- By Henry Lee, AUT Journalism Student
After eight games of the New Zealand Breakers’ NBL 2024-25 season, the team is sitting pretty at the top of the table with six wins and two losses.
None more impressive than Monday night’s thumping of one of the championship favourites Melbourne United on their home patch 113-79.
The Breakers hadn’t won in Melbourne against United since 2018, making the 34-point victory a more spectacular win.
Sam Menenga contributed 25 points for the Breakers on 10-12 shooting, assisted by superstar import guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who had 23 points and seven assists.
Jackson-Cartwright leads the regular season Most Valuable Player list after the first seven rounds of the competition, an award he was also in the running for last year.
Seventeen-year-old Next Star and 2026 NBA draft prospect Karim Lopez impressed once again, contributing on both ends of the floor, with a double-double and team-high 10 rebounds.
The 2.02m teenager from Mexico is one of the highest regarded prospects ahead of the 2026 NBA draft and will follow in the footsteps of previous Breakers Next Stars in RJ Hampton, Rayan Rupert and Ousmane Dieng.
Everything seemed to connect for the Breakers’ side, who have started the season promisingly, even with a disruptive early season tour across the world to play against NBA teams.
New head coach Petteri Koponen has enjoyed a fast start in his first year as a head coach not just in the NBL, but in his career.
Koponen has his team playing a nice-looking style of basketball and has clearly built the connection and trust with his players who are thriving under the system.
The Breakers now travel for the next month, playing their next four games away from home in Australia.
Breakers’ upcoming home games:
- vs Tasmania JackJumpers, Thursday, December 12, 7.30pm, Eventfinda Stadium North Shore, Auckland
- vs Sydney Kings, Friday, December 20, 7.30pm, Spark Arena, Auckland
- vs Perth Wildcats, Sunday, January 5, 2025, 4.30pm, Spark Arena, Auckland
