The Otago Nuggets' season of discontent mercifully came to an end with a 63-68 loss to the Canterbury Rams in Christchurch on Saturday night.
The Nuggets led for most of the match but faded in the last quarter to lose by five.
American import Antoine Tisby led the scoring for the visitors with 20 points.
The big centre also hauled down 12 rebounds to seal the NBL rebounding title.
Former Junior Tall Black Darryl Jones had his most productive game of the season with 19 points and 11 boards.
For the Rams, John Whorton had a game-high 22 points and Joey Harrell had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Tisby's performance since joining the franchise midway through the season has been a rare highlight.
The Nuggets won just two of their 18 matches and secured the wooden spoon for the fourth consecutive year.
Off the court, two players were suspended for using cannabis, American import Lemar Gayle publicly criticised the coach and team before quitting late last month, and last week Nuggets general manager Warrick Diack quit after a dispute over money with Basketball Otago.
To make matters worse, Basketball Otago chief executive Mark Rogers has warned there is no guarantee the Nuggets will play in the league next year.
Basketball New Zealand is conducting a review of the league and, among other issues, will assess the viability of the 10 existing franchises.
There was no such bad news for the Hawkes Bay Hawks, who clinched a play-off spot thanks to Harbour Heat's 79-87 loss to Taranaki in New Plymouth on Saturday night.
The Nelson Giants lost their last round-robin match when they were upset 113-87 by the Manawatu Jets in Palmerston North.
The Wellington Saints (14-4) earned the regular season title, with the Waikato Pistons (13-5) the other team to host a semifinal next week, while the Heat (11-7) held on to third in a tie-breaker with the Hawks (11-7).
The Hawks, who beat the Giants 90-87 on Friday night in Taradale, will again host Nelson, while the Heat will welcome the sixth-placed Auckland Stars on Wednesday night in a battle of the bridge.
American shooting guard Keith Salscheider ended his season with 30 points, including five three-pointers, as Taranaki flipped the surging Heat.
Taranaki centre Tony Rampton had 18 points and 18 rebounds, while forward Link Abrams added 13 points.
Guard Hayden Allen led Harbour with 28 points, while Mika Vukona pulled down 10 boards.
Imports Kantrail Horton and Keith Davis combined for 58 points as the Jets (5-13) stunned the Giants.
A 43-point opening quarter rocked Nelson.
Horton finished with 31 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Chris Daniel led the Giants with 18 points and seven rebounds, while former Tall Black Christopher Reay had 16 points and eight ballboards.
Canterbury Rams 68 (John Whorton 22, Joey Harrell 14, Gerard Bowden 10), Otago Nuggets 63 (Antoine Tisby 20, Darryl Jones 19, Shaun Tilby 11).
Quarter 12-19, half-time 26-38, three-quarters 51-55.
