Images

NBL27: HERBERT'S FIRST ROSTER

The Breakers have rebuilt around the new coaching group. Dejan Vasiljevic signed a one-year deal as the marquee signing, a two-time NBL champion arriving from Adelaide, where he had been captain.

Kouat Noi, a two-time champion and a former Sixth Man of the Year, has also signed, along with import forward Josiah-Jordan James. Sam Mennenga, who sealed the Ignite Cup, re-signed on a two-year deal after a breakout NBL26, and Carlin Davison extended for a year. Anzac Rissetto, Preston Le Gassick and Kael Robinson fill out a roster the club has deliberately weighted towards New Zealanders.

The club also introduced a new brand identity in August 2026, and now presents itself as the BNZ Breakers under a Bank of New Zealand naming-rights deal. The league and the competition record still carry New Zealand Breakers.

THE CLUB

• Home: Spark Arena, Auckland
• Founded: 2003, joining the NBL for the 2003-04 season
• Owner: Marc Mitchell, majority owner and chairman, since March 2025
• Head coach: Gordon Herbert
• Captain: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
• President of basketball operations: Dillon Boucher

The Breakers have won four championships from six grand finals, reached the finals ten times, and finished top of the ladder three times, all three in consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2013.

TEAM HISTORY

The Breakers joined the NBL in 2003-04 and were poor for four seasons, never finishing higher than ninth. Kirk Penney arrived in 2007 and they made the finals for the first time in 2007-08, winning an elimination final against Cairns.

What followed is the most concentrated run of success in the league's modern era. With Penney, Cedric Jackson, Mika Vukona, Thomas Abercrombie and CJ Bruton, the Breakers finished top of the ladder three years running and won the championship in 2011, 2012 and 2013. They missed the finals entirely in 2014, then returned in 2015 and won a fourth title when Ekene Ibekwe hit a buzzer-beater in the deciding game. Jackson was grand final MVP for the second time. They reached the grand final again in 2016 and lost.

Then the championship core broke up and the club spent most of a decade struggling. Matt Walsh's consortium bought a majority stake in 2018. COVID hit the Breakers harder than any other club, forcing them to base themselves in Australia for nearly two full seasons, and in 2021-22 they won five games from 28, the worst finish in their history.

They bounced back immediately. Under Mody Maor the Breakers finished second in 2022-23 and reached the grand final, losing a five-game series to Sydney. Abercrombie retired in February 2024 after 429 games, the most in the club's history.

The club was sold in March 2025, won the first Ignite Cup in February 2026, and changed coaches a week later.

CLUB LEGENDS

Thomas Abercrombie is the club's most-capped player, with 429 games between 2008 and 2024, four championships and 110 appearances for the Tall Blacks. The Breakers retired his number 10 at a ceremony on 30 January 2026, and he is now part of the ownership group.

Cedric Jackson was the MVP in 2013 and grand final MVP twice, in 2013 and 2015, the only Breaker to win that award more than once.

Kirk Penney was the 2009 MVP, led the league in scoring three times, and made four straight All-NBL First Teams from 2008 to 2011.

CJ Bruton won the 2012 grand final MVP award and his 23 is retired. Dillon Boucher, Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, has his 24 retired and now runs basketball operations. Paul Henare, whose 32 is retired, played from 2003 to 2011 and later coached the club.

Andrej Lemanis coached the three-peat and was Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013.

HONOUR ROLL

• Championships: four, in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015
• Grand final appearances: six, in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2023
• Finals appearances: ten
• Regular season championships: three, in 2011, 2012 and 2013
• NBL Ignite Cup: one, in 2026, the first held
• NBL Most Valuable Player: Kirk Penney (2009), Cedric Jackson (2013)
• NBL Grand Final MVP: Thomas Abercrombie (2011), CJ Bruton (2012), Cedric Jackson (2013, 2015)
• NBL Coach of the Year: Andrej Lemanis (2012, 2013)
• NBL Defensive Player of the Year: Dillon Boucher (2010)
• NBL Most Improved Player: Shea Ili (2018)
• Leading NBL scorer: Carlos Powell (2007), Kirk Penney (2009, 2010, 2011)
• Retired numbers: Thomas Abercrombie (10), CJ Bruton (23), Dillon Boucher (24), Paul Henare (32)

THE MODERN ERA, SEASON BY SEASON

• 2019-20 6th 15-13 did not qualify
• 2020-21 8th 12-24 did not qualify
• 2021-22 10th 5-23 did not qualify, the worst season in club history
• 2022-23 2nd 18-10 Mody Maor, lost the Championship Series to Sydney
• 2023-24 6th 13-15 won a play-in game, then out
• 2024-25 9th 10-19 did not qualify
• 2025-26 7th 13-20 Petteri Koponen, IGNITE CUP WINNERS

One grand final and one trophy in seven seasons, and five of those seven ended without a finals appearance. The Breakers have been the league's least predictable club.

FIVE FAST FACTS

1. The Breakers are the only NBL club based outside Australia, and the only one that represents a country rather than a city.

2. They won the first NBL Ignite Cup in February 2026, beating Adelaide 111-107, and missed the finals in the same season.

3. Thomas Abercrombie played 429 games for the club, more than anyone else, and his number 10 was retired in January 2026.

4. The club won four championships in five seasons between 2011 and 2015, including a three-peat from 2011 to 2013.

5. New head coach Gordon Herbert coached Germany to the 2023 FIBA World Cup title.

CLUB TIMELINE

• 2003: Joined the NBL, the first club based outside Australia.
• 2007: Kirk Penney arrived and the Breakers reached the finals for the first time the following season.
• 2011, 2012 and 2013: Three straight championships, and three straight minor premierships.
• 2014: Missed the finals.
• 2015: Fourth championship, sealed by an Ekene Ibekwe buzzer-beater.
• 2016: Reached the grand final and lost.
• 2018: Matt Walsh's consortium bought a majority stake.
• 2020 to 2022: Based in Australia through COVID, and in 2021-22 won five games from 28.
• 2023: Reached the grand final under Mody Maor, losing to Sydney in five games.
• 2024: Thomas Abercrombie retired after a club-record 429 games.
• 2025: Sold to a group led by Marc Mitchell.
• 2026: Won the first NBL Ignite Cup, missed the finals, and parted with Petteri Koponen.

WHAT NBL27 LOOKS LIKE

Herbert is the most credentialled coach the club has hired, and he has been given a roster built around a marquee signing, two former champions and a re-signed Mennenga. New owners, a new brand, a new coaching group and a mostly new team.

The question is which Breakers season NBL27 resembles. They have finished seventh, ninth and sixth in three of the past four years, and reached a grand final in the other one. A club this volatile has usually been one good roster away, and this is the first time in a while it has been able to buy one.