NBL26 Report Card: Breaking new ground

As the Free Agency period tips off, NBL Media is putting the microscope on every club's NBL26 campaign.

Pete Hooley analyses every team, starting with the tenth-placed Bullets, all the way through to the Championship-winning Kings.

What the ladder says

7th place - 13 wins, 20 losses

Four word summary

Show me the money

Report Card

Grade: B+

The Breakers get a B+ for their season, purely because of the way they ended, by becoming the inaugural Ignite Cup Champions and winning $300,000. Had they not achieved that, it would have been a very different report card.

Another team that was dealt some tough injury blows as they fought to make a post-season push, but their slow start made it a tough climb once they found a winning formula.

The combination of Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Sam Mennenga became must-see TV, as they found a way to dominate together and fill up the highlight tape. Throwing in the rise of Next Star Karim Lopez and there were many positive moments to take out of a tough season for the Breakers.

However, in the end they underachieved when you consider some of their big wins and how strong this team looked when they put it all together.

Season highlight

What else could it be? The New Zealand Breakers didn’t shy away from their focus being on the Ignite Cup throughout the season. After their big win over Sydney, where Parker Jackson-Cartwright came up clutch, the team were very vocal on making their Wednesday night games a focus, as they tried to get some momentum together in the regular season.

In the end, they went up to the Gold Coast to take on the Adelaide 36ers in the final and put it all together for one game and walked away with the cash. Led by their star duo once again and Izaiah Brockington stepping up, the Breakers gave their fans the perfect send off for a tough season.

Season lowlight

There’s starting slow and there’s the Breakers' start to the season, where Petteri Koponen’s team lost five of their first six games, with two of those coming by more than 20 points. They were one of the few teams in action during Round 1 and they gave up 100+ points in both their games to find themselves sitting in some tough company to begin a season.

With the reports of illness sweeping through the team before the season began and their international travel, it all seemed to pile on at the wrong time for the Breakers who were forever chasing their tail.

Stats don’t lie

History tells us that while defence is the key to winning NBL titles, it certainly helps having a team capable of filling it up from deep along the way. The Breakers were second last in the league for three-point percentage at just over 30 per cent and were last in the competition for free-throws made. That’s not going to be a formula for success across the course of a 33-game season and probably highlights their struggles to compete with the top teams in the League.

MVP

Breakers big man, Sam Mennenga was outspoken in the off-season by saying he wants the respect of one of the best big men in the competition. With the strong statement came a lot of pressure and weight on his shoulders to deliver and he didn’t disappoint. The 24-year-old took a giant leap into that conversation in NBl26, averaging nearly 18 points and seven rebounds per game.

Not only did he become one of the most versatile bigs around, he delivered some of the best highlight dunks of any player in recent history.

Surprise packet

It wasn’t so much a surprise, but rather a pleasant sight to see Karim Lopez take another giant leap towards his goal. The Mexican sensation enjoyed more growth in his second season as he put together some game-winning performances at the right time, with NBA executives sitting courtside.

Lopez averaged 12 points and six rebounds per game, which is impressive for a teenager who has the pressure of the draft getting closer and closer.

However, what made his season even more special was how he took another leap forward when his team needed someone to step up due to injuries. Lopez’s 32 point performance over Melbourne United in Round 18, including 19 in the fourth quarter, was the perfect send-off for what he’s achieved during his team in New Zealand.