Taranaki Airs 2026 Sal’s NBL Preview

Taranaki Airs 2026 Season Preview

Headline:

Airs retool after a top-four finish, but the standard remains high in Taranaki

Quick Facts:

Head Coach: John White (1st year)

Home Venue: TSB Stadium, New Plymouth

2025 Finish: 12-8 (0-1 in postseason)

Key Returnee: Zavier Adam

Key Signing: James Moors

Player to Watch: Luka Vea

At a Glance:

The Taranaki Airs head into the 2026 Sal’s NBL season looking dramatically different from the group that produced a 12-9 record and one of the league’s strongest all-round statistical profiles a year ago. Last season’s Airs were deep, efficient and physical, with high-level imports and proven locals helping power a team that ranked near the top of the competition in scoring margin, rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage. This year’s roster is still taking shape, but as it stands Zavier Adam is the only returning player from the 2025 Airs squad, while John White begins his first season as head coach. That means the challenge is not just replacing production, but rebuilding chemistry, identity and role clarity almost from scratch.

Taranaki Airs 2026 Roster (as of printing)

New additions in bold

Xavier Green

Luka Vea

James Moors

Aaron Cook Jr

Marcel Jones

Taane Samuel

Zavier Adam

2025 Airs Stats Snapshot

As currently announced, with expected local announcements still to come, Zavier Adam is the only returning Air from the 2025 squad. Adam saw limited time last season but he did 43 percent from three in those opportunities. With limited institutional knowledge returning, the Airs needing to replace essentially all of the production that made them one of the competition’s strongest teams in 2025.

Team-wise, the Airs were excellent across a number of major categories. They finished third in the regular season before bowing, averaged 91.0 points per game, and allowed 86.2, good for a +4.8 scoring margin while ranking among the league’s best in rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and offensive rebounding, with several of their top contributors featuring prominently on league leaderboards.

Category | 2025 Team Leader | Top Returning Air | 2025 Team / League Rank
Scoring | Harry Froling, 19.9 ppg | Zavier Adam, 1.3 ppg | 91.0 ppg, 3rd
Rebounding | Craig Moller, 10.8 rpg | Zavier Adam, 0.7 rpg | 43.9 rpg, 2nd
Assists | Owen Foxwell, 8.0 apg | Zavier Adam, 0.7 apg | 18.9 apg, 4th
Steals | Carlin Davison, 2.0 spg | Zavier Adam, 0.1 spg | 8.2 spg, 3rd
Blocks | Jack Andrew, 2.2 bpg | Zavier Adam, 0.0 bpg | 4.3 bpg, 2nd
Field Goal % | Jack Andrew, 63% | Zavier Adam, 33% | 49%, 1st
3-Point % | Zavier Adam, 43% | Zavier Adam, 43% | 33%, T-5th
Free Throw % | Deng Dut, 100% | Zavier Adam, 0% | 69%, T-8th

2025 Stats League Rankings

Team Stat | 2025 Numbers | League Rank
Scoring offense | 91.00 ppg | 3rd
Scoring defense | 86.19 ppg allowed | 2nd
Scoring margin | +4.81 | 3rd
Rebounding margin | +4.10 | 2nd
Field goal percentage | 49% | 1st
3-point percentage | 33% | T-5th
Free throw percentage | 69% | T-8th
Assists per game | 18.90 | 4th
Steals per game | 8.19 | 3rd
Blocks per game | 4.29 | 2nd
Offensive rebounds per game | 11.71 | 1st
Defensive rebounds per game | 32.14 | 1st
Turnover margin | +2.43 | 2nd

Projected Identity:

The 2026 Airs squad is as close to a total rebuild as you can get. New faces on the court and the sideline will force Taranaki to find answers on the fly as they discover the strengths of this new-look squad. Last season’s side was powerful inside, efficient across the floor and difficult to score on, but that version of the Airs has largely moved on. With John White stepping in for his first year as head coach, Taranaki will want to keep the competitiveness and physicality that underpinned last year’s success, but with this roster expect a move away from the ground and pound to more of a free flowing offense that is less dependent on size. Xavier Green and Luka Vea look likely to have major influence over how the group plays while Aaron Cook Jr takes the reigns, but the bigger question is how quickly White can get a new group aligned on both ends of the floor.

Key Offseason Moves:

Departed:

While Harry Froling led the team at 19.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in the early stages of the season, the loss of Carlin Davison (18.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists) stings more as his fingerprints were all over everything that the Airs did. Owen Foxwell produced 17.6 points and a league-best 8.0 assists per game in his limited time with the team, Armon Fletcher chipped in 16.4 points while spearheading the defense, and late arrival Craig Moller averaged 14.5 points and 10.8 rebounds on the interior while paired with Jack Andrew delivered 13.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks on 63 percent shooting. When you add it all up, this is not just roster turnover, it is the removal of the core identity of the 2025 side.

Arrived:

Xavier Green looks like the headline import signing and the player most likely to become the offensive centrepiece from the wing. Luka Vea adds a proven Kiwi, although most of his career so far has been across the ditch, but his combo of size and skill makes him a versatile piece to be counted on. Aaron Cook will be soaking up minutes at the point while James Moors addition is key on the interior where he will be tasked with a lion’s share of the responsibility. Taane Samuel is another player who can play inside and out, and few players who can match his power around the post are able to keep up with his deftness of play. Marcel Jones returns to a team he has a lot of familiarity with, and could have an important role in helping steady a reshaped roster with his veteran experience.

Returning:

At this stage, the returning section is very short. Zavier Adam is the only announced player back from the 2025 Airs squad and he will look to impact the scoresheet with his talent from deep. But expect the Airs to make a flurry of announcements in the final days leading up to the season tip-off.

X-Factors:
James Moors

James Moors last graced our shores in the ’24 season with the Jets where he proved to be a post threat who had the ability to step out and hit the perimeter shot, he’ll need to be a big presence on the glass. If the Airs can get him the ball with consistency he should keep the half-court offense humming when things start to get grindy.

Luka Vea

Vea’s comes to the Sal’s NBL via Australia’s NBL1, but the Auckland Grammar product has familiarity with the league and has the physical tools to be a problem on the wing. If he can take the next step with his perimeter shooting the rest of his game will blossom.

Taane Samuel

Samuel has a ton of talent and when locked in he is a force of nature on the hardwood. A deft shooting touch and smooth ball handling skills combined with raw strength combine to make him a matchup nightmare. His emotions run high on the court, but if that fire can be tempered while still being allowed to burn the Airs will be the better for it.

Biggest Question: Can the Airs rebuild quickly enough to stay among the contenders?

The Airs were one of the best teams in the league statistically a year ago as they dominated the top of the statistical team leader boards. But almost all of the players who drove those numbers are gone. That means 2026 is not just about replacing points. It is about recreating winning habits, physical edge and reliability. But a quick start is key to this team finding confidence and cohesion as they look to keep their run of post-season appearances going.

What Success Looks Like:

First and foremost it’s creating an identity that the players buy into and the fans enjoy coming to see. The Airs teams of recent years have been a favorite of the Taranaki faithful, and the new recruits will have to show their wares to get the crowds to but into this new look model. Even as this shapes to be a reset, the tools are there for a quick turnaround but that is only possible if the squad hits the floor running at speed, as a slow start could be tough to come back from.

Final Word:

The Airs were one of the better and more balanced teams in the league in 2025, but that version of Taranaki has largely moved on. With only one returning player currently announced from last year’s squad combined with a first year coach and a shuffle in the front office, this is shaping as one of the biggest resets in the competition. That makes the Airs 2026 fascinating. The standard of expectation is high, but this group will need to build almost everything from the ground up.