National Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League is Australia's top-level professional basketball competition.
It formed in 1978, playing a winter season (April-September). In 1998 the competition was shifted to a summer competition between October and April, mainly to avoid competing directly against Australia's various football codes.
There are currently twelve teams in the league, with teams in all capital cities (except Canberra, Hobart and Darwin), regional centres Cairns, Newcastle, Townsville and Wollongong, as well as New Zealand. A second Melbourne club, the South Dragons, will enter the league in season 2006/07. The NBL has also become the first Australian sporting league to field a team from Asia with the Singapore Slingers scheduled to play in the 2006/07 season.
The league's best years were in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it has struggled recently and many teams have downsized to smaller venues to cut costs. A number of clubs have folded or ceased to compete in the competition. Despite these issues, at the start of the 2004/05 season the league struck a new television deal with Fox Sports in Australia and a multi-year naming-rights sponsorship deal with electronics manufacturer Philips.The previous major sponsor of the NBL was Mitsubishi Motors, however due to the switch to summer and lack of funding from its owner left the NBL close to folding.
Most teams have historically featured at least one and sometimes two American imports; teams are limited to having two non-Australians on the roster at any one time. Some of these players have moved to Australia permanently and become Australian citizens; a few have even played for the Australian national team (under a rule that allowed one naturalized player to compete for a national team).
Current Teams
- Adelaide 36ers
- Brisbane Bullets
- Cairns Taipans
- Melbourne Tigers
- New Zealand Breakers
- Perth Wildcats
- Singapore Slingers (a)
- South Dragons (b)
- Sydney Kings
- Townsville Crocodiles
- West Sydney Razorbacks
- Wollongong Hawks
(a) The Singapore Slingers has been named to replace the Hunter Pirates in the 2006/07 season. (b) The South Dragons will enter the NBL as the 12th franchise in the 2006/07, having been officially launched on December 15, 2005.
A number of teams have also either become defunct, were renamed, merged with other teams or were relocated from their initial location: see Defunct NBL Teams.
Notable NBL Figures
- Ray Borner
- Cal Bruton
- Steve Carfino
- James Crawford
- Mark Davis
- Andrew Gaze
- Lindsay Gaze
- Brian Goorjian
- Ricky Grace
- Shane Heal
- Leroy Loggins
- Larry Sengstock
- Phil Smyth
- Andrew Vlahov
- Brett Maher
Broadcasting Details
FOXSPORTS
TELEVISION
LIVE MATCHES
Wednesdays and Saturdays
NBL WRAP
Thursdays 7:00 PM CST
RADIO
LIVE MATCHES
ABC Radio (South Australia Only)
SEN (Victoria Only)
4TO (Townsville Only)
HOOPS SHOW
Coast FM South Australia Tuesdays 6:30-8:00
Radio 2 Fridays
Hall of Fame
The National Basketball League celebrated 20 seasons of competition in 1998. As part of the celebrations, the NBL initiated the Hall of Fame to recognise the outstanding players, coaches, referees and contributors to the league.
In order to be eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame, candidates must have fulfilled the following criteria:
- Players must have made an outstanding contribution to the NBL, have been retired for a minimum of four seasons, and have played 100 NBL games or more.
- Coaches must have made an outstanding contribution to the NBL, have been retired for at least four seasons, and have been an NBL head coach for 10 seasons or more.
- Referees must have made an outstanding contribution to the league and have been retired for at least four seasons.
- Contributors must have made an outstanding contribution to the NBL, and may be elected at any time.
Inductees are listed in alphabetical order.
| Name | Award | Inducted |
|---|---|---|
| Barry Barnes | Coach | 1998 |
| Ray Borner | Player | 2006 |
| Cal Bruton | Player | 1998 |
| Steve Carfino | Player | 2004 |
| Wayne Carroll | Player | 1999 |
| Ian Davies | Player | 2001 |
| Mark Davis | Player | 2006 |
| Al Green | Player | 1999 |
| Michael Johnson | Player | 2004 |
| Damian Keogh | Player | 2000 |
| Brian Kerle | Coach | 2006 |
| Leroy Loggins | Player | 2006 |
| Herb McEachin | Player | 1998 |
| Danny Morseu | Player | 2002 |
| Bill Palmer | Contributor | 1998 |
| Darryl Pearce | Player | 2002 |
| John Raschke | Contributor | 1998 |
| Larry Sengstock | Player | 2001 |
| Phil Smyth | Player | 2000 |
| Mal Speed | Contributor | 2000 |
| Bob Turner | Coach | 2000 |
Champions
- 1979 St Kilda Saints (def Canberra Cannons 94-93 in final)
- 1980 St Kilda Saints (def West Adelaide Bearcats 113-88 in final)
- 1981 Launceston Casino City (def Nunawading Spectres 75-54 in final)
- 1982 West Adelaide Bearcats (def Geelong Cats 80-74 in final)
- 1983 Canberra Cannons (def West Adelaide Bearcats 75-73 in final)
- 1984 Canberra Cannons (def Brisbane Bullets 84-82 in final)
- 1985 Brisbane Bullets (def Adelaide 36ers 121-95 in final)
- 1986 Adelaide 36ers (def Brisbane Bullets 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1987 Brisbane Bullets (def Perth Wildcats 2-0 in best-of-three final series)
- 1988 Canberra Cannons (def North Melbourne Giants 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1989 North Melbourne Giants (def Canberra Cannons 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1990 Perth Wildcats (def Brisbane Bullets 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1991 Perth Wildcats (def Eastside Melbourne Spectres 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1992 South East Melbourne Magic (def Melbourne Tigers 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1993 Melbourne Tigers (def Perth Wildcats 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1994 North Melbourne Giants (def Adelaide 36ers 2-0 in best-of-three final series)
- 1995 Perth Wildcats (def North Melbourne Giants 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1996 South East Melbourne Magic (def Melbourne Tigers 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1997 Melbourne Tigers (def South East Melbourne Magic 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 1998 Adelaide 36ers (def South East Melbourne Magic 2-0 in best-of-three final series)
- 1999 Adelaide 36ers (def Victoria Titans 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 2000 Perth Wildcats (def Victoria Titans 2-0 in best-of-three final series)
- 2001 Wollongong Hawks (def Townsville Crocodiles 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 2002 Adelaide 36ers (def West Sydney Razorbacks 2-1 in best-of-three final series)
- 2003 Sydney Kings (def Perth Wildcats 2-0 in best-of-three final series)
- 2004 Sydney Kings (def West Sydney Razorbacks 3-2 in best-of-five final series)
- 2005 Sydney Kings (def Wollongong Hawks 3-0 in best-of-five final series)
- 2006 Melbourne Tigers (def Sydney Kings 3-0 in best-of-five final series)
Rivalries
Adelaide 36ers vs Perth Wildcats
Both teams were perennial championship contenders in the late 80's and early 90's and had several marquee players with excellent matchups, the two most notable involving the imports: Al Green (Adelaide) vs Cal Bruton (Perth), Mark Davis (Adelaide) vs James Crawford (Perth). Games during this era were rarely blowouts and helped to fuel the rivalry. Ironically, the two teams have never played each other in the final series. As the mainstay players began to slow with age and retire, the intensity of this rivalry has declined. The two clubs remain the most successful in the NBL with 4 championships each and are 1st & 2nd on the all-time wins list, and have also matched up on more occasions (76, including 20 in the playoffs) than any other two teams in the NBL (as at Nov 9, 2005).
Adelaide 36ers vs Brisbane Bullets
Both teams were perennial championship contenders in the mid 80's and faced each other in the final for 3 consecutive years between 1985 and 1987. NBL legends Al Green, Mark Davis & Darryl Pearce from Adelaide and Leroy Loggins, Larry Sengstock & Cal Bruton (who moved to Perth in 1987 as the Adelaide / Perth rivalry developed) from Brisbane were all in the prime of their careers during this period.
Adelaide 36ers vs Melbourne Tigers
This rivalry largely stems from the switch by Mark Bradtke to the Tigers (from the 36ers) at the end of the 1992 season, inciting the wrath of 36ers fans. As such, it could just as easily be referred to as the Adelaide 36ers fans vs Mark Bradtke rivalry.
Melbourne Tigers vs South East Melbourne Magic
This early 90's battle to rule Melbourne raged at a time when interest in the NBL was at an all-time high, and attracted very large crowds to the 15,000 seat National Tennis Centre. Key figures in these matchups were, for the Tigers: Andrew Gaze, Lanard Copeland, Mark Bradtke, David Simmons, Warrick Giddey, Ray Gordon; for the Magic: Robert Rose, Tony Ronaldson, Bruce Bolden, Darren Lucas, John Dorge, Andrew Parkinson.
Sydney Kings vs West Sydney Razorbacks
Promoted as a cross-town rivalry by league officials, it has never really delivered in terms of high emotion from either team. Note: A Grand Final series was played between the 2 clubs with the Kings winning 3-2 in a 5 game series. This is probably the highest in terms of passion and pride this rivalry has reached.
Cairns Taipans vs Townsville Crocodiles
Despite the large geographical separation of these two cities, a local derby style rivalry has developed to determine which is the dominant North Queensland team.
Two teams that are allegedly widely reviled by fans all around the league are/were the South East Melbourne Magic / Victoria Titans / Victoria Giants and the Sydney Kings.
Sydney Kings vs Wollongong Hawks
Being only 90 minutes drive away from each other there was always going to be a rivalry. This rivalry has also seen a Grand Final series where the Kings swept the Hawks in 3 games. Whenever the Kings are playing in Wollongong WIN Entertainment Centre is usually sold out.
Sydney Kings vs Canberra Cannons
Award Winners
- 25th Anniversary Team (2003)
- 20th Anniversary Team (1998)
- Most Valuable Player
- Most Valuable Player - Grand Final
- Coach of the Year
- Rookie of the Year
- Most Improved Player
- Best Defensive Player
- Best Sixth Man
- Good Hands Award (defunct)
- Most Efficient Player (defunct)
- All NBL teams
Statistical Leaders
- Points per game
- Rebounds per game
- Assists per game
- Steals per game
- Blocks per game
- Field goal %
- Free throw %
- Three point %