[4] The four-team event featured the Canterbury Rams (2–1), Nelson Giants (3–0), Wellington Saints (0–3) and a Porirua invitational team (1–2).
[5][6][7] The regular season commenced on Thursday 10 March in Wellington with the Wellington Saints hosting the Super City Rangers at TSB Bank Arena.
[8] As the only team based north of Hawke's Bay, the Rangers utilised two new 'home' venues around the Upper North Island, Te Awamutu and Whangārei, providing increased exposure for elite basketball in that area of the country.
[8] The regular season concluded with the Rams earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2002 and their first minor premiership since 1993,[9][10] while the Hawks recorded their first winless season in franchise history and joined the 1998 Northland Suns, 2009 Taranaki Mountainairs, 2010 Otago Nuggets and 2015 Taranaki Mountainairs as the only sides in NBL history to go an entire season without a win.
[11] For the first time in the competition's history, Invercargill hosted the Final Four weekend, with the semifinals on Friday 3 June, followed by the championship game on Saturday 4 June.