|
The National Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NBL, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia.
There are currently 9 teams in the league, with teams in Adelaide, Cairns, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, North Shore (New Zealand), Perth, Sydney, Townsville and Wollongong. It has been announced that Sydney Kings will be re-entering the competition at the end of 2010. This comes after a turbulent period, when the league lost teams from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane during 2008 and 2009. A second Melbourne club, the South Dragons, entered the league in season 2006/07, but pulled out after season 2008/09 in which they were premiers. The National Basketball League has also become the first Australasian sporting league to field a team from Asia with the Singapore Slingers playing in the 2006/07, through to the 2007/08 season. The Gold Coast Blaze joined the competition this 2007/08 season.
Most teams have historically featured at least one and usually two American imports; teams are limited to having two non-Australasians 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 naturalised player to compete for a national team). One former American NBL player, Arne Duncan (of the Eastside Spectres, 1987-'91), went on to be named United States Secretary of Education by Barack Obama. Duncan met his future wife in Tasmania whilst playing for the Spectres.
The league's best years were arguably 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. The previous major sponsor of the NBL was Mitsubishi Motors. Mitsubishi, which left its sponsorship when the ABC ceased televising NBL basketball games left the National Basketball League close to folding.
|
|
|
Salary cap : |
Team |
W |
Season |
Notes |
---|
Perth Wildcats |
5 |
1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010 |
|
Adelaide 36ers |
4 |
1986, 1998, 1999, 2002 |
|
Melbourne Tigers |
4 |
1993, 1997, 2006, 2008 |
|
Canberra Cannons |
3 |
1983, 1984, 1988 |
Became Hunter Pirates in 2003 |
Sydney Kings |
3 |
2003, 2004, 2005 |
Temporary cessation between mid 2008 and early 2010. |
Brisbane Bullets |
3 |
1985, 1987, 2007 |
Team withdrew June 2008 |
St Kilda Saints |
2 |
1979, 1980 |
Became Westside Saints in 1987 |
North Melbourne Giants |
2 |
1989, 1994 |
Merged to form Victoria Titans in 1998 |
South East Melbourne Magic |
2 |
1992, 1996 |
Merged to form Victoria Titans in 1998 |
Launceston Casino City |
1 |
1981 |
Team folded in 1983 |
West Adelaide Bearcats |
1 |
1982 |
Left NBL in 1984, now in ABA |
Wollongong Hawks |
1 |
2001 |
|
South Dragons |
1 |
2009 |
Team quit the NBL after 2009 season |
Salary cap : |
Season |
Champion |
Result |
Runners-Up |
Notes |
---|
1979 |
St Kilda Saints |
94 � 93 |
Canberra Cannons |
Single game final used |
1980 |
St Kilda Saints |
113 � 88 |
West Adelaide Bearcats |
|
1981 |
Launceston Casino City |
75 � 54 |
Nunawading Spectres |
|
1982 |
West Adelaide Bearcats |
80 � 74 |
Geelong SupercatsGeelong Cats |
|
1983 |
Canberra Cannons |
75 � 73 |
West Adelaide Bearcats |
|
1984 |
Canberra Cannons |
84 � 82 |
Brisbane Bullets |
|
1985 |
Brisbane Bullets |
121 � 95 |
Adelaide 36ers |
|
1986 |
Adelaide 36ers |
2 - 1 |
Brisbane Bullets |
Best of three games finals series first used. |
1987 |
Brisbane Bullets |
2 - 0 |
Perth Wildcats |
|
1988 |
Canberra Cannons |
2 - 1 |
North Melbourne Giants |
|
1989 |
North Melbourne Giants |
2 - 1 |
Canberra Cannons |
|
1990 |
Perth Wildcats |
2 - 1 |
Brisbane Bullets |
|
1991 |
Perth Wildcats |
2 - 1 |
Eastside Melbourne Spectres |
|
1992 |
South East Melbourne Magic |
2 - 1 |
Melbourne Tigers |
|
1993 |
Melbourne Tigers |
2 - 1 |
Perth Wildcats |
|
1994 |
North Melbourne Giants |
2 - 0 |
Adelaide 36ers |
|
1995 |
Perth Wildcats |
2 - 1 |
North Melbourne Giants |
|
1996 |
South East Melbourne Magic |
2 - 1 |
Melbourne Tigers |
|
1997 |
Melbourne Tigers |
2 - 1 |
South East Melbourne Magic |
|
1998 |
Adelaide 36ers |
2 - 0 |
South East Melbourne Magic |
|
1998-99 |
Adelaide 36ers |
2 - 1 |
Victoria Titans |
|
1999-00 |
Perth Wildcats |
2 - 0 |
Victoria Titans |
|
2000-01 |
Wollongong Hawks |
2 - 1 |
Townsville Crocodiles |
|
2001-02 |
Adelaide 36ers |
2 - 1 |
West Sydney Razorbacks |
|
2002-03 |
Sydney Kings |
2 - 0 |
Perth Wildcats |
|
2003-04 |
Sydney Kings |
3 - 2 |
West Sydney Razorbacks |
Best of five games finals series first used. |
2004-05 |
Sydney Kings |
3 - 0 |
Wollongong Hawks |
|
2005-06 |
Melbourne Tigers |
3 - 0 |
Sydney Kings |
|
2006-07 |
Brisbane Bullets |
3 - 1 |
Melbourne Tigers |
|
2007-08 |
Melbourne Tigers |
3 - 2 |
Sydney Kings |
Marked last game of the Sydney Kings before licence was revoked. |
2008-09 |
South Dragons |
3 - 2 |
Melbourne Tigers |
Marked last game of the NBL before the competition was revamped. |
2009-10 |
Perth Wildcats |
2 - 1 |
Wollongong Hawks |
Best of three game series used. |
All-Star Games by Season : |
Year |
Result |
(Arena), City |
MVP |
---|
1988 |
North 127, South 122 |
(The Glass House), Melbourne, VIC |
Leroy Loggins, Brisbane Bullets |
1989 |
North 141, South 143 |
(The Glass House), Melbourne, VIC |
Andrew Gaze, Melbourne Tigers |
1990 |
North 139, World 119 |
(Perth Entertainment Centre), Perth, WA |
Derek Rucker, Brisbane Bullets |
1991 |
North 168, South 154 |
(The Glass House), Melbourne, VIC |
Mark Davis, Adelaide 36ers |
1992 |
Australia 149, USA Stars 132 |
(AIS Arena), Canberra, ACT |
Andrew Gaze, Melbourne Tigers |
1993 |
NBL Stars 124, Australia 119 |
(Rod Laver Arena), Melbourne, VIC |
Terry Dozier, Newcastle Falcons |
1994 |
NBL Stars 101, Australia 133 |
(Sydney Entertainment Centre), Sydney, NSW |
Tony Ronaldson, South East Melbourne Magic |
1995 |
South Stars 138, North Stars 140 |
(Clipsal Powerhouse), Adelaide, SA |
Robert Rose (basketball), Adelaide 36ers |
1996 |
South Stars 132, North Stars 146 |
(Melbourne Park), Melbourne, VIC |
Darryl McDonald, North Melbourne Giants |
1997 |
North Stars 151, South Stars 142 |
(Sydney Entertainment Centre), Sydney, NSW |
Derek Rucker, Brisbane Bullets |
2003/04 |
West 126, East 129 |
(State Netball and Hockey Centre), Melbourne, VIC |
Ebi Ere, Sydney Kings |
2004/05 |
Aussies 156, World 140 |
(Townsville Entertainment Centre), Townsville, QLD |
Brad Newley, Townsville Crocodiles |
2005/06 |
Aussies 151, World 116 |
(Sydney Entertainment Centre), Sydney, NSW |
Darryl McDonald, Melbourne Tigers |
2006/07 |
Aussies 133, World 136 |
(Distinctive Homes Dome), Adelaide, SA |
Rashad Tucker, Melbourne Tigers |
2007/08 |
Aussies 146, World 141 |
(State Netball and Hockey Centre), Melbourne, VIC |
Nathan Jawai, Cairns Taipans |