NBA and NFL Photo: Collage/Photosport
Analysis - The Warriors have survived an NRL opening round in Las Vegas, the Breakers are contemplating another away game against NBA opposition and the All Blacks have been taking games to the United States for more than a decade - but are Kiwi sports fans dreaming to think that any high-profile American teams will reciprocate with games in New Zealand?
There are some clear barriers to bringing overseas club teams here - cost, scheduling, population and whether the visiting teams see the benefits, to name a few.
But there is a chance New Zealand could piggyback off deals done across the Tasman. As American sport creeps closer to this part of the world with locked-in games in Australia, New Zealand is only one flight further.
International sporting icons have come with their club sides to New Zealand before.
Manchester United's George Best vs Auckland Goalie Arthur Stroud. Photo: New Zealand Herald/newspix.co.nz.
Nearly 60 years ago a championship-winning Manchester United team with the legendary George Best had a two-game tour of New Zealand after a series of games in California.
Fellow footballers (well, Major League Soccer side) LA Galaxy with their superstar signing David Beckham came to New Zealand to play the Wellington Phoenix in 2007 and an Oceania All-Stars team in 2008. The Galaxy's first visit came after the team had played in Sydney, and they added a stop in Wellington at the urging of former Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata. Their second visit, played at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium, lost $1.8 million due to low fan turnout.
Wellington Phoenix's Steven Old chases LA Galaxy's David Beckham. Photo: Dave Lintott
The exhibition basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters have made regular visits to New Zealand as part of their tours Down Under, but Aotearoa has not been on the itinerary for top-tier American teams in the NBA, NFL or MLB.
Since 2017, Australian NBL teams have played against NBA sides in the United States. Despite five NBL teams showing interest in taking part last year, the New Zealand Breakers were the only team to do it.
Matt Mooney #13 of the New Zealand Breakers drives past Dillon Jones #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder Photo: AFP
The Breakers had a trio of games against the Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder in October, bringing their total number of NBA crossover games played to eight.
Reports of an unnamed NBA team travelling to play two exhibition games in Melbourne this coming October against yet to be decided opposition is good news for basketball fans on both sides of the ditch. It would mark the first time an NBA team has played games in Australia.
The deal for the Australia games, which will not be a one-off, is being brokered between the NBA, NBL and Victorian government.
The Breakers have an ownership group with ties to the NBA. Shawn Marion is a four-time NBA All-Star, and Matt Walsh played in the league, so what a coup it would be for them to get an NBA side on their team's home court.
After all, Auckland is only a four-hour flight from Australia's sporting capital - a trip the Breakers make several times each season themselves.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 03: Kyren Williams #23 of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns at SoFi Stadium. Photo: Ronald Martinez
The NFL has also made a multi-year commitment to play regular season games in Australia. The NFL's first-ever regular season game there will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 2026, with the Los Angeles Rams as the designated team.
The Victorian state government, Visit Victoria, the MCG and the Rams all played a part in getting next year's game off the ground. It is part of the NFL's plan to take international games to new markets around the world.
New Zealand's interest in the NFL seems to peak around the Super Bowl and when players with links to New Zealand are identified, like Jordan Mailata or Michael Wilson.
If an All Blacks game against Fiji in San Diego last year can attract a crowd of more than 33,000, would a similar sized crowd file into Eden Park or Sky Stadium to watch an NFL game if New Zealand was added to the Australian deal?
Los Angeles Dodgers baseballer Shohei Ohtani. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire). Photo: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
Baseball has struggled to take off in New Zealand, with the Auckland Tuatara - who were part of the Australian Baseball League - going into liquidation in 2023.
The Tuatara players caught the eye of MLB teams, and the club had connections with the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers. Like the NFL, MLB wants to take their sport to the world, and will travel to Japan and Mexico this year.
International MLB games began in 1996, and have included games in Sydney in 2014 in front of 38,266 fans and two games in London in 2019 in front of a total of more than 118,000 fans. Games have also been held in Korea and Puerto Rico.
It's not hard to imagine New Zealand, a country without a suitable baseball stadium and no current professional baseball presence, would be a long way down the list of places an MLB team would want to travel to.
However, Shohei Ohtani has nine years left on his LA Dodgers contract - is it too far-fetched to think that one of the game's best might make it to New Zealand before he hangs up his glove?
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