For the 2019–20 season, the Breakers acquired the services of internationally respected Israeli coach Dan Shamir, replacing Kevin Braswell.[1] He bought with him nearly two decades of extensive experience coaching in Europe and Israel, the highlight being part of two Euroleague championship wins with Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv.[2]
Shamir recruited seven new players,[1] including US teen sensation R. J. Hampton as part of the NBL Next Stars program.[3] The Breakers and SKY Sport agreed to a multi-year naming rights sponsorship through to 2023,[4] along with broadcast rights for the next four years, including free to air viewing of 14 games on Prime in New Zealand.[5] The club also announced it would take four games around New Zealand, one each to New Plymouth and Invercargill, plus two in Christchurch after a near 15-year hiatus.[6] The Breakers began their 2019–20 campaign with a pre-season trip to the United States with games against NBA teams the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder, losing both by double digits.[7][8]
Turmoil engulfed the early stages of the season, with their on-court woes of a 2–7 start coinciding with off-court woes.[9] An injury to import Scotty Hopson led to the controversial signing of troubled American journeyman Glen Rice Jr.,[10] who less than two weeks after arriving in Auckland was arrested after a scuffle in a bar and subsequently suspended indefinitely by the club.[11][12] Additionally, Breakers owner Matt Walsh was fined $5000 and given a two-game ban for getting into a heated argument with the NBL commissioner after a game, and forward Tom Vodanovich was met by police following a flight from Perth to Auckland in November after taking a sleeping pill in conjunction with alcohol that led to misbehaviour on the flight.[13] The multitude of incidents led to the questioning of the club's culture, with the new ownership seemingly moving away from the family values installed under previous owners Paul and Liz Blackwell.[14] Despite the controversy surrounding the club, the Breakers were playing to record home crowds[15] and the 24 October encounter against the Illawarra Hawks—which saw Hampton matched-up with LaMelo Ball—was the most-watched game in NBL history with nearly two million views globally on Facebook. There were an estimated five million views on highlights from the game shared on social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.[16]
A loss against the Adelaide 36ers on 24 November saw them drop to 2–8 — their worst start to a campaign since their debut in 2003–04 when they also lost eight of their first 10 games. Additionally, the team lost Corey Webster to an ankle injury.[17] Rice was reinstated to the roster for round 10 following an investigation by Basketball Australia,[18] but following his return match against the Taipans, he was arrested again for breaching bail conditions and was subsequently sacked by the Breakers.[19] His release coincided with the return of Hopson from injury.[19][20][21] After dropping to a 4–10 record, Webster left for China.[22] A remarkable turn around occurred from round 13 onwards with the Breakers reaching 8–10 by the end of December following a four-game winning streak,[23] and then winning 11 of their last 14 games to finish the season 15–13, only missing the playoffs on points differential.[24][25] The late-season push saw the Breakers being dubbed "the team no one wants to play in the playoffs".[26]
The Breakers pre-season games included one regular pre-season game against the Adelaide 36ers, two games in the NBL Blitz and another two games in the NBLxNBA series, and only played a total of five games.[27][28][29]
