Change of ownership at New Zealand Breakers; front office cleanout set to take place

Thursday, 20 March 2025

The New Zealand Breakers have been sold and the new owners are set to institute a massive cleanout of the front office at Atlas Place.

Several highly placed sources have confirmed to The Post that the ownership group headed by former US professional basketballer Matt Walsh had sold the Auckland-based Australian National Basketball League club. Walsh has been making the key decisions for the organisation from his American home for the last couple of years, and it is understood has had the club on the market for some time now.

Multiple sources, including some close to the situation at the club’s North Shore headquarters, have confirmed the sale, to a group headed by Wellington brothers and businessmen Stephen and Leon Grice, which it is understood will be officially revealed on Monday. It has been approved by the NBL.

The Post understands that all staff at the club have been told their services would no longer be required under the new ownership structure.

The Breakers declined to comment on questions of ownership when approached by The Post, and previous owner Matt Walsh also said he nothing to say on the matter at this stage.

But one source with knowledge of the situation revealed all of the staff had been told there was to be a total cleanout of front office personnel, and that new people were to be brought in to run the club.

It’s understood there are as many as seven fulltime employees at the club who have been affected. The news was said to be greeted with shock and dismay by the staff members who were “devastated” by the developments, with many reduced to tears.

Walsh’s group (Breakers Basketball Ltd), which includes ex-NBA players Shawn Marion and Victor Oladipo, took over ownership of the Breakers from Paul and Liz Blackwell in 2018, and guided the club through a rollercoaster ride of results since, including the Covid years when the club was forced to spend the best part of two seasons on the road in Australia.

Under Walsh the Breakers were never quite able to repeat the championship success enjoyed during the Blackwells’ tenure when the club won four titles between 2010-15. They missed the playoffs the first four seasons Walsh was in charge, then made the grand final in 2022-23 (losing to the Sydney Kings in an epic five-game series) and were beaten in the final play-in game of the 2023-24 post-season.

This season the Breakers finished well outside the playoff picture with a 10-19 record seeing them place ninth of the 10 clubs.

The 2024-25 season was blighted by an ownership decision to bring in Tacko Fall as a mid-season replacement for Freddie Gillespie as the club’s import centre. At that stage the Breakers were 7-3 and top of the league.

Once Fall joined the club they lost 16 of their remaining 19 games to crash out of post-season contention.

The Post understands all contracted players and coaches have been informed of the change of ownership, and that their deals will be honoured by the new group.

As of now, it’s thought the intention is to bring back head coach Petteri Koponen and at least one of his assistants from ‘24-25. That was the former Finnish pro’s first season as a head coach at this level.

The Breakers have six players under contract for next year in Fall, Sam Mennenga, Max Darling, Mitch McCarron, Sean Bairstow and Next Star Karim Lopez, with the new owners honour-bound to see out their deals.

The new purchasers had not declared their roles by Thursday, but a perusal of New Zealand companies records showed NZ Breakers Club Ltd had been formed on February 28 by Wellington brothers and business partners Stephen and Leon Grice. They are listed as directors and 50/50 shareholders in the company.

The brothers founded Rako Science which was notable for introducing a non-invasive saliva PCR test to New Zealand during the pandemic.

It is not known at this stage what the new owners’ intentions are with the Breakers, though sources have indicated that they were set to include some notable former players in an advisory group to guide their decisions. One indicated they would not be surprised if the likes of Dillon Boucher (now running Basketball NZ) and recently retired stalwart Tom Abercrombie were brought in to provide guidance.

The sale price will probably never be known, but sources indicate Walsh’s group got a fair market valuation. The Tasmania JackJumpers were the last NBL franchise sold, to a Brisbane-Based private equity firm, with media estimating that valuation at A$35 million (NZ$38.2m).

The Australian NBL is currently in the midst of another thrilling grand final series locked at 2-2 between the Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne United.