The New Zealand Breakers' five month stint on the road will come to an end on 16 May.
New Zealand Breakers player Tai Webster will play his first game in Auckland for the club on 20 May after eight years away. Photo: Photosport
The basketball team will have a hectic return to New Zealand with seven Australian National Basketball League home games scheduled over a 17-day span.
The Breakers tip-off the home games against the Sydney Kings at west Auckland's The Trusts Arena on 20 May - almost 500 days since they last played in Auckland.
They then head to the regions for a rematch against the Kings two days later at a yet to be confirmed location.
Games against South East Melbourne Phoenix (25 May), Illawarra Hawks (28 May) and Adelaide 36ers (2 June) will also be played outside of Auckland at yet to be decided stadiums.
The Breakers get one game on their home court of Spark Arena against the Brisbane Bullets on 30 May.
A game back at Trusts Arena against the Cairns Taipans on 5 June rounds out the home return.
Although the club has already played five "home" games this season in Australian stadiums, the players had struggled on and off the court and had been moved from state to state in response to Covid-19 protocols.
Breakers chief operating officer Lisa Edser said getting back in front of home fans was exciting.
"It has been a long and somewhat lonely five months for everyone involved," Edser said.
"What we used to take for granted is actually very special these days, so we hope Breaker Nation will come out in force to show their support for the boys and enjoy some fantastic entertainment."
For one player, in particular, the wait for an Auckland game has been even longer than the fans.
The last time Tai Webster played in Auckland was 2013 and crowd size, volume and atmosphere has increased considerably in his eight years away.
"I haven't played in Auckland for the Breakers for a very long time," Webster said.
"It was when I was a development player but everyone tells me about the great energy and the fans all getting out behind the team. I'm extremely excited to get back out there and put on a show for the fans."
The Breakers are second to last on the points ladder, with eight wins from 23 games heading into Wednesday night's clash against the top of table Melbourne United.
