The 2022 NBL1 season was the third season of the

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia, consisting of NBL1 South, South, NBL1 North, North, NBL1 Central, Central, NBL1 West, West and NBL1 East, East Conferences with both men's and women's compet ...

. With the West Conference introduced in

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alongside the South,

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and Central conferences, the NBL1 expanded further in 2022 with the inclusion of an East Conference. The 2022 season was the NBL1's first full season to be completed since

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and the first to feature the NBL1 National Finals. The inaugural NBL1 National champions were both from the West Conference, with the

Warwick Senators Warwick Senators is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Stirling Basketball Association (SBA), the major administrative basketball organisa ...

women and the

Rockingham Flames Rockingham Flames is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of the Rockingham Basketball and Recreation Association (RBRA), the major administrat ...

men coming out victorious at the National Finals in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Background

The NBL1 had expanded in

with the West Conference introduced alongside the South,

and Central conferences. In 2022, the NBL1 expanded to five conferences after partnering with Basketball New South Wales to make the

Waratah League The NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales and the National B ...

the new East Conference. An additional conference, known as the NBL1 Wildcard Series, was introduced in 2022 after a partnership with

Basketball Australia Basketball Australia is the governing and controlling body of basketball in Australia, responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. Basketball Australia sanctions Australia's two professional leagues, the Nation ...

saw the

Centre of Excellence A center of excellence (COE or CoE ), also called excellence center, is a team, a shared facility or an entity that provides leadership, best practices, research, support or training for a focus area. Due to its broad usage and vague legal prec ...

feature in one-off games against the top teams from all five NBL1 State Conferences of the prior year. 20 men's and 16 women's games were played in the Wildcard Conference. The team who finished on top of the NBL1 Wildcard ladder, based on points percentage, were granted entry as the sixth women's and men's teams in the 2022 NBL1 National Finals alongside the State Conference champions.

Conference seasons

The season began on 2 April for the East Conference, 8 April for the West Conference, 9 April for the Central Conference, 10 April for the Wildcard Conference, 21 April for the South Conference and 29 April for the North Conference. All conference finals were concluded by 3 September.

South

The women's minor premiers were the

Bendigo Braves Bendigo Braves is a NBL1 South club based in Bendigo, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of the overarching Bendigo Braves Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball organ ...

with a 20–2 record while the men's minor premiers were the Hobart Chargers with a 17–5 record.

Alicia Froling Alicia Froling (born 31 January 1996) is an Australians, Australian professional basketball player. Career College Froling plays college basketball at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas for the SMU Mustangs. WNBL Born and raised i ...

of the

Knox Raiders Knox Raiders is a member club of the NBL1 South based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of Knox Basketball Incorporated (KBI), the major administrative basketball organisation in Melbourn ...

was named women's MVP while

Shea Ili Shea Ili (born 6 October 1992) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). Ili was raised in Māngere Bridge, playing his basketball at Onehunga High School and appearing for Co ...

of the Sandringham Sabres was named men's MVP. The women's grand final saw the

Ringwood Hawks Ringwood may refer to: Places Australia * Ringwood, New South Wales, in Federation Council area * Ringwood, Queensland * Ringwood, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Ringwood railway station, Melbourne Canada *Ringwood, Ontario, a hamlet in the tow ...

defeat the Bendigo Braves 89–73 while the men's grand final saw the Hobart Chargers defeat the

Mount Gambier Pioneers Mount Gambier Pioneers is a member club of NBL1 South based in Mount Gambier, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of Basketball Mount Gambier, the major administrative basketball organisation in t ...

78–62. Marena Whittle of the Ringwood Hawks was named women's grand final MVP while Sam McDaniel of the Hobart Chargers was named men's grand final MVP.

North

The women's minor premiers were the Logan Thunder with a 19–0 record while the men's minor premiers were the Gold Coast Rollers with a 14–5 record.

Tiana Mangakahia Tiana Cynthia Mangakahia (born 21 April 1995) is an Australian basketball player who currently plays with the Northside Wizards in the NBL1 North. She played in the United States at Syracuse University. Her U.S. college career was interrupted by ...

of the Northside Wizards was named women's MVP while Kouat Noi of the USC Rip City was named men's MVP. The women's grand final series saw the Townsville Flames defeat the Logan Thunder 2–0, with 85–57 in game one and 80–48 in game two, while the men's grand final series saw the Gold Coast Rollers defeat the USC Rip City 2–0, with 101–86 in game one and 118–71 in game two. Stephanie Reid of the Townsville Flames was named women's grand final MVP while

Jason Cadee Jason Robert Cadee (born 15 April 1991) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He is also the team captain for the Bullets. Early life and career Cadee was born and rai ...

of the Gold Coast Rollers was named men's grand final MVP.

Central

The women's minor premiers were the

West Adelaide Bearcats West Adelaide Bearcats is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching West Adelaide Basketball Club (WABC), the major administrative basketball o ...

with a 15–3 record while the men's minor premiers were the Woodville Warriors with a 15–3 record. Samantha Simons of the

Forestville Eagles Forestville Eagles is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching Forestville Eagles Basketball Club (FEBC), the major administrative ba ...

was named women's MVP while

Jeremy Smith Jeremy Smith may refer to: *Jeremy Theron Smith a man charged with aggravated assault for wounding three women in Koreatown Dallas on 17 May 2022 *Jeremy Smith (Royal Navy officer) (fl. 1660s), British sailor * Jeremy C. Smith (born 1959), British b ...

of the South Adelaide Panthers was named men's MVP. The women's grand final saw the West Adelaide Bearcats defeat the Sturt Sabres 82–75 while the men's grand final saw the South Adelaide Panthers defeat the Woodville Warriors 88–58. Madelynn Utti of the West Adelaide Bearcats was named women's grand final MVP while

Alex Starling Alexander Starling (born February 6, 1989) is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the South Adelaide Panthers of the NBL1 Central. He played college basketball for Palm Beach State College and the Bethune–Cookman Wildcats ...

of the South Adelaide Panthers was named men's grand final MVP.

West

The women's minor premiers were the

with an 18–2 record while the men's minor premiers were the Geraldton Buccaneers with an 19–3 record. Stacey Barr of the Warwick Senators was named women's MVP while Devondrick Walker of the

was named men's MVP. The women's grand final saw the Warwick Senators defeat the

Willetton Tigers Willetton Tigers is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Willetton Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organ ...

87–61 while the men's grand final saw the Rockingham Flames defeat the Geraldton Buccaneers 91–79.

Leonie Fiebich Leonie Fiebich (born 10 January 2000) is a German professional basketball player for Casademont Zaragoza of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks in the second round of the 2020 WNBA draft and has played for ...

of the Warwick Senators was named women's grand final MVP while Devondrick Walker of the Rockingham Flames was named men's grand final MVP.

East

The women's minor premiers were the

Albury Wodonga Bandits Albury Wodonga Bandits is a NBL1 East club based in Albury, New South Wales. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 East. The club is a division of the overarching Border Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball or ...

with an 17–3 record while the men's minor premiers were the

Canberra Gunners The Canberra Gunners are an Australian basketball team based in Canberra. The Gunners compete in the Men's NBL1 East and play their home games at Belconnen Stadium. The team is affiliated with Basketball ACT, the governing body for basketball in ...

with an 16–6 record. Lauren Jackson of the Albury Wodonga Bandits was named women's MVP while

Kiwi Gardner Keyondrei Samuel "Kiwi" Gardner (born April 7, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL1 East. He became an Internet sensation via YouTube in 2011. Gardner played one season of college basketball for ...

of the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

was named men's MVP. The women's grand final saw the Albury Wodonga Bandits defeat the Sutherland Sharks 85–72 while the men's grand final saw the Canberra Gunners defeat the

Maitland Mustangs Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Nor ...

76–73. Unique Thompson of the Albury Wodonga Bandits was named women's grand final MVP while Glenn Morison of the Canberra Gunners was named men's grand final MVP.

Wildcard

The BA Centre of Excellence women recorded a 10–6 record in their 16 Wildcard games while the men's team recorded a 15–5 record in their 20 Wildcard games. The Southern Districts Spartans from the North Conference finished on top of the Wildcard women's ladder while the

Frankston Blues Frankston Blues is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Frankston & District Basketball Association (FDBA), the major administrative basketball organisa ...

from the South Conference finished on top of the Wildcard men's ladder. Both teams were subsequently granted entry into the NBL1 National Finals.

Champions summary

Women

Men

National Finals

The 2022 NBL1 National Finals took place at the

State Basketball Centre The State Basketball Centre is a sports arena located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia which is mainly used for basketball. However, the centre has been used for several other events. The stadium features six courts, including one basketball s ...

between Friday 9 September and Sunday 11 September. It served as the inaugural National Finals after the 2021 event was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The champions from each of the five conferences, plus the Wildcard conference winners, faced off on Friday and Saturday for a spot in the Championship Games on Sunday. Each team played two preliminary games in which they generated ranking points, with the top two ranked women's and men's teams then playing in the Championship Game. Ranking points over the first two days included three points for a win, one point for each quarter won, and half a point for tied quarters. The schedule for Friday was determined by a random draw. On Saturday, the highest point scorer from Friday played fifth place, the second highest played fourth place, and the third highest played sixth place. On Sunday, the top two point scores over Friday and Saturday played in the Championship Game, while third place to sixth place competed in consolation games. Both West Conference teams were victorious in the Championship Games, with the

women and the

men becoming the inaugural NBL1 National champions.

Day One – Friday

Women

*Central vs West *Wildcard vs North *East vs South

Men

*West vs Central *South vs North *Wildcard vs East

Day Two – Saturday

Women

*2nd vs 4th *1st vs 5th *3rd vs 6th

Men

*2nd vs 4th *1st vs 5th *3rd vs 6th

Day Three – Sunday

Consolation Games

=Women

= *3rd vs 6th *4th vs 5th

=Men

= *3rd vs 5th *4th vs 6th

Championship Games

=Women

Rosters

Game summary

=Men

Rosters

Game summary

All-Star Five

Women

* Stacey Barr (Warwick Senators) *

(Warwick Senators) * Leah Scott (Southern Districts Spartans) * Unique Thompson (Albury Wodonga Bandits) * Marena Whittle (Ringwood Hawks)

Men

* Lachlan Barker (Frankston Blues) * Dhal Fieg (Canberra Gunners) * Marshall Nelson (Rockingham Flames) *

Lamar Patterson Lamar Patterson (born August 12, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the South West Metro Pirates of the NBL1 North. He played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers. College career Patterson, a 6'5" swingman from La ...

(Gold Coast Rollers) *

(South Adelaide Panthers)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:NBL1,2022

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

2021–22 in Australian basketball 2022–23 in Australian basketball