Super League Basketball Women (SLBW) should look to replicate New Zealand’s Rapid League to develop younger prospects.

At opposite stages of their careers, reigning SLBW MVP Megan Mullings and former Newcastle Eagles guard Shanique Lucas both jetted off to New Zealand to become teammates at BNZ Kahu.

However, while Mullings already holds a starting spot in the lineup, Lucas has had to settle for a rotational role, which has come with an interesting catch.

If she is not a part of the starting five, Lucas has the opportunity to feature in the Tauhi Rapid League — a pregame championship that presents rotational players with meaningful minutes.

On discovery, this got me thinking: should the SLBW implement a similar league before games to add more intrigue and chances for development to the women’s game?

What is the Rapid League?

The Tauhi Rapid League was established in 2023 with the vision of fast-tracking the development of up-and-coming New Zealand prospects.

Each fixture is played before actual regular-season games. However, any players who have been named in the starting five for the main championship matchup can’t feature in the Rapid League fixture — usually leaving seven players for selection.

The original four-quarter format remains the same, but each period will last just four minutes — meaning each game will last for a total of 16 minutes.

New Zealand’s Rapid League has its own league standings and awards, so players participating in the tournament are rewarded for their efforts.

Every player on a club’s roster must feature in either the championship or Rapid League fixture; nobody can be restricted to zero minutes on the floor.

In 2024, the league increased import spots from three to five, which in turn increased roster sizes from 10 to 12 spots.

The idea of the Rapid League is to essentially provide under-utilised players with “rapid”, meaningful minutes.

Huw Benyon, New Zealand’s National Basketball League’s (NBL) general manager, claimed, “This league will catapult the women’s game in Aotearoa into uncharted territory. It will provide a pathway for our athletes to reach the best leagues in the world; it will give them a professional league to play in at home.”

As we know in British basketball, talk is cheap. So has the Rapid League aided in player development?

Rapid League is yielding positive results

While there is no statistical data to suggest Rapid League participants are seeing their minutes in the championship rotation increase, Basketball New Zealand has stated that the league approximately creates 40% additional playing time on game day.

There have been specific cases of younger players leaping into a full-time professional role after featuring in this competition.

In 2023, Pahlyss Hokianga embraced the newly formed Rapid League, which granted her exposure to a watered-down version of a professional environment. Just a few months later, she was moved into the main Whai Tauihi team and made her New Zealand debut at just 16 years and 122 days old — becoming the second-youngest Tall Fern international.

Emma Rogers, the 2025 Rapid League MVP, Tauhi Most Improved Player, and Youth Player of the Year, followed a similar path, with Mainland Pouakai specifically citing her Rapid League minutes as the reason for moving her into the main roster.

Super League Basketball Women should consider following this blueprint

In both the women’s and men’s leagues, Britain has a problem of considering the homegrown talent roster allocation as a quota rather than utilising these spots to develop young talent.

Every SLBW fan wants to see their franchises splash the cash and create a roster that could challenge for a title, but developing young British talent should be the priority for the future of the league.

On the other hand, teams like the Nottingham Wildcats, Leicester Riders, and Cardiff Met Archers act as developmental programmes and struggle to chalk up a victory during the regular season- another factor that simply won’t help development.

British basketball needs to think outside the box and create a more balanced approach to development, which, in theory, is exactly what the Rapid League offers

Firstly, creating more minutes for players who spend most of their season out of the rotation is a fantastic idea. Most importantly, these minutes are meaningful and in a competitive setting.

Additionally, prospects from teams like Cardiff will face off with other young stars, creating a more level playing field and providing them with an ample opportunity to gain a feel for winning.

And, from a totally different perspective, it adds more thrill and a fresh feel to SLBW match day. Fans of the league will feel like they are getting more for their money, and the new fast-paced format will be appealing to the younger generation of fans.

Super League Basketball Women must consider change, not only for the sake of the league, but for the future of British basketball, and the Rapid League feels like a perfect opportunity to do so.