The 1996 NBL season was the 15th season of the National Basketball League. Only one change occurred heading into the 1996 season, with Waitakere leaving the NBL for the second-tiered Conference Basketball League (CBL). Auckland won the championship in 1996 to claim their fourth league title. In the best-of-three championship series, Nelson took Game 1 110–95, before Auckland came back to take Game 2 109–98 and Game 3 94–90.
Final standings # TeamAucklandNelson3North Harbour4Hawke's Bay5Wellington6Hutt Valley7Otago8Canterbury9Palmerston North10Taranaki11Northland12Waikato
Season awards NZ Most Valuable Player: Phill Jones (Nelson) Most Outstanding Guard: Tony Bennett (North Harbour) Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Phill Jones (Nelson) Most Outstanding Forward: Ed Book (Palmerston North) Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Pero Cameron (Auckland) Scoring Champion: Ed Book (Palmerston North) Rebounding Champion: Jeff Daniels (North Harbour) Assist Champion: Scott Stewart (Canterbury) Rookie of the Year: Paora Winitana (North Harbour) Coach of the Year: Nenad Vučinić (Nelson) All-Star Five: G: Tony Bennett (North Harbour) G: Phill Jones (Nelson) F: Darryl Johnson (Hutt Valley) F: Pero Cameron (Auckland) C: Ed Book (Palmerston North)
References