NBL26 Round 1

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New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets NBL26 Round 1 Tips - New Zealand Fire Off Bullets In Season Opener

Ryan Tucker

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Last updated: Wed 17 Sep 2025 13:01

Ryan Tucker 17 Sep 2025

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New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets expert predictions for Friday’s Round 1 NBL matchup
Tip-off is at 17:30 PM AEST at Spark Arena
Breakers have reshaped roster and culture, aiming for a strong NBL25 start.
Brisbane Bullets feature key new players but are still finding chemistry.
Experts tip the Breakers to win, cover the line, with props on Adams’ assists and Freeman-Liberty’s points.

New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets NBL26 Round 1 Tips

New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets NBL25 Round 1 Expert Tips

New Zealand will open their NBL26 season at home with a win over the Brisbane Bullets despite the visitors trending with 3 of the last 4 wins in this matchup.

New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets NBL25 Round 1 Expert Tips
Head to Head
NBL25 Season Series
Offensive & Defensive Rankings NBL25
New Zealand Breakers Form & Team News
Brisbane Bullets Form & Team News
New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets Frequently Asked Questions

The Breakers are a new identity this season. New ownership, a new direction and “back in black”. This underlying culture change will see them double down on the resilience that they showed back at the start of the NBL25 season where they went 7-3 to start the year despite a gruelling trip to the states during the span.

This year they have the preparation under wraps, the roster has improved with the addition of Izaiah Brockington, Izayah Le’Afa and Reuben Te Rangi. Add to that, coach Koponen has had another off-season to instill his basketball finesse onto this team.

The Bullets will definitely put up a fight and the expectation is that the game will go down to the wire. They have also added pieces this off-season to improve their scoring, none more important than Jaylen Adams. Javon Freeman-Liberty has also shown in the pre-season that he could be a sneaky MVP candidate.

The turnover in players and an entirely new coaching structure we know will take time to settle for Brisbane. Expect them to stay in touch but not have enough on the road to match it with the re-invigorated Breakers on home court.

Take New Zealand to win and cover the very short line. Only 24% of games finished with margins of 5 or less last season and the Bullets matched that average, if you are bold take the Breakers to win by 6 or more as it could blow out in the last minute by a single field goal. Javon Freeman-Liberty should go over his points total and Jaylen Adams over his assist total.

New Zealand had a 5-3 record at Spark Arena last season with an average winning margin of 10 points.
The Bullets had an average losing margin of 14.7 pts on the road last season.
Javon Freeman-Liberty top scored for the Bullets in 2 of the 3 pre-season games he played. He had at least 8 FGA and 5 FTA in all three games.
Jaylen Adams averaged 6.1 Assists last season for the Kings and had at least 5 assists in 3 of his 4 pre-season games.

Head to Head

NBL25 Season Series

Date	Home Team	Score	Line	Total Points
24/01/2025	NZB	BRI 93-87	BRI +8.0	U 182.0
08/01/2025	BRI	BRI 83-74	BRI -6.0	U 184.0
17/10/2024	BRI	BRI 84-73	BRI -2.5	U 174.0
21/09/2024	NZB	NZB 91-87	NZB -1.0	O 176.0

Offensive & Defensive Rankings NBL25

NZB Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	BRI Def
85.7	9	PPG	10	97.9
39.3	9	RPG	2	38.2
47.4%	3	FG%	10	50.1%
32.2%	10	3P%	9	37.2%
13.3	10	TOV	7	11.2

NZB Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	BRI Off
91.4	4	PPG	6	92.3
37.3	1	RPG	8	39.8
46.0%	7	FG%	6	46.2%
36.0%	7	3P%	1	37.5%
9.4	10	TOV	9	12.9

New Zealand Breakers Form & Team News

The Breakers have re-aligned their values and team structure in the off-season. A more Kiwi centric roster has seen Izayah Le’Afa and Reuben Te Rangi join the team as they relinquish the pink and return to the black and blue colours.

Their pre-season outings were successful in getting in the rhythm and while a large portion of last year’s team remains, the new fits have already proven that the connection is there and can be developed throughout the upcoming season.

Brisbane Bullets Form & Team News

The Bullets had one of the biggest overhauls in the off-season with a new coach being named as well as 8 new players joining the roster. Most notably Jaylen Adams and Javon Freeman-Liberty who have both already stamped their mark on this franchise.

Freeman-Liberty was top scorer in 2 of the 3 games he played in the pre-season and Jaylen Adams was one of the most dynamic guards in the league for Sydney last season before succumbing to a back injury.

Casey Prather and Tyrell Harrison are the core that continue from last year but with the losses of Isaac White, James Batemon, Josh Bannan and Keandre Cook, there is a big hole to be filled.

New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets Frequently Asked Questions

What time does New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets start?

Tip-off between New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets is at 17:30 PM AEST, Friday 19th September

What channel is New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets on?

You can watch New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.

Verdict

New Zealand Breakers v Brisbane Bullets

New Zealand -1.5

Line

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