The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the NBS Nelson Giants. The Giants are the only remaining original team from the league's inaugural season, as all other teams have spent at least one year out of the league, for various reasons.

Team history

The Nelson Giants were a foundation member of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1982. The Giants made their first NBL final in 1990, where they lost to the Canterbury Rams in what was the NBL's first all-South Island final.[1] In 1994, the Giants won their maiden championship with a 67–66 win over the Rams in the final.[2] In 1996 and 1997, the Giants lost back-to-back championship series, before winning their second NBL championship in 1998 with an 81–73 win over the North Harbour Kings in the final.[3] In 2000, 2002, and 2004, the Giants were runners-up. In 2007, the Giants won their third championship with a 2–0 series win over the Hawke's Bay Hawks.[4][5][6] In 2009 and 2013, the Giants were runners-up.

The Trafalgar Centre was Nelson's home stadium from 1982 until being closed because of its earthquake risk in December 2013.[7] As a result, the Giants played out of Saxton Stadium in 2014 and 2015.[8] The team returned to the Trafalgar Centre in 2016 after the venue completed earthquake strengthening.[9]

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Nelson Giants roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht.
G 0 New Zealand McNaught, Alex 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
G 5 United States Forbes, Jaylen (I) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
F 7 New Zealand Chamberlain, Kaleb 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
F 10 New Zealand Dempster, Sam (C) 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
F 11 United States Johnson, Brice (I) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
F 13 New Zealand Jones, Hayden 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
G/F 15 New Zealand Crate, Lachlan 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
F 16 New Zealand Blight, Will 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)
F 23 New Zealand Inwood, Ashton 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
G 35 New Zealand Matthews, James 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
G 41 New Zealand Williams, Coen 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
F 51 Australia Dalton, Callum (I) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
F 67 New Zealand Judd, Liam 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
G New Zealand Adams, Cooper 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
C New Zealand McRae, Callum 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 16 March 2025

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

Retired numbers

Nelson Giants Retired Numbers
No Nat. Player Position Tenure Ceremony date
4 Serbia New Zealand Nenad Vučinić SF 1989–2007 10 June 2017[10]
13 New Zealand Phill Jones SG 1993–2017 10 June 2017[11]
14 New Zealand Mika Vukona PF 2000–2020 21 June 2023[12]

References

  1. ^ Keith Mair reflects on Rams' halcyon days
  2. ^ 1994 NBL CHAMPIONS: NELSON GIANTS
  3. ^ 1998 NBL CHAMPIONS: NELSON GIANTS
  4. ^ "2007 National Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Charity Begins At Home". Basketball.org.nz. 29 June 2007. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007.
  6. ^ "Book Closes In Style". Basketball.org.nz. 30 June 2007. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007.
  7. ^ Quake fears cause closure of Trafalgar Centre
  8. ^ A new cauldron for the Giants
  9. ^ Nelson Giants back at Trafalgar Centre for 2016 National Basketball League
  10. ^ Nelson Giants throw back to 1997 for final game of National Basketball League season
  11. ^ Nelson Giants throw back to 1997 for final game of National Basketball League season
  12. ^ Nelson Weekly – June 21, 2023
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Giants
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