Has Basketball Overtaken Netball in New Zealand?

New Zealand has always been a country that has liked to do things differently to the rest of the world. Until March, the car coming from the right had the right of way on the road.

Rugby union is the number 1 sport in New Zealand unlike most other places where football (soccer) is number 1.

And for a while, netball was number 1 over basketball in this country.

But in recent times, netball's dominance has been eroded away by its American-born rival - yes basketball is possibly the USA's biggest contribution to world sport having been invented in US colleges as a way to get people fit in the winter.

The success of the Tall Blacks on the world stage in the 2002 World Champs and the recent success of the New Zealand Breakers coupled with some lacklustre results for New Zealand netball sides, as well as the fact we get a heck lot more coverage of the NBA than we ever did, means that basketball quite possibly has the momentum over its IMO more antiquated and outdated rival.

Both games have their strengths. Netball is all about stringing passes together, while basketball is more than just passes but actually creating stuff with your feet and dribbling the ball, making it a heck lot more exciting than netball - and well, basketball was originally predominantly a men's game while netball was for the women. Of course, now we have the likes of Lauren Jackson, one of the biggest names in women's basketball and I do know men who play netball especially in New Zealand.

Jeremy Lin - instant millionaire

Mind you everyone has their tastes, but for me I think New Zealand should focus on basketball - same applies with baseball over softball - as basketball is a far bigger global sport than netball (which really is a bit like league, only Australia, England and New Zealand play it, with Jamaica occasionally flexing their muscles). If New Zealand became great at basketball, the company would be great - Spain, Greece, USA, Germany, Serbia, China, Australia, Argentina, etc., the company is a lot better than with netball.

Basketball is also a far more lucrative sport professionally and players who make it all the way could become multi-millionaires. Netball doesn't quite offer the same rewards financially even if it is making in-roads - Irene van Dyk's salary is probably the same as LeBron James' weekly grocery bill.

Anyway basketball for me, but perhaps it hasn't quite overtaken netball yet in NZ as long as people still play it during the winter - although if New Zealand's growing migrant population especially from the USA and Asia is anything to go by, basketball could easily catch up soon just as soccer has already (the Chinese and Europeans are more familiar with basketball than netball just as they are with soccer than rugby). And when the Silver Ferns play Australia, perhaps order will be restored in New Zealand. But for now, basketball fans in NZ should savour every moment now that their game has a higher standing here than at any time in its history in NZ.

Thanks to dannews, New Zealand's newshound, for bringing this question up on twitter by the way. Go to http://www.dannews.co.nz

New Zealand Breakers are Champions!

After one of the most thrilling best-of-3 finals series ever witnessed in any sport, the New Zealand Breakers overcame a highly competitive and tough Perth Wildcats team to win their 2nd ANBL title in a row.

Undoubtedly, home ground advantage helped big time although you have to say the Breakers should have clinched the title in game 2 in Perth.

So nearly 9 years after the Breakers were first established to compete in the ANBL, they are champions not only once but twice now, and are undoubtedly the mother of all New Zealand teams competing in exclusively trans-Tasman professional sports leagues - we don't count Super Rugby here as South African teams play in that as well.

The Warriors took 16 years to win a Grand Final title and even then it was the Junior team that did it, back to back. The Wellington Phoenix have made the playoffs but don't quite look like a Grand Final winning team - perhaps to the relief of the whole Asian Football Confederation.

So hats off to the Breakers. Sure it's not the NBA or Euroleague but they did the best they could in the league they were in and as Perth showed, there is more than 1 good team in the ANBL. And give some credit to Australian and New Zealand basketball - both have stood tall in recent times against the more fancied European teams and the mighty and wealthy USA.

Furthermore, winning the championship in back to back years is always a difficult feat in any sport whatever the standard. The opposition is usually an improvement on last season and they're always up for beating the champions. Ask Barcelona too as they aim to become the first team in the Champions League era to win back-to-back titles - who knows this might be a good omen for the Catalans?

All New Zealanders should savour this result and hopefully the Breakers' domination can continue for a while yet helping to establish basketball as a sport to be reckoned with in this country. Look what the All Blacks domination did to rugby and Brazil to football.

So well done and congratulations to the SkyCity New Zealand Breakers! Double champions back to back...

And it feels good.