NICKNAME/S: Finn Diesel

BIO: Finn Delany was born in Nelson (New Zealand).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Finn Delany made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 20 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

The Breakers retained every player from their 2015 championship-winning roster minus Rhys Carter (to Sydney) and Ekene Ibekwe (to Europe). To replace the pair, the club picked up Australian point guard Shane McDonald and rookie American big man Charles Jackson. New Zealand’s pre-season was met with a number of challenges which included Alex Pledger being absent due to recovering from off-season foot surgery, Thomas Abercrombie being forced to the sidelines with a nagging hamstring strain and the exit of Corey Webster, who headed to the US to trial with the New Orleans Pelicans. In a move to replace them, the Breakers elevated development players Shea Ili and Tai Wynyard, while also signing Everard Bartlett as a replacement for Webster. Delany would sign on as a development player and appear in four games during the season.

New Zealand finished fourth (16–12) to claim the final playoff berth, where they swept ladder leaders Melbourne in the semifinals (2–0) and moved on to their fifth NBL Grand Final appearance in six years.

Again we would see a New Zealand v Perth Grand Final, where this time, the Wildcats would rely on the presence inside of Nathan Jawai and the tough defence of Casey Prather to take home victory in game one (82–76).

Game two was played in Auckland where the Breakers evened the series (1-1) thanks to a near triple-double from Cedric Jackson (13 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists) that propelled them to the win (72–68).

With the deciding game in Perth, 13,090 of the ‘Red Army’ were in attendance and the Wildcats’ made sure to avenge their grand final loss from last year. Casey Prather (19 points) and Jermaine Beal (14 points) did most of the damage on the scoreboard for the Wildcats, but it was Damian Martin’s inspirational display in defence that shone the brightest. Martin would be named Grand Final MVP after keeping star Breakers guard Cedric Jackson scoreless on five attempts and forcing him to foul out early in the last term. The Wildcats would go on to claim their seventh NBL championship in a blow-out victory (75–52).

The loss marked the first time New Zealand had lost to the Wildcat’s in playoff history and the team’s first ever grand final series loss.

2016/17
Following the Breakers’ 2016 grand final loss, chief executive Richard Clarke and coach Dean Vickerman parted ways with the organisation, with Paul Henare stepping up from assistant to take the reins as head coach, while Dillon Boucher took control of the front office as general manager.

Joining Dean Vickerman in departure was Cedric Jackson and Tai Wesley, both of whom moved across the Tasman and joined Melbourne United. While retaining Thomas Abercrombie, Corey Webster, Alex Pledger and Mika Vukona, the Breakers acquired the services of club legend Kirk Penney. With two vacant import spots, the Breakers signed Ben Woodside and Akil Mitchell. A strong New Zealand contingent also stepped up from development player roles this season, with Finn Delany, Shea Ili and Jordan Ngatai all being elevated onto the full-time roster.

An injury filled pre-season saw Shea Ili (back), Penney (calf) and Webster (hip and back) suffer injuries that would see them miss multiple games during the first half of the season. Even when Webster did return mid-season, he was never fully recovered and his production dropped from 19.6 ppg to 11.7 ppg as he battled to shake off a prolonged hip injury. After 20 games New Zealand had a total of eight wins and the ‘injury bug’ only got worse. Abercrombie (11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Woodside (8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) both spent time missed games due to injury and then in January, during a loss to Cairns (81-94), Mitchell (9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists) suffered a poke to the eye from Taipans centre Nnanna Egwu which caused his left eyeball to come out of its socket. He was rushed to hospital and although his vision was restored that night, he returned to the US to seek further specialist advice.

Webster made a valiant second return to the court before the end of the season, but under medical advisement, it was felt his injuries were too serious and he was shut down for the remainder of the season. New Zealand added import forward Paul Carter (9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) and shortly replaced a underperforming Woodside with David Stockton, the son of NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton. Stockton (8.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists) lasted only 10 games before he too succumbed to injury and was replaced by another import, Kevin Dillard.

The combo of Dillard (18.1 points, 4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals) and Penney (17.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) helped salvage the remainder of the Breakers’ season. The duo propelled New Zealand to a four game winning streak and revived the Breakers playoff hopes, but after back-to-back losses in round 17, they dropped to fifth place (14–14) and their playoff hopes were shattered.

Despite winning their last two games of the season, they fell short of a playoff spot, finishing in fifth place (14–14). Delany finished the season with averages of 3.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game.

2017/18
After a injury decimated season, New Zealand looked to rebuild in Paul Henare’s second year as coach. Kevin Dillard, who joined the team for the last nine games, was retained and it was hoped that the on court success witnessed during the last month of the season would be able to be extended across NBL18. The major move of the off-season saw the Breakers cut ties with Corey Webster after multiple situations where the two parties no longer saw eye to eye. This led to Webster first signing a two-year deal with Perth, then after turning the heads of some European team’s whilst playing in the 2017 NBA Summer League, requested a release prior to the NBL season starting. The remainder of the roster was retained and with league expanding the number of import a team can sign from two to three, added backcourt duo DJ Newbill and Édgar Sosa.

New Zealand then started the season in hot form, going 6–1 after five rounds thanks to the selflessness of Newbill (13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.3 steals) and Sosa (15.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Back-up guard Shea Ili (9.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) also posted impressive numbers, becoming a vital piece of the team’s second unit and claimed the NBL’s Most Improved Player at the end of the season.

With a win over the Perth Wildcats on 9 November, the Breakers moved to a 7–1 record, tying their best start in franchise history. They went on to defeat Perth again three days later, moving them to a 8–1 record. They moved to 9–1 with a win over Brisbane on 19 November, as they headed into the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification break atop the NBL ladder and on a nine-game winning streak.

After returning from the FIBA break, the Breakers lost four out of their first five games and dropped to 10–5 following Round 10. With Dillard (18.1 points, 4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals) injured, they chose to bring in NBA player Rakeem Christmas (7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds) in early January to bolster their squad.

Despite finishing the regular season with back-to-back losses, New Zealand finished in fourth place (15–13) and went on to face Melbourne and former coach Dean Vickerman in the semifinals. United handed the Breakers back-to-back defeats in the semifinals, following a overtime loss in Game 2 (88–86). Club legend Kirk Penney played (10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) his final NBL game in the game two loss, finishing with a 17-point effort.

Delany continued to show year-on-year improvement, finishing the season with averages of 5.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game.

2018/19
In 2018, a new regime was brought about at the Breakers organisation. In February, a consortium headed by former NBA player Matt Walsh became the majority shareholders via a newly formed company called Breakers Basketball Ltd, thus ending the 13-year Liz and Paul Blackwell ownership team.

Next came the exodus of four of the franchise’s most long-serving figures during the off-season. Paul Henare’s 15 years as player and coach came to a end, New Zealand’s all-time leading scorer Kirk Penney retired and Alex Pledger (to Melbourne), Mika Vukona (to Brisbane) not to mention young talent Robert Loe (to Cairns) all signed deals elsewhere.

Tom Abercrombie would step into the role of captain with Vukona’s exit and former player Kevin Braswell signed up to be the team’s new head coach and was tasked with remaking the Breakers squad. This included bringing back Tai Wesley (via Melbourne), a Guam-qualified American in the final year of his status as a unrestricted player and Tall Blacks star Corey Webster (via Europe) to a three-year deal. Jarrad Weeks (via Cairns) and Majok Majok (via Melbourne) were later added to finalise the team’s local roster and Patrick Richard, Armani Moore and Shawn Long signed as import players.

The Breakers started the season with a five-game losing streak in late November and early December but managed to find some form by January (4–8). As the season continued, it became clear some of the Breakers’ key additions weren’t able to deliver what was expected this season. Webster (10.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), who was once a premier scorer in the league delivered his worst statistical season in five years. Thomas Abercrombie (8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Shea Ili (7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) both saw a decline from last season, and imports Patrick Richard (11.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) and Armani Moore (7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) weren’t able to deliver the numbers expected either.

In mid-January, New Zealand (8-12) fell to the bottom of the ladder again following three consecutive losses, including one to the last-placed Cairns. They finished the season with a sixth-place finish (12–16).

In his debut season, Shawn Long (18.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks) would finish second in the league for rebounding and blocks, earning him a place on the All-NBL Second Team as well as the Breakers Club MVP. Tai Wesley (14.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.1 blocks) delivered a great all-around season and Jarrad Weeks (10.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) delivered the best season of his career, finishing runner-up for both the Best Sixth Man and Most Improved Player awards.

Finn Delany continued to see his game improve, boosting his numbers to 8.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists across 25 games

2019/20
During the 2019/20 season, Delany averaged 12.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists and was a part of the Breakers squad which finished in sixth place with a record of 15-13.

2020/21
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 season start date was delayed until January 2021. As a result of the pandemic, the Breakers were forced to commit to being based in Australia for the majority of the season. They hosted a number of games as the ‘home’ team in Tasmania and only returned to play their last seven games in New Zealand in late May.

New Zealand had added Brisbane Bullets star import Lamar Patterson and Colton Iverson as import players, while Tai Webster returned to the team, having left in 2013 to play college ball for Nebraska. The Breakers suffered another blow when its leading scorer Corey Webster sliced a nerve in his hand while cutting a avocado with a knife in his kitchen and would miss the first month of the season.

As would be expected from a team playing their first 29 games on the road, wins were few and far between. After narrowly losing to Adelaide in overtime in their first game, they would win only one game (a six-point win over Cairns) in the first eight contests. The sluggish start saw New Zealand release Lamar Patterson (10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists), who had injured his knee against the Hawks on February 22 after just six games. In his previous two seasons with the Bullets, Patterson had averaged 19.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists and twice been named a NBL First Team All-Star, but his form for the Breakers was far from his previous stints in the NBL.

With Patterson removed, New Zealand added Jeremy Kendle as a short-term replacement and saw a marked improvement, going 3-1 over the next four games.

Due to losing numerous players to injury and personal issues throughout the season, Robert Loe (20 games), Thomas Abercrombie (9), Corey Webster (8) and Tai Webster (7), the team added Australian guard William McDowell-White (7.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5 assists) as a nominated replacement player for the injured Corey Webster (13.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists) and Levi Randolph (14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 steals), who signed as Patterson’s replacement, which also resulted in the release of Jeremy Kendle (7.0 points per game).

The Breakers sat at the bottom of the ladder on a 4-9 record after their first 13 games prior to the roster changes, which made little difference in the win/loss column. The team also losing five of its next six games. Whilst Webster returned from his hand injury In February, on March 13, he was ruled out again, this time a knee injury keeping him out for four weeks.

The Breakers’ faced additional adversity with COVID-19 forcing them to continually move from city to city, attempting to find places where there was limited COVID impact to be able to play their remaining games. A COVID-19 window saw the team able to return home and play their remaining seven games in New Zealand, where they went 3-4 to finish the season.

Tai Webster (17.2 points, 5 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.2 steals) would lead the team in scoring alongside Finn Delany (16.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists), who delivered a breakout season and was named club MVP after boosting his scoring from 12 points per game the previous season and the Breakers finished second last (12-24).

2021/22
After a season where the Breakers played 29 of 36 games in Australia, things only continued to get worse for the Breakers, with the team unable to play any home games during NBL22 and finishing dead last during the regular season.

After playing the previous season with a trio of Corey Webster, Tai Webster, and William McDowell-White at point guard, the team decided they would build around the younger of the three and move Corey to the bench. The Breakers then allowed him to exit his contract with him choosing to play in Europe instead. Not long after, as a result of the NBL requiring players to be vaccinated for COVID-19, Tai Webster chose to exit his contract as well and play overseas.

While losing the Webster brothers, the team gained the signatures of Kiwi Yanni Wetzell (via South East Melbourne) and import players Peyton Siva, Hugo Besson and Jeremiah Martin. Additionally, the team signed French prodigy Ousmane Dieng under the league’s Next Star program.

The team immediately faced adversity, losing Siva and Thomas Abercrombie to injury and having to absorb a COVID outbreak on the eve of the season. The team signed Chasson Randle (7.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) as a replacement player for Siva, and the team began the season with a 0–6 start.

Siva was able to return to the team a few weeks later which then saw Jeremiah Martin (12.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals) and the Breakers agree to a mutual release, the move came as a result of high-level play from Randle, who they chose to retain instead of Martin once Peyton Siva (11.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2 steals) returned from injury.

Although the team had planned to play their home games at the back end of the season, COVID-19 restrictions made that impossible and forced the team to base themselves in Tasmania for the majority of the season.

The Breakers were led by the all-around play of Yanni Wetzell (17.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks) who left the team to play in Europe once New Zealand had no chance to make the playoffs. Despite leaving the team with a month of the Breakers season still remaining Wetzell was named club MVP. Hugo Besson (13.9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) and Finn Delany (10 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2 assists) would raise their games during that final month of the season but by mid-February had fallen to 4–10.

New Zealand finished with a 5–23 record, the Breakers worst season in their 19-year history.

2023/24
After a season spent playing basketball in Europe, Delany returned to the club for the 2023/24 season on a two-year deal.

Delany currently sits eighth on the all-time list of appearances for the club, with 1668 points and shooting at 0.46 percent from the field.Finn Delany currently plays for the New Zealand Breakers and has played 182 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 9.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists since entering the league in 2015.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

New Zealand Breakers – 2 Year Deal (2023-25)

Dan Boyce (798 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.