The 2025 National Basketball League (NBL) schedule is set with the Hawke's Bay Hawks to tip-off the new season on Wednesday, March 12 against the competition's newest team, the Indian Panthers.
The 12-team 2025 season will feature a record 137 games, plus a further 132 games in the curtain-raiser Rapid League, with all 269 games to be broadcast live on Sky Sport.
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The season will open with at least one game for 12 straight days from March 12-23, with the Hawks and Franklin Bulls featuring four times each.
The two-time defending NBL champion Canterbury Rams will begin their three-peat quest on the road against the Tauranga Whai on Thursday, March 13, with the first game of the 'Deep South Derby' between the Otago Nuggets and Southland Sharks in Dunedin the following night.
The Auckland Tuatara, who have lost the last three NBL finals, start with a 'Battle in the North' clash with the Bulls on the North Shore, while the Hawks and Manawatu Jets, Wellington Saints and Taranaki Airs, and Rams and Nelson Giants meet in regional rivalry games during the opening weekend.
The Tuatara will get their first shot at revenge against the Rams on home court on Saturday, April 26. The return game in Christchurch is locked in for Saturday, May 17.
New Saints head coach Aaron Young will go up against his former Tuatara team for the first time on Sunday, May 25 in Auckland, and again on Saturday, June 14 in Wellington.
The regular season will conclude on Sunday, July 6, with the two play-in games tentatively set for July 9-10, two semifinals for July 12-13 and the championship game confirmed for Sunday, July 20.
The Panthers, the league's latest expansion team, with India-based ownership, will play their first home game at Pulman Arena in Takanini in the first 'South Auckland Showdown' on Friday, March 21.
In an unusual way of presenting the schedule, showcasing the near non-stop run of games, instead of presenting a 'round' of games each week, the NBL has promoted five themed months:
MAD MARCH
AMP'D APRIL
MANA MAY
JAMMIN' JUNE
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
NBL general manager Maree Taylor said the addition of the Panthers in South Auckland would add more games and take the competition into a new and exciting direction in its 44th year.
"Season 2025 is set to be our biggest yet in the NBL, with 12 teams and wall-to-wall coverage on Sky Sport," said Taylor.
"We are excited about the continued growth of the competition and its connection with fans and viewers in New Zealand, and also across the world where the league continues to be recognised as innovative and competitive."
The season will feature a mid-year international break from May 5-12 for Tall Blacks action, which at the same time will see the competition's trade window extended to a full week.
The NBL's free agency period opens next week. The league has also seen high coach turnover, with the Tuatara, Jets, Hawks, Saints, Rams, Nuggets and Sharks set to have new coaches.
Every NBL game will also be broadcast live around the world on ESPN+ in the United States and FIBA YouTube globally.
