NBL Legend Praises Breakers Brand

The New Zealand Breakers took their patented physical brand of basketball up to the Sydney Kings in last night's top of the table clash, and while they didn’t emerge from the heated clash with a victory they did enough to send a real scare down the spines of the reigning champions.

New Zealand restricted the Kings to just nine points in the final quarter, however Sydney held on to finsih the game as seven-point winners - having committed less than half the fouls of their opposition.

While Kings coach Chase Buford slammed the physicality of the Breakers post-game, 16-year NBL veteran Adam Gibson believes the league needs more of what this New Zealand group is offering.

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“It brings me back to ten years ago. That’s the style we used to play,” Gibson said on NBL Today.

“Physical. You’re allowed to bump and kind of hit people, and I think that’s more enjoyable than previous styles of gameplay.

“I’m all for it. I love the Kings back on top and the way they play – they’ve got so many weapons. I’ve got no doubt we’ll be seeing this matchup again come the end of the season.”

Following last season’s bottom-placed finish the Breakers have seemingly come out of nowhere to absolutely dominate opponents in NBL23.

While there’s still plenty of time left in the regular season they’ve emerged as genuine title contenders, and Gibson has likened their play style to one of the best teams of the last decade.

“There’s a reason the Perth Wildcats won so many championships a few years ago. They played up and in, they played physical,” Gibson said.

“If I’m a head coach and my players come out and set the scene that way, I’m all for it … I’d take that as a compliment if I was the Breakers.”