Southland Sharks

The Southland Sharks brand dates back to the 1990s when the Smokefree Southland Sharks competed in the Conference Basketball League (CBL) and won championships in 1995 and 1998.^[1] In 2002, a group of local businessmen launched a bid to enter a Southland team into the National Basketball League (NBL), but that attempt fell over late in the piece when the Community Trust of Southland declined a $150,000 application.^[2][3]

In October 2009, Southland Basketball Association was granted a three-year NBL license.^[4] In December 2009, the Sharks were confirmed for the 2010 NBL season.^[3][5]

The Sharks made playoff appearances in their first two seasons in the NBL, before missing the post-season in 2012. In 2013, the Sharks won their maiden NBL championship with a 92–81 win over the Nelson Giants in the final.^[6][7] After another playoff appearance in 2014, the Sharks won their first minor premiership in 2015, before going on to reach the NBL final, where they won their second championship with a 72–68 win over the Wellington Saints.^[8] With the win, they broke the 2001 Waikato Titans 15-game winning streak to finish the season with 16 wins in a row.^[9] The 2015 season also saw the Sharks retire Kevin Braswell's No. 12 jersey.^[10][11][12]

After another playoff appearance in 2016, the Sharks made their third NBL final in 2017, where they lost 108–75 to the Saints.^[13] In 2018, the Sharks returned to the NBL final for the fourth time in six years, where they won their third championship with a 98–96 win over the Saints.^[14][15]

The Sharks sat out the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[16]

In 2022, the Sharks' inaugural sponsors SIT Zero Fees^[17] decided to end its long-term partnership with the team.^[18]

Current roster

Southland Sharks roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. F 1 Telfer, Scott 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) F 3 Inger, Brayden 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) G 4 Burton, Alonzo (C) 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) F 5 Hall, Ben 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) G 7 Riwhi, Joseph G 10 Webster, Quake 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) F 11 Lotts, Marcale (I) 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) G 13 Kapea, Matariki 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) F 15 Snow, Riley 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) G 21 Asberry, Caleb (I) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) G 22 Robb, Cooper (I) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) G 25 Wheeler, Andrew 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) F 34 Coll, Connor 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) C 45 McRae, Callum 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in)	Head coach Guy Molloy Assistant coach(es) John Auld Andrew Wheeler Team manager Daryl Greig Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Development player (IN) Inactive (I) Import player Injured Roster Updated: 20 May 2024

Notable past players

• Official team website
• "Southland Sharks: Standing tall among us" at stuff.co.nz
• "Jill Bolger's 40 years of dedication to Southland basketball recognised" at stuff.co.nz