Breakers to face NBA opposition
It’s not the dream fixture they’ve been chasing, but the New Zealand Breakers are still rapt to land a plum pre-season matchup at the NBA’s Phoenix Suns on October 3.
It will be the first time the Auckland-based Australian NBL club will have played an NBA side, following last year’s historic series of pre-season games between the two leagues which involved Melbourne United, the Sydney Kings and Brisbane Bullets.
A total of seven games between Australian NBL sides and NBA opposition have been unveiled. The Breakers confirmed they will meet the Suns in Phoenix on October 3 as part of the cross-league extravaganza to run between September 28 and October 5.
The Breakers had hoped to land a prized matchup against Kiwi superstar Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder, but OKC are not part of this year’s series.
The Suns, who recently nabbed Deandre Ayton with the No 1 pick in the NBA draft, present as a decent consolation prize, especially considering former Phoenix legend Shawn Marion is now part of the Auckland club’s new ownership structure.
‘‘It’s going to be huge for our guys’ development because we’ll be taking on the best of the best,’’ said new head coach Kevin Braswell. ‘‘It’s exactly what we need in terms of growth. The style they [the Suns] will play against us is the style that we’ll play straight back at them . . . and they play fast.’’
Braswell said the game would present ‘‘perfect’’ preparation for his heavily rejigged roster heading into the 2018-19 ANBL season.
‘‘It’s going to be great for our team in terms of unity and building chemistry. We’ll be going straight from the NBL Blitz to Phoenix, Arizona, which will be good practice and preparation leading into our season.’’
The Suns, led by hot shooting guard Devin Booker (24.9ppg), were the worst team in the NBA last season, finishing bottom of the Western Conference with a 21-61 record.
The NBA-ANBL pre-season series will grow from three to seven matchups this year. Reigning champions Melbourne United, beaten finalists the Adelaide 36ers, the Perth Wildcats and Sydney Kings are the other clubs who will feature.