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If you live in the United States, there is a good chance you have never heard of the New Zealand Breakers basketball team. But an ownership group that includes Shawn Marion, Victor Oladipo and former pro basketball player Matt Walsh has been working to change that by positioning the club as a premier destination for global high school-aged talent.
In the last three years, elite players from China, France and India have all signed on to play for the Breakers (as did R.J. Hampton from the U.S.). Walsh, who runs day-to-day operations, and his partners believe if the team can continue to attract future NBA players, it can turn the Auckland-based squad into a globally recognized brand, create a host of new commercial opportunities for itself along the way and grow its valuation.
“I knew I could use my relationships in the NBA to play NBA preseason games [in North America] every year,” he said. “I knew with the [NBL’s] Next Stars Program that I could recruit and get top talent. And I knew I could start a media arm to the business and shoot a documentary,” a means to increase visibility à la Formula One’s Netflix series, Drive to Survive. The Breakers’ behind-the-scenes show airs on Sky Sports.
Several other current and former NBA players also have ownership stakes with NBL teams. The Houston Rockets’ John Wall and Dante Exum (a Melbourne native) and former NBA players Zach Randolph, Al Harrington and Josh Childress are owners of South East Melbourne. Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo and former NBA players Shawn Marion and Matt Walsh are part of the New Zealand Breakers’ ownership group. “Being a part of an ownership group is something I wanted to do, for sure,” Middleton said. “As a player it could be tough. But I realize the responsibilities I had wasn’t going to really affect my basketball career right now. But it’s something I think a lot of players are starting to trend towards is finding ways to invest their money, finding things to do with their money that can grow, and it’s something I’m interested in.”
While Victor Oladipo’s future with the Indiana Pacers remains murky, he’s found a franchise-altering deal elsewhere. Oladipo told The Associated Press that he and business manager Jay Henderson have joined an ownership group that includes former Florida basketball player Matt Walsh to purchase the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it will make the 28-year-old Oladipo one of world’s youngest basketball team owners — and the owner of the New Zealand’s home arena. “I was always interested in being part of team ownership, having input with a team and helping a team be successful on the business side of things,” Oladipo said. “To work with a team from this perspective, I’m sure I’ll have newfound respect for the guys who have been in that position.”
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Olgun Uluc: Sources: Jason Levien, the new managing partner of the Brisbane Bullets, met with Matt Walsh, owner of the New Zealand Breakers, in Brisbane today. The pair discussed an owners alliance; the Bullets and Breakers will now share resources and work closely together.
New Zealand team interested in Joakim Noah
Marc Stein: The @NZBreakers are trying to convince Joakim Noah to play in Australia's @nbl next season, league sources say, with Breakers owner Matt Walsh -- Noah's former collegiate teammate -- leading the recruitment
None of the Anthony rumours were true, but it still begs the question of how they even began. The man who led the consortium that purchased the Breakers, Matt Walsh — a former professional basketball player — just told the story on an episode of Barstool Sports’ ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast. Walsh told the podcast that he planted the Anthony rumour in the team’s WhatsApp group chat to see if his suspicions of a leak in the organisation were correct.
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“I had to throw out a little misinformation to see, identify the leak,” Walsh said. “We’re still working through that. “Basically, I put it out on our group ‘WhatsApp’. Everyone asked what the big global news was going to be, so I put a picture of Carmelo, ‘Hoodie Carmelo’, up and about 10 minutes later, it was all over New Zealand media. “We’ve got a big leak in the organisation, so we’re working through it now. I think all things considered, we did a pretty good job keeping it contained.” The dissemination of the Anthony rumour wasn’t the only breach of trust among the Breakers’ inner circle either, because a screenshot of that group chat was posted on Twitter on Wednesday evening.
Marc Stein: Didn’t really buy into their whole pursuit-of-@KingJames thing ... but maybe the @NZBreakers and their new American owners (led by @mattyvincent44 + @matrix31) have more juice than I thought. Here’s the ex-NBAer Walsh yesterday (for real) trying to win the fandom of @BarackObama.
Didn’t really buy into their whole pursuit-of-@KingJames thing ... but maybe the @NZBreakers and their new American owners (led by @mattyvincent44 + @matrix31) have more juice than I thought. Here’s the ex-NBAer Walsh yesterday (for real) trying to win the fandom of @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/EBwU7waNvW
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 22, 2018
A former NBA star and the co-owner of English Premier League club Swansea City are part of the new ownership group of the New Zealand Breakers, announced today. Long time club owners and directors Paul and Liz Blackwell today announced that a newly formed company, Breakers Basketball Ltd, will take control of the club from March 1, on the eve of the club's eight appearance in 11 years in the NBL semifinals. The consortium is headed by former NBA player Matt Walsh, along with business partners Adam Goodman, Romie Chaudhari and NBA All-Star Shawn Marion.
Walsh will take a hands-on role in leading the club into the next phase of its development, with a strong focus on the commercial activities of the four-time championship winning club. He will relocate from the United States to work out of the club's Auckland headquarters.
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