The Hutt Valley Lakers started in the second-tiered Conference Basketball League (CBL). After winning the CBL championship in 1989,[1] the team was promoted to the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1990 season.[2] In 1991, the Lakers were regular season winners and won the NBL championship with a 103–92 win over the Wellington Saints in the final.[3] In 1993, the Lakers made it back to the NBL final, where they defeated the Canterbury Rams 68–66 to win their second championship.[4][5][6] The 1993 final saw Peter Pokai hit the game-winning jump shot to lift the Lakers over the Rams.[7] It was a special triumph for head coach Jeff Green, who was sensationally sacked early in the season, but brought back with seven games to go.[7]
At the end of the 1996 season, both the Lakers and the Saints were struggling to survive. As a result, the two teams amalgamated, with the Lakers merging into the Saints.[8]