Sharks named Club of the Year
The people, teams and creators who helped bring the 2026 Sal’s NBL season to life have been recognised with the announcement of this year’s Sal’s NBL Media Awards.
The annual awards celebrate excellence across club operations, game presentation, fan engagement, social media, photography, video, digital content and independent media coverage.
The Southland Sharks have been named the 2026 Club of the Year, recognising the organisation’s work and impact across the season, beating out tough competition across the competition.
Jadcup Auckland Tuatara General Manager Dale Budge has received the General Manager of the Year award, while the Tuatara have also been recognised for Best Fan Engagement.
The Canterbury Rams have collected two awards, taking out Best Social Media and Best Game Presentation for their work across the club’s digital platforms and home-game experience in another strongly contested category.
Club of the Year
SBS Bank Southland Sharks
The Southland Sharks have been named the 2026 Sal’s NBL Club of the Year.
The award considers performance and sportsmanship, game-day delivery and operations, community and charity involvement, local market engagement, player development and relations, media and marketing activity, fan engagement, and the club’s professionalism and collaboration with the League, Basketball New Zealand and our commercial partners.
The Sharks have been recognised for their strong work across those areas and their overall contribution across the 2026 Sal’s NBL season on and off the court.
It is brilliant to see the Southland Sharks recognised as Club of the Year, especially given how much work goes on behind the scenes to build a strong community culture. The detail about their off-court community engagement initiatives alongside their performance on the hardwood really highlights what makes a sports organisation thrive long term. It actually takes me back to my uni days when I was relying on Expert Management Assignment Help to keep my study schedule on track, where analyzing successful sports franchises and organizational leadership models was one of my favorite topics. It goes to show that true success comes down to solid operational leadership and authentic connection with supporters.