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Sport Nation
Dawn of a new era for the NZ Breakers? 2025/26 NBL season preview
Henry Lee • September 18th, 2025 3:08 pm
Breakers | Photo: NBL
The Facts
- Last season, the Breakers started 7-3 last season and headed into the FIBA break as competition front-runners, but went 3-16 for the remainder of the campaign after an import change wrecked any championship aspirations.
- Dillon Boucher is back as “President of Basketball Operations” to help bring the foundation of the Breakers youth program back.
- Superstar guard and fan-favourite American Parker Jackson-Cartwright is back for his third season.
- The Breakers have won both their last two season opening games, one of those being against this year’s opposition, the Brisbane Bullets.
It’s back.
NBL26 is upon us, and that means the New Zealand Breakers are back to compete for their fifth championship, having last raised the trophy back in 2015.
It’s fair to say the 2025 season for the New Zealand Breakers was a failure. No two ways about it, the whole club just wasn’t up to standard.
So here we are, the Breakers have new owners, and have a new (but old) direction heading towards the 2025-26 season, bringing back some of the Breakers’ most loved and admired people.
The Breakers were one of the busiest teams early on in free agency, bringing back a number of Kiwi ballers to build a 'New Zealand core' they have sorely missed in recent years under the old ownership of Matt Walsh and co.
But under the tried and tested guidance of Paul and Liz Blackwell, Dillon Boucher, Tom Abercrombie, and the new flavour of Los Angeles’ Marc Mitchell, the Kiwi trio of Sean Colgan, and Stephen and Leon Grice, you get the feeling the club is back on the right track.
Add second-year head coach and successful Finnish Basketball legend Petteri Koponen, fan-favourite Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and NBL26 Blitz MVP Izaiah Brockington, and the start of this season could surprise a few underwhelmed or some would say one-eyed Australian pundits.
The start of a golden age for New Zealand basketball | Scotty & Izzy
In with the new...
Izaiah Brockington
Breakers fans are excited with this signing, and they should be.
The 1.93m shooting-guard has started with a hiss and a roar, and the season hasn’t even started yet. Koponen and Boucher liked what they saw in the 2025 G-League, where Brockington played for the Los Angeles Clippers. He also played one NBA game for the New Orleans Pelicans after signing a 10-day contract with the team back in 2024.
The American guard is shifty, likes to get a hold of the ball, which could really take the heavy pressure off of PJC to dominate on the offensive side of the ball.
But where Brockington could really take the Breakers to the next level is his aggression attacking the rim, while also having an elite finishing ability around the basket that will hopefully give defences across the league headaches.
Robert Baker II
From what we’ve seen, Baker could be a nice addition to the frontcourt of the Breakers, especially with two experienced NBL big men alongside him in Rob Loe and Sam Mennenga.
The 2.08m PF/C was most recently at ALBA Berlin in the German EuroLeague before taking part in the NBA Summer League with the Indiana Pacers.
But the 27-year-old didn’t just take the court; he dropped 26 points with 10 rebounds against the New Orleans Pelicans, which clearly caught the eye of Koponen and Boucher, who knew exactly what they were after in LA.
The promising signs don’t end there, with Baker suiting up for the Breakers in their first pre-season game on the Japan tour, finishing with an impressive 25 points and 11 rebounds in the 93-90 victory over Nagasaki Velca.
Baker is an elite shot blocker, and with his huge wingspan and aggressive rebounding ability, the Breakers frontcourt looks like it’s well-balanced, along with some outside shooting from Mennenga, Baker, and Loe.
New Zealand Breakers coach Petteri Koponen | Photo: Photosport
The first-up opponents
Brisbane Bullets:
Jaylen Adams (2022 NBL MVP) will lead this team with a duo of all-NBL players alongside him in Casey Prather and Javonte Freeman-Liberty, who can take this Bullets side into a deep playoff run.
New head coach Stu Lash has two Tall Blacks big men at his disposal this season, with NBL25’s Most Improved Player Tyrell Harrison and experienced NBL veteran Tohi Smith-Milner both wearing the blue and gold.
Brisbane has added NBA champion (Albeit from the bench) Alex Ducas, as well as former Breakers import Lamar Patterson.
Melbourne United:
Dean Vickerman’s Melbourne United have lost the last two NBL finals series, so they won’t need any additional motivation to get off to a good start in NBL26.
Melbourne’s roster is an interesting one to say the least, with a fair bit of movement in the off-season, most notably former Tasmanian Jackjumpers guard Milton Doyle making the move to Vickerman’s side.
Their frontcourt will be bolstered by the addition of a Breakers fan favourite Finn Delaney, who joins fellow Kiwi Shea Ili.
Hyrum Harris buzzer-beater earns Finn's Slam Dunk Moment of the Week | Millsy & Guy
Prediction:
Originally, I was scared to predict an opening game victory against a very good Brisbane Bullets side, but the closer we get to Friday’s tip-off at Spark Arena, the more I’m convinced the home crowd will get Koponen’s crew over the line in game one.
Given the pre-season form of the Breakers' import trio, optimism is high, and a home victory on Friday evening will depend largely on the performance of Americans PJC, Brockington, and Baker. The Breakers should take this one.
Bbased on the history of results against Melbourne United and the demanding travel schedule, the second game of Round 1 will be tougher, as the Breakers try to back up from their opener on Friday. I’ll take United here in a close one at John Cain Arena.
Pre-season Results:
New Zealand Breakers (W). South East Melbourne Phoenix 109–101
New Zealand Breakers (W) Cairns Taipans 94–75
New Zealand Breakers (W) Nagasaki Velca 93–90
New Zealand Breakers (L) Kumamoto Volters 81–90
Breakers squad:
Alex McNaught, Carlin Davison, Izaiah Brockington, Izayah Le'Afa, Jack Andrew, Karim Lopez, Liam Judd, Max Darling, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Reuben Te Rangi, Robert Baker II, Rob Loe, Sam Mennenga, Sean Bairstow, Taylor Britt, Tukaha Cooper.
Projected Starting Five:
PG: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
SG: Izaiah Brockington
SF: Karim Lopez
PF: Sam Mennenga
C: Robert Baker II (Interchangeable with Mennenga)
Bench:
Izayah Le'afa, Taylor Britt, Reuben Te Rangi, Rob Loe, Max Darling, Carlin Davison, Sean Bairstow
Coaching Staff:
Head coach: Petteri Koponen
Assistant coach: Judd Flavell
Assistant coach: Mario Dugandzic
Assistant coach: Matthew Lacey
