'Finn Diesel' targets road to glory

Finn Delany is back in the NBL, and back with the New Zealand Breakers. It’s a match made in heaven for both the club and the fan favourite forward – and there’s only one goal in mind - win.

The former All-NBL Second Team nominee has returned to his hometown club following a season-long traipse through Europe with German side Bonn. After a run to the German Basketball Bundesliga Championship Series, and a Champions League title, he’s returned to New Zealand with unfinished business.

“A big part of me really wanted to continue in Europe, and I’ve been very honest that I’ll continue there later on,” Delany said on The Huddle. “But the deciding factor and the most meaningful thing was to win a championship with the Breakers.

“It was a burning desire to win in a place I hadn’t yet. That didn’t sit right with me, and it still doesn’t that I haven’t done that there.

“It became very simple in the end. It became a very simple, easy decision that I wanted to win there.

“That was the only metric I used to make the decision.”

That will to win has only been strengthened during Delany’s time in Germany. After a pair of difficult seasons – both on and off the court – to round out his previous stint with the side, he was a crucial cog in a near all-conquering Bonn side.

Along with its Champions League win, Bonn ended the regular season with a near perfect 32-2 record to top the standings, with league defeats coming to Sam Waardenburg’s Riesen Ludwigsburg, and Yanni Wetzell’s Alba Berlin.

They were also eliminated from the German Cup by Wetzell’s side.

“The main thing with where I was, was I found a really high level of intensity every single day,” Delany reflected. “One of the main things was everyone was about winning from the whole organisation.

“Small details in how we played were new to me, and a new experience.

“I think just little things that help winning were the main takeaways for me.

“It was an amazing year. That’s the only way I can really say it … I found a situation that really couldn’t have been better.

“I had an amazing team, a great coach, I could go on and on.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SIGNED ??<br><br>Breakers icon Finn Delany has returned to the club signing a two-year deal ?<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/QMSdTcr4s8">https://t.co/QMSdTcr4s8</a> <a href="https://t.co/6q0cpVw3Zt">pic.twitter.com/6q0cpVw3Zt</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1679310695874322433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“I really loved my experience, won a lot of basketball games, learned a lot as a player and a person, and [I’m] just so grateful.”

Delany has since returned to New Zealand following the culmination of the Bundesliga season and will first suit up for the Breakers again at the upcoming NBL Blitz.

The 27-year-old has made 162 NBL appearances, averaging 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. 

The Breakers’ first game of NBL24 is set for Saturday, September 30 against the Cairns Taipans.