It’s big. bold and very innovative. The Sal’s NBL will welcome a 12th team this season, and in a unique first for Kiwi sport we will see a fully Indian-owned team living in South Auckland and predominantly filled with Indian national players. While it’s visionary in so many ways, come game day it will be all about performance and the Indian Panthers know all eyes will be on them.
2024 Position: not applicable, new team in 2025
Head Coach: Miles Pearce (1st season)
Players Departed: 1st year in competition
Players Incoming: All of them
What Our Experts Say
Casey Frank: Sometimes it not just about the basketball even when it’s about the basketball. The Panthers and the Sal’s NBL are creating something that if brought up just 1 year ago would received looks of astonishment. An Indian team in NZ? What’s the point of that? Well the point of that is to create opportunities. Opportunity for young players with Indian Heritage, both here in NZ and from India, to see a pathway for themselves in the basketball landscape, for fans to cheer for a team from their neck of the woods, a chance to follow a pathway for players in New Zealand to play in a new professional league overseas because of the talent pipeline that is being created and even for coaches here to work at the professional level. But even with all the opportunity created it will come down to the hoops. The Panthers organisation will tip off their first game tonight with a different lineup than expected but that doesn’t dampen the expectations for what is expected of the squad. Look for a team to play hard, take a few lumps but continue on the pathway that they are blazing. One that it is hoped will be followed by a generation of players who can one day look back and say, “It started there”.
Justin Nelson: Firstly, the size of the task in front of the Indian Panthers should not be brushed over – there is nothing easy about starting a pro sports franchise from scratch – but then throw in the added hurdle of the majority of your team moving to live and play in a country 12,500 kilometres away from home and you have some major challenges to overcome. But this innovative and bold move is one the Panthers are ready to tackle and I’m looking forward to watching it unfold. One challenge the Panthers owners didn’t expect was to lose eight of their Indian players to a national camp and hastily called FIBA game on March 22 (Asia Cup Qualifier) – just another hurdle. What it means is we will see a largely Kiwi team to start the season, which hopefully provides some previously unsigned players with an opportunity to show all 12 teams what they can bring to the table – perhaps a few may sign on with a team and get a contract due to this opportunity with the Panthers – let’s hope so. While I think it will take a little bit of time for the Panthers to build a fanbase, I do know they will have 1.45 billion fans at home and the opportunities for the Sal’s NBL as a result are off the charts. Good things take time, big things take patience – Rome wasn’t built in a day. I don’t think the Panthers will be a playoffs team in 2025, but I do expect them to finish with a better record than the Jets did in 2024 (1-19 … sorry to bring it up Jets). All the best to coach Miles Pearce, I’m personally pleased to see him get an opportunity – he will instill a competitive mantra and implore his team to play hard. Everything about 2025 will be hard for the Panthers, and it will take a lot of hard work, but I can’t wait to see the team progress, a fanbase build and the development of their Indian players. Fear and faith both demand you believe in something you cannot see. I choose faith. All the best to the Indian Panthers in 2025 as they embark on a journey no other team in domestic NZ sport has ever done. Let’s hope for a fun and rewarding ride.
