Previewing the Revamped and Revitalised New Zealand Breakers For NBL26
The previous ownership era of the NZ Breakers were addicted to their own hype. Needless to say, that tended to get extremely tiresome, especially when it was transparently false (Glenn Rice Jr? We can fix him! Tacko Fall? Just what this team needs! Director of Basketball? That’s a real job!). But the thing about that approach is people can’t always be bothered sifting through the murk so sometimes the manufactured hype spills into your wider media coverage. Quite a few times during those years, the Breakers were expected to be pretty good. They signed some really talented imports. They hired coaches with international renown. You only had to squint for those expectations to appear realistic.
Except they also constructed their rosters with no thought of how players would fit together, instead just trying to sign maximum talent and assuming it’d all fall into place. Usually it didn’t. Usually they failed to live up to the inflated expectations that they coveted. Therefore it’s a relief to see the New Zealand Breakers, now that they’re back under local ownership and doing things very differently, sneak their way through preseason as an underrated force, waiting to let their actions on the court supply the hype.
It’s perfectly understandable why the Australian media/fanbase are underrating them. Those guys aren’t paying special attention to the Breakers when there are nine other teams also doing their own exciting things ahead of the new season. The ‘Back in Black’ Breakers have made it a priority to return to their foundational kiwi values and thus have stacked their squad with Tall Blacks players – but if you don’t follow the NZ NBL then perhaps you don’t realise how good guys like Taylor Britt, Izayah Le’Afa, Carlin Davison, or Max Darling can be. And if you’re not tracking the Tall Blacks then you’re unaware of FIBA-version Reuben Te Rangi. The biggest criticism of this Breakers squad is the perception that it lacks depth. That’s a fallacy... but it’s a fair one to make.
Especially since there’s no proof yet. The Breakers did look pretty good in winning the NBL Blitz but that’s not a real tournament and nobody was at full-strength so it doesn’t mean much. They’ve gotta do it in the real season before people can give them that credit after what’s been a very drastic reset. They’ve kept Coach Petteri Koponen. They’ve retained Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Karim Lopez, Sam Mennenga, Max Darling, and Sean Bairstow from last season’s squad (as well as a couple of DPs, including Carlin Davison who has been elevated to a senior contract). They’ve also added six new players (albeit three of them are former Breakers) and the context of this team is completely different with local ownership involved and Dillon Boucher re-hired in that head of basketball operations/general manager-type role.
Dillon Boucher: “We’re going to be a values-based club that care about the community, care about our fans, and put people first. If we can do all of those things, it’ll put us in the best position to succeed... and then it all comes down to your roster.”
Team culture is not a tangible thing unless you’re in it (and even then it can waver from each person’s perspective). Kiwi basketball fans know what it means because we see it with the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns, we see it in the NZ NBL, and we see it with Steven Adams in the NBA. It’s about shared values of teamwork, selflessness, defence, and hard mahi which Boucher has been quick to emphasise since he arrived. Things that make a team greater than the sum of their parts. This cultural reset might be the single most consequential element of this Breakers offseason... though, again, we’re working on trust and faith here. Until they win some competitive basketball games, there’s no proof, and giving them credit for something they haven’t actually done yet would require almost as much hot air as what the last regime blew.
NZ Breakers NBL26 Roster
PG – Parker Jackson-Cartwright (I) | Taylor Britt | Alex McNaught (DP)
SG – Izaiah Brockington (I) | Izayah Le’Afa | Tukaha Cooper (DP)
SF – Karim Lopez (NS) | Reuben Te Rangi | Sean Bairstow | Liam Judd (DP)
PF – Rob Baker II (I) | Max Darling | Carlin Davison
C – Sam Mennenga | Rob Loe
(I – Import; DP – Development Player; NS – Next Star)
Like any NBL squad, it all starts with the imports. By retaining Parker Jackson-Cartwright for a third season (he’s stuck around through two owners and two coaches so far), the head of the snake is in place. That’s the MVP candidate right there, a proven scorer and facilitator with skills that’d probably have him on a multi-year NBA contract if he was six inches taller. We know what we’re getting from him... yet it was Izaiah Brockington who was awarded NBL Blitz MVP honours after serving up 22 points (8/15 FG), 13 rebounds, and 4 assists against South East Melbourne (109-101 win) and then 18 points (6/10 FG), 5 rebounds, 2 assists against Cairns Taipans (94-75 win). He looked awesome. Really athletic, capable of scoring from different levels, and willing to take over in the second game after PJC went off injured.
Brockington is 26 years old and went undrafted in 2022 after busting his ACL in a pre-draft workout. He then hung around the New Orleans Pelicans organisation for a couple years but only played one NBA game in 2023-24. Plenty of G-League experience in there though. He did Summer League with the Los Angeles Clippers earlier this year. The Breakers will be his first experience outside of America.
And we haven’t even seen the third import yet: power forward Rob Baker II. He skipped the Blitz because he was representing USA at the FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers. Prior to that he played for Alba Berlin in Germany where he was teammates with a couple of former Breakers: Yanni Wetzell and Will McDowell-White. Finn Delany also previously played for that team.
Baker is a 27yo, 6’10 forward who can play up in the five if needed, with a passable jump shot. He did four years at Harvard University before going unpicked in the 2010 NBA Draft. Played a bit of G-League with the Sacramento Kings affiliate and has done NBA Summer League four different times with four different teams. Around all that he’s played in Slovenia, Puerto Rico, Japan, and then was a late-season addition for Alba Berlin in Germany where he only had time to play six games. Very much someone who has been signed to complement the guys that are already there, not that you ever know with imports until they get settled. Coach Kop and Bossman Boucher spent a long time assessing their options before settling on these two guys to complete the roster. They were very diligent in searching for the ideal fits alongside PJC and friends.
Another aspect of this team that’s being slept on is the massive potential for individual growth, with two players in particular standing out. Karim Lopez is the first NZB Next Star to return for a second season and you can’t underestimate how valuable that’s going to be for him, especially with the same coach and point guard around him. Lopez won’t be back for a third. He’s going to be drafted very high in the next NBA intake but before then he’s got some NBL games to win where he’s currently pencilled in as the starting small forward for this team. Lopez was already starting to sizzle towards the end of last season. Even accounting for the team’s woes taking all the pressure off, the fact that he averaged 13.7 points and 4.4 rebounds with 42% three-point shooting across the last eight games should have folks salivating for what’s to come.
But let’s not act like Lopez is the only bloke ready for a leap. Nobody suffered more from the stupid Tacko Fall acquisition than Sam Mennenga last season. He was searching for game-to-game consistency amidst flashes of dominance when suddenly another centre arrived and the tactics had to adjust for Fall’s lack of shooting and Mennenga got caught in the shuffle. Well, this time there’ll be no shuffle. Mennenga has clarity as the starting centre. Plus he’s also returning after a very busy offseason partly spent tearing things up in Puerto Rico (14.5pts & 6.8reb per game with Atleticos de San German) and partly spent playing NBA Summer League with the Los Angeles Lakers. He’ll be brimming with confidence and we’re all about to see what that means.
Then we come to the kiwi depth. Reuben Te Rangi, Izayah Le’Afa, and Rob Loe are all back after varying amounts of years away. Taylor Britt has been signed to his senior pro deal in the NBL, four years after finishing up as a development player with the Perth Wildcats. Now, if we’re being harsh about it, this is where it could be said that the Breakers have stumbled. As great as the resurgence of Aotearoa accents at Atlas Place is, they didn’t actually manage to sign the best available NZers. We know that they went hard after Flynn Cameron only for him to sign with Adelaide instead. Finn Delany has returned to the league but he’ll be wearing Melbourne United colours instead. Jackson Ball is going to be a DP with Illawarra Hawks. The two best college grads, Taine Murray and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, each signed elsewhere: Murray with Brisbane Bullets, ATJ with Valmiera Glass Via in Latvia.
Yeah sure okay... but while the RTR, Le’Afa, Loe, Britt quartet might not be the tastiest in terms of highlight reels, you know for sure that you’re going to get fantastic leadership and professionalism from each of them. They’re also excellent defenders. Te Rangi and Britt have both won NBL championships before while Le’Afa and Loe have made finals series within the past few years. Let alone their international experience.
These guys will be the culture setters... and don’t be surprised if they deliver above expectations on the court either. Te Rangi is a notoriously sketchy shooter but he scored 35 combined points in the two Blitz games. Le’Afa struggled with his threes last season (only 27%) but he’s shot between 33-36% in each of his previous four NBL seasons and always has the capacity to go on a game-winning hot streak from deep. Loe is an analytics darling with his floor-stretching shooting and clever facilitating. Taylor Britt has been the best player for a Canterbury Rams side that’s bossed the NZ scene over the last three years and he excelled for the Tall Blacks at the recent Asia Cup.
Kiwis on NBL26 Rosters
Illawarra Hawks – Luca Yates (DP), Jackson Ball (DP)
Melbourne United – Shea Ili, Finn Delany
Perth Wildcats – Dontae Russo-Nance
SEM Phoenix - N/A
Sydney Kings – N/A
Adelaide 36ers – Flynn Cameron
Tasmania JackJumpers - N/A
Brisbane Bullets – Tyrell Harrison, Tohi Smith-Milner, Taine Murray
NZ Breakers – Sam Mennenga, Taylor Britt, Izayah Le’Afa, Reuben Te Rangi, Max Darling, Rob Loe, Carlin Davison, Alex McNaught (DP), Tukaha Cooper (DP), Liam Judd (DP)
Cairns Taipans – Sam Waardenburg
The lone Australian left with the Breakers, Sean Bairstow, looked pretty decent at the Blitz. And between Max Darling and Carlin Davison the Breakers have two rapidly developing local youngsters ready to announce themselves (Darling already sort of has). Alex McNaught is back for another year as a development player. Plus, with Kaia Isaac leaving to spend a year with Tarleton State University in America, the Breakers have added two more local DPs and both Liam Judd and Tukaha Cooper fit very similar profiles.
Judd is 24 years old and both he and his mullet should be well known to fans of the NZ NBL where he’s impressed with his shooting and his hustle for both Manawatu Jets and more recently Nelson Giants. In his last three NZ campaigns, he’s shot 37.1% (2023), 39.6% (2024), and 41.3% (2025) from three-point range. This guy is a small forward who stands at 196cm and already spent time training with the Breakers last year. Development Players don’t often get many minutes but if the opportunity arises, Judd is big and physical and experienced enough to contribute right away.
Cooper is exactly the same. He’s a 23yo guard with plenty of untapped potential who was outstanding in a role player’s job for the Southland Sharks as they took it all the way to the 2025 NBL final, shooting an incredible 41.7% from threes – making him one of the top marksmen in the competition. He’s also a strong athlete at 6’3 and a very good defender. Same as Judd, Cooper is capable of competing for minutes from the get-go. If Coach Kop needs him to play then he’s ready to rock.
The trick with development player signings is that the very best youngsters tend to leave for USA universities since that’s still the best way to get noticed by NBA scouts... so, like we saw with Jackson Ball at Illawarra, if you sign those guys you’re probably not going to get a long term player. But there are those who don’t go to college, perhaps they’re late bloomers or perhaps they just didn’t want to move to America. Carlin Davison is a great example of someone who has created plenty of buzz without walking that path, even getting picked up in the G-League International Draft recently (which doesn’t mean anything in the short term but it gives him an option down the line if he fancies it). Another example would be Max Darling who, like Davison, joined the Breakers as a DP and has since earned a full roster spot. Judd and Cooper are equally capable of following the same trajectory.
And there you have it. Will the new imports complement PJC as intended? Can the kiwi role players rediscover their best versions in a more welcoming environment? Is Karim Lopez ready to take the league by storm? Will Sam Mennenga discover the consistency that’ll make him one of the NBL’s premier locals? How many wins will the cultural reset going to be worth? How much better is the team going to look playing in their own colours instead of some random Miami Vice spinoff jerseys? It all begins with Breakers vs Bullets on Friday 19 September so that’s when we can start answering these pesky questions.
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