National Basketball League: NBA preseason clashes remain in the works for New Zealand Breakers

Will McDowell-White will return to the New Zealand Breakers for the 2023-24 NBL season. Photo / Photosport

An earlier start to the new NBL season won’t stop the New Zealand Breakers from being preseason opponents for NBA sides, with the New Zealand outfit set to head stateside a couple of weeks into the competition.

The Breakers remain in talks with prospective NBA opposition about preseason fixtures, which would take place between rounds two and four of the new NBL season.

In the past, they have taken on the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns, and were scheduled to meet the Brooklyn Nets in late 2020 until Covid-19 ruined that plan.

Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Nathan Limm, Breakers general manager Simon Edwards confirmed the team’s plans to embark on their third trip to NBA arenas, and is hopeful of securing two games, likely to be against teams from the Western Conference.

“I can’t confirm who the teams are but we are planning on playing potentially two NBA preseason games,” Edwards said. “I don’t have a timeframe, but we’re working towards it and we’re getting quite close.”

The Adelaide 36ers were the only NBL representative to oppose NBA teams last year, and put the NBL on the board against their American counterparts with a win over the Phoenix Suns.

Like the Breakers’ proposed venture later this year, that trip took place after the NBL regular season had already started.

It’s a good opportunity for the team to test itself against NBA opponents, and Edwards said securing such fixtures was also a meaningful piece in the team’s recruitment drive for the upcoming season.

“We know when we’ve had it before in recruitment that it’s quite a big piece for these players to be able to play on an NBA court and have NBA scouts and the likes who might not fly all the way down to New Zealand but can drive up or fly to an NBA game,” Edwards said.

“From a player recruitment side it helps. The association and relationships we have with NBA teams have been growing with the NBL next stars programme. There are a raft of benefits for us.”

The Breakers were last involved in NBL crossover preseason games against NBA teams in 2019, when they took on the Thunder and the Grizzlies, after playing against the Suns the year prior.

While the team look to lock down those potential fixtures, they will continue to piece together their squad for the upcoming season as they try to build on the success of last season’s runner-up finish.

After falling 3-2 in the grand final series to the Sydney Kings, the Breakers roster became largely vacant. They took a big step in recent weeks with the re-signing of highly sought-after point guard Will McDowell-White, and Edwards said the club were in conversations with long-time Breakers star Tom Abercrombie about bringing him back for “at least another season”.