New Zealand and the New York Knicks: A Perfect Match?

New Zealand and the New York Knicks: A Perfect Match?

With four games remaining in the regular season, the New York Knicks have already clinched their spot in the NBA Playoffs and are fighting with the Milwaukee Bucks to take home the top seed in the Eastern Conference. As good as they’ve been this year, there’s one piece missing from this team – an elite big man to protect the rim, rebound and score down low, or at least some type of rim protector to cover up their mediocre defense (ranked 16th in the league). This has caused Knicks fans to ask – who should they target on draft night? The answer may surprise you..

The Origins of the Basketball in New Zealand

New Zealand is a country that’s over 3,500 miles away from New York City. And while they may be so far apart in distance, they are still very close together in spirit. Basketball has a history in New Zealand dating back as early as 1895 when an American missionary named James Naismith created it at a YMCA Training School. On July 1st of that year, Naismith gave his new sport its first official basketball game.

The Basketball Association of New Zealand was founded in 1933 and New Zealand became a member of FIBA (the world basketball governing body) just two years later. The country hosted their first FIBA World Championship for Men in 1950, only 12 years after joining. They also hosted a Women’s Basketball World Cup that same year, which they were awarded hosting rights to by FIBA almost 30 years before it was actually held. But while they are known as one of New Zealand’s most popular sports today, it wasn’t always that way...

Though they had their own national team in place already, professional basketball wouldn’t arrive until 1986 when four teams competed against each other.

The Rise Of Basketball In The Land Of The Long White Cloud

In recent years, New Zealand has been experiencing a basketball renaissance. In August 2016, Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal released its annual list of top 10 most popular sports for Americans ages 12 to 24. Basketball came in first on that list. It has also become an increasingly popular sport at all levels in New Zealand with an estimated 60,000 people playing weekly during daylight savings months. In fact, one of New Zealand’s many nicknames is the land of long white clouds because its citizens are obsessed with basketball—or as some like to call it New Yorksport. This obsession with America's game makes it a perfect place for another professional team to set up camp in America's sports capital: New York City.

It’s also no surprise that one of New Zealand’s most famous exports is a certain Kiwi named Steven Adams. Adams has enjoyed an incredible start to his career, being selected by LeBron James as part of his new super team in Cleveland. Not only is he a vital part of a championship contending team, but he’s also experienced meteoric success at home. The Oklahoma City Thunder recently announced their preseason schedule for 2021 which will include playing games in Auckland, New Zealand versus San Antonio Spurs on October 5th and Melbourne United on October 8th.

How The Games Are Shaping Each Other

The 2021 Winter Olympics might be in Prong hang, South Korea, but New Zealand has been front and center on everyone’s minds since they won gold at last year’s Rio games. The Kiwis beat Canada in a thrilling penalty shoot-out to take home their second gold medal of all time. And while New Zealand is by no means one of Australia’s biggest rivals, it's beginning to look like there could be bad blood between these two countries soon. Much of that tension is due to some controversial comments made by The New York Knicks' Michael Porter Jr.

Porter Jr. is a member of both Team USA Basketball as well as The New York Knicks, who currently sit in fourth place in their division. Porter Jr., being an American basketball player, seems to have garnered some opinions on how he feels about Australia's most popular sport. In a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Porter Jr. was quoted saying that basketball is more evolved. He continued, saying It’s a little better version of what they do [in Australia] and they still can’t hang with us. With such strong words coming from someone of Porter Jr.'s stature, one can only imagine what type of reactions it may garner over in Australia.

What's next for basketball in NZ?

NZB team owner Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei wants to keep its National Basketball League franchise in Auckland, rather than moving it down south. The proposal is an interesting one, as it suggests that another New Zealand professional sporting franchise move south of Te Tii o te Ika a Māui. Currently, three other NZB franchises – New Zealand Warriors (rugby league), Canterbury Rams (basketball) and Wellington Saints (rugby union) all play in Australia's National Rugby League or Australian National Basketball League respectively. For [the Training] people of Waikato-Tainui, their future lies with NZRU, said Rangi Chase last month when discussing his move from Auckland to Hamilton for 2022.

Does New Zealand need more than one NZB franchise based in Australia? Two decades ago, it might have seemed an unlikely prospect. Auckland is a city of around 1.5 million people – almost double that of all of Waikato-Tainui, who are asking for a team to be based there.

Now, on to football

for those who don’t follow it, professional football is a sport played by two teams on a field that’s about 100 meters long (don’t quote me). The objective of football is to score more points than your opponent. To accomplish that goal, teams can score via touchdowns or by kicking field goals (1 point each). For example, if Team A scored 24 points whereas Team B only scored 22 points at halftime, then Team A would be ahead by 2 points. As you might guess, games are typically decided in similar fashion. How do you win an even game? Score more points than your opponent! The New York Jets have won three out of their last four games against New Zealand's national team.

New Zealand and the New York Knicks: A Perfect Match?

How The Games Are Shaping Each Other

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New Zealand and the New York Knicks: A Perfect Match?

How The Games Are Shaping Each Other

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