Sources have told the Otago Daily Times Jeff Wilson and Kevin Martin are among a consortium behind the team, which also includes Dunedin-raised former Tall Black Chris Simpson.
Simpson and former ASB Classic tournament director Karl Budge are the only confirmed members of the consortium.
Simpson said others would be revealed later, although confirmed "there’s potentially some international people".
Wilson, a former Highlanders and Otago outside back, forged a career to become an All Blacks great through the 1990s and early 2000s.
He also played for the Black Caps at both ends of his rugby career and is now a television presenter for Sky Sport.
However, his interest in basketball has been well documented.
Martin played in the NBA between 2004 and 2016, predominantly for the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets.
He was among the league’s top scorers in the late-2000s and averaged 24.6 points per game at his peak in 2009.
His link to Queenstown is less obvious, although he is now the majority owner in the Australian NBL’s Brisbane Bullets.
It would not be the South’s first team to have an Australian link — the Dunedin-based Otago Nuggets were last year bought by Australian media group SEN, which owns the Perth Wildcats.
The bid was subject to the council making improvements to the Queenstown Events Centre.
Simpson foresees the players themselves driving a lot of the development of the game in the community and through local schools.
"We’ll make sure those players are certified, so they wouldn’t just be 6 foot 10 guys going in and spinning a ball on their finger at primary school level," he said.
To ensure the team is competitive from the get-go, Simpson said it would include imports and at least two Tall Blacks.
Regarding the Events Centre, he said what was needed were perspex backboards, a new score clock and retractable seating for up to 2000 spectators.
He was unsure what that would cost — "that’s been kind of left to the council and the NBL organisation" — but said "the good thing is the stadium’s big enough".
In terms of economic impact, Queenstown’s pulling power would make it attractive to opposition fans, he suggested, while many games would be played in the resort’s April-May off-season.
The stadium would also be in line to host Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns internationals, as Basketball NZ requires host centres to have an international airport.
Simpson’s consortium was also keen for Queenstown to host pre-season NBL tournaments, he said.
With Sky Sport and ESPN broadcasting the games, "the profile and exposure for Queenstown will be really good".
