How the NBL’s newest team fell apart in one season

The Indian Panthers basketball team withdrew from New Zealand's National Basketball League on May 22nd, ending a season that had already been suspended due to serious allegations. Heralded as a groundbreaking initiative to connect Indian basketball with New Zealand, the Auckland-based franchise backed by India's pro league managed only nine games with zero wins before its collapse.

The team experienced significant operational chaos from the outset. Head coach Miles Pearce quit after the first game, key overseas players never arrived, and players eventually boycotted a game in late April. Veteran captain Leon Henry described a lack of basic team structure: no training program, strategic oversight, full scrimmages, team meetings, or organized conditioning. Players often only assembled briefly before games. The situation worsened when an interim coach took a mid-season holiday and management failed to return for a match, leaving players to run the team themselves. The Panthers suffered heavy defeats, showing no improvement.

Severe financial problems paralleled the on-court failures. The franchise systemically failed to pay players, support staff, and suppliers. Three Indian imports lived in an Airbnb without sufficient funds for food, relying on charity and rival clubs. Local suppliers, including Pure Athletic and Makers Merch, pursued significant unpaid debts, with some taking legal action. CEO Parveen Batish acknowledged slow payments, blaming sluggish sponsorship and lack of early support from the Indian community, and insisted all debts would be repaid, though many creditors remain unconvinced.

The team also failed to reflect its stated "Indian" identity, fielding only three Indian players all season. The rest of the squad consisted of local journeymen and short-term fill-ins. Most of the intended Indian contingent never received visas, and some reportedly declined to travel once aware of the conditions in New Zealand.

Basketball veteran Jeff Green suggested the franchise's true purpose was never long-term participation in the New Zealand league. He believes it was a "Trojan horse" aimed at securing entry into the more lucrative Australian NBL, a theory he supports by noting the Panthers' financial backers were all based in Australia. This plan, if it existed, has now failed completely.