The Sal’s NBL and G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi are set to add new teams in 2025, backed by the owners of the Indian National Basketball League (INBL).
The proposed expansion, which is now under negotiation, would see each new team filled with the best players from India, while roster spots will also be open to international imports and Kiwi players.
The outside-the-square idea was hatched by Justin Nelson, who heads up Sky’s NZ Basketball League Management team.
“India is the most populated country in the world, so the chance to take New Zealand basketball to more than 1.4 billion new fans is an incredible opportunity,” said Nelson.
“Basing the INBL-owned franchises in New Zealand would also open our leagues to new fans in Aotearoa NZ where more than 300,000 people of Indian ethnicity live.”
BBNZ chief executive Dillon Boucher is excited by the benefits for basketball in New Zealand that would come with the addition of the new INBL-backed teams.
“This will open up opportunities to expose both our local leagues – G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi for women’s basketball and Sal’s NBL for men’s basketball – to global markets,” said Boucher.
Basketball in India is booming, particularly amongst its youth and in schools. The INBL is making rapid progress in harnessing and expanding India’s love for the game – and INBL chief executive Parveen Batish views the potential move into New Zealand as the perfect next step to advance the game in India.
“Playing in these two strong New Zealand leagues will help create aspirational pathways for Indian players, which will drive participation and engagement across India,” said Batish.
“Indian ballers need increased opportunities to play in high-quality leagues. By operating teams in New Zealand in partnership with BBNZ, we will give our athletes and coaches the chance to learn modern skills of game preparation, scouting, game adjustment and individual skills. It will also give them a platform to demonstrate their skills to a wider international audience.
Sky’s Chief Content and Commercial Officer, Jonny Errington, is also a big fan of BBNZ’s initiative to look to broaden the global fan connection to its Leagues.
“Sky is proud to be involved and leading another innovative sport project” said Errington, adding, “Two of our great assets in Aotearoa NZ are our ability to welcome people from around the world and to roll our sleeves up and give things a go, and this project does both.”
With a memorandum of understanding between BBNZ and INBL in place, the two parties are now in the process of finalising participation agreements with the INBL-owned teams, which both parties are optimistic will be able to be concluded in the next 3-4 weeks.
The 2025 competitions are due to commence in March for the men and October for the women, with all games broadcast live on Sky Sport in New Zealand, and via a number of partners internationally.
