Former Most Valuable Player Finn Delany has made a shock return to NZ Breakers, as they attempt to go one better than their runner-up finish in last season's Australian NBL.
Power forward Delany had already logged 162 games for the Auckland-based club - including all 36 played across the Tasman during 2021 COVID-19 exile - when he left to join German club Baskets Bonn last year.
After winning the FIBA Champions League crown, defeating Israel's Hapoel Jerusalem in the final, Bonn finished runners-up in the German Bundesliga, losing the final series 3-1 to Ratiopharm Ulm last month.
His decision to return to the Breakers has taken the club by surprise.
"Finn wanting to return to the Breakers is the highlight of my off-season," said head coach Mody Maor. "Finn chose to join the Breakers after his phenomenal season in Germany, because he wanted to part of what he saw from afar last season.
"I am extremely appreciative to Matt Walsh and the ownership group for making Finn's signing a possibility."
Delany, 27, was named club MVP, after averaging 16.2 points and 6.8 rebounds during that ill-fated 2021 campaign, which saw the club slump to a 5-23 record. He was named to the All-NBL Second Team.
In his absence last season, during Maor's coaching debut, the Breakers turned those fortunes around, locking down an automatic semi-final spot with an 18-10 record for second on the competition ladder. They eventually lost to two-time defending champions Sydney Kings in the final series.
Tall Black Delany is the eighth player confirmed for the 2023/24 Aussie NBL season, with three import spots still vacant.
