FRESH off emerging victorious from the National Basketball League (NBL) Blitz preseason tournament last weekend, the New Zealand Breakers will be hoping to translate that form to the 2025/26 regular season portion of the fixture.

The Breakers showed glimpses of their potential throughout their last campaign, but still fell to ninth place, having won only 10 games by season’s end. It was a big fall off in the second half of the fixture despite New Zealand sitting atop the standings midway through the season.

However, the Breakers have added some exciting pieces over the offseason, and if their preseason form is anything to go by – an undefeated record of two wins in two outings – they are well-placed for a return to the postseason.

New Zealand Breakers

Roster

Alex McNaught, Carlin Davison, Izaiah Brockington, Izayah Le’afa, Kaia Isaac, Karim Lopez, Liam Judd, Max Darling, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Reuben Te Rangi, Rob Baker, Robert Loe, Sam Mennenga, Sean Bairstow, Taylor Britt, Tukaha Cooper

The Breakers worked hard to retain the services of star point guard Jackson-Cartwright, while also adding some impressive new talent to the roster. Although other teams have built more star-studded groups, the Breakers have assembled a collection of players that fit nicely in Petteri Koponen‘s system.

Key player – Izaiah Brockington

New Zealand’s star offseason recruit has gotten off to a flying start with the Breakers despite not playing a regular season game just yet. Brockington signed with the team having established himself as a scoring machine in the G League, and looks set to bring this level of production to the NBL. He was awarded MVP of the Blitz preseason tournament, averaging 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and 2.5 steals per game in a statement showing. The shooting guard will pair nicely with Jackson-Cartwright in the backcourt as the duo act as the driving force to the team’s offensive production.

Key to success – Maintaining consistency throughout the whole season

The Breakers were extremely well-placed last season at stages, even sitting in top spot seven rounds into the fixture having started the fixture red-hot. However, they completely dropped off from there, and ended up finishing second-last. The challenge this time around will be whether they can keep up their strong form for the entire 20-round season, but it will be boosted by the addition of Brockington, given so much of the offensive load was on the shoulders of Jackson-Cartwright, so if the pair can combine well in the backcourt, they could keep it up for the entire season.

In a sentence

The Breakers will be eager to return to their form from the beginning of last season, and adding a potential All-NBL talent in Brockington will go a long way towards New Zealand maintaining consistency on the offensive end.