Manawatu Jets
Basketball team in Palmerston North, New Zealand
title: "Manawatu Jets" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["basketball-teams-established-in-1982", "basketball-teams-in-new-zealand", "national-basketball-league-(new-zealand)-teams", "sport-in-palmerston-north", "1982-establishments-in-new-zealand"] description: "Basketball team in Palmerston North, New Zealand" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manawatu_Jets" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Basketball team in Palmerston North, New Zealand ::
::data[format=table title="infobox basketball club"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Manawatu Jets |
| color1 | white |
| color2 | green |
| logo | Manawatu Jets new logo.png |
| league | NZNBL |
| founded | 1982 |
| history | Palmerston North Jets |
| 1982; 1985–1987; 1989–2001 | |
| Manawatu Jets | |
| 2002–2015; 2018–present | |
| arena | Central Energy Trust Arena |
| location | Palmerston North, Manawatū, New Zealand |
| colours | Green, white, black |
| sponsor | Property Brokers |
| chairman | Craig Nash |
| coach | Tony Webster |
| ownership | Tim Mordaunt |
| championships | 0 |
| ret_nums | 1 (12) |
| website | thejets.co.nz |
| h_body | 008000 |
| h_pattern_b | _whitesides |
| h_shorts | 008000 |
| a_body | FFFFFF |
| a_pattern_b | _greensides |
| a_shorts | FFFFFF |
| :: |
| name = Manawatu Jets | color1 = white | color2 = green | logo = Manawatu Jets new logo.png | league = NZNBL | founded = 1982 | folded = | history = Palmerston North Jets 1982; 1985–1987; 1989–2001 Manawatu Jets 2002–2015; 2018–present | arena = Central Energy Trust Arena | location = Palmerston North, Manawatū, New Zealand | colours = Green, white, black | sponsor = Property Brokers | chairman = Craig Nash | gm = | coach = Tony Webster | ownership = Tim Mordaunt | championships = 0 | ret_nums = 1 (12) | website = thejets.co.nz | h_body = 008000 | h_pattern_b = _whitesides | h_shorts = 008000 | h_pattern_s = | a_body = FFFFFF | a_pattern_b = _greensides | a_shorts = FFFFFF | a_pattern_s =
The Manawatu Jets are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Palmerston North. The Jets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Central Energy Trust Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Property Brokers Manawatu Jets.
Team history
The Palmerston North Jets were a foundation member of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1982. After finishing eighth in the eight-team competition, the Jets were relegated to the second-tiered Conference Basketball League (CBL) in 1983. After finishing as CBL runners-up in 1984, they were promoted back into the NBL in 1985. They finished fifth in both 1985 and 1986, but after finishing tenth in the ten-team competition in 1987, the Jets were relegated to the CBL in 1988. The 1988 season saw the Jets win the CBL championship, which saw them promoted back into the NBL in 1989. The Jets were regular season winners in 1989, but despite being the top seed at the finals weekend, they were defeated 92–84 in the semifinal by the Canterbury Rams. In 1992, the Jets reached the NBL final, where they were defeated 79–71 by the Rams. In 2002, the team became known as the Manawatu Jets.
In November 2015, the Jets withdrew from the NBL due to reduced funding and an unsustainable business model. In April 2017, the Jets lodged their application to Basketball New Zealand to compete in the 2018 NBL season. Their application was successful, and on 29 August 2017, the Jets were readmitted into the league.
In 2020, the Jets reached the NBL final for the second time in their history, where they lost 79–77 to the Otago Nuggets.
In 2022, the Jets retired the number 12 jersey of Jake McKinlay following his death the previous year.
Players
Current roster
| color1 = #FFFFFF | bg1 = #008000 | color2 = #FFFFFF | bg2 = #008000}} | head_coach =
| asst_coach =
| DP = y | I = y | roster_url = https://www.facebook.com/jetsbasketballnz/ | accessdate = 1 February 2026
Notable past players
- USA / NZL Ed Book
- USA / NZL Willie Burton
- AUS David Cooper
- USA Chris Hagan
- USA / NZL Nick Horvath
- AUS / NZL James Hunter
- USA / NZL Marcel Jones
- AUS / NZL Luke Martin
- USA Josh Pace
- NZL Jeremiah Trueman
- NZL Mika Vukona
Retired numbers
::data[format=table]
| Manawatu Jets retired numbers | No | Nat. | Player | Position | Tenure | Ceremony date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | NZL | Jake McKinlay | SF/PF | 2018–2021 | 23rd July 2022 | |
| :: |
References
References
- (16 November 2025). "Jets whānau… the off-season has been BUSY.". facebook.com/jetsbasketballnz.
- (10 August 2024). "Jets covet a settled 2025 roster to start chasing wins". Stuff.co.nz.
- Lampp, Peter. (13 November 2015). "Historical debt and reduced trust funding forcing Jets to take a season out". Stuff.co.nz.
- Egan, Brendon. (4 April 2014). "Keith Mair reflects on Rams' halcyon days". Stuff.co.nz.
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150113104341/http://www.thejets.co.nz/about-us/ Jets History]
- [http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/sport/73987440/manawatu-jets-out-of-2016-basketball-league Manawatu Jets out of 2016 basketball league]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20151117032445/http://nzhoops.co.nz/manawatu-jets-out-of-2016-nbl/ Manawatu Jets Out Of 2016 NBL]
- [http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/sport/92100495/manawatu-jets-throw-their-hat-in-the-ring-for-2018 Manawatu Jets throw their hat in the ring for 2018]
- [http://www.basketball.org.nz/NBL-News/nz-nbl-agree-to-the-return-of-manawatu-jets-in-2018 NZ NBL AGREE TO THE RETURN OF MANAWATU JETS IN 2018]
- [https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/basketball/96245256/manawatu-jets-cleared-for-takeoff-in-nbl Manawatu Jets cleared for takeoff in National Basketball League]
- Hinton, Marc. (30 July 2020). "Sal's NBL Showdown: Otago Nuggets' golden run continues; Manawatu Jets also into final". Stuff.co.nz.
- Hinton, Marc. (31 July 2020). "Sal's NBL Showdown: Soaring Manawatu Jets enjoying life in the hoops fast lane". Stuff.co.nz.
- (1 August 2020). "NUGGETS STRIKE GOLD IN SAL'S NBL SHOWDOWN". nznbl.basketball.
- Hinton, Marc. (1 August 2020). "Sal's NBL Showdown: Otago Nuggets grab first title as they shade Manawatu Jets in thriller". Stuff.co.nz.
- (23 July 2022). "GAME RECAP: SAINTS ROLL PAST JETS TO MOVE TO 8-8". [[National Basketball League (New Zealand).
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::