The 2023 NBL1 season was the fourth 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 ...

. The season consisted of five conferences: 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 ...

, Central,

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

. The second annual National Finals were held in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, with both NBL1 National champions coming from the South Conference, with 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 ...

in the women and 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 ...

in the men.

Background

The NBL1 had expanded in

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 ...

with the East Conference introduced alongside the South,

, Central and

. No further expansion occurred in 2023.

Conference seasons

The season began on 11 March for the East Conference, 24 March for the North Conference, 25 March for the Central Conference, 31 March for the West Conference and 1 April for the North Conference. All conference finals were concluded by 12 August.

South

The women's minor premiers were the

with a 22–0 record while the men's minor premiers were the

with an 18–4 record. Megan McKay of the Bendigo Braves was named women's MVP while Jack Purchase of the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

and Daniel Trist of 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 ...

were named men's co-MVP. The women's grand final saw the Bendigo Braves defeat the Waverley Falcons 83–78 while the men's grand final saw the Knox Raiders defeat the Sandringham Sabres 90–86.

Amy Atwell Amy Atwell (born 30 June 1998) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played college basketball for the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine, where she won the Big West Conferenc ...

of the Bendigo Braves was named women's grand final MVP while Bailey Nunn of the Knox Raiders was named men's grand final MVP.

North

The women's minor premiers were the Northside Wizards with a 16–3 record while the men's minor premiers were the Gold Coast Rollers with a 17–2 record. Courtney Woods of the Northside Wizards was named women's 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 MVP. The women's grand final series saw the Northside Wizards defeat the Rockhampton Cyclones 2–0, with 87–52 in game one and 70–59 in game two, while the men's grand final series saw the

Ipswich Force Ipswich Force is a NBL1 North club based in Ipswich, Queensland. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 North. The club is a division of Ipswich Basketball Association (IBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in ...

defeat the Gold Coast Rollers 2–1, with the Rollers winning 100–86 in game one and the Force winning 119–98 in game two and 109–85 in game three. Courtney Woods of the Northside Wizards was named women's grand final MVP while

Nathan Sobey Nathan Adam Sobey (born 14 July 1990) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the University of Wyoming's Cowboys. He was a member of th ...

of the Ipswich Force was named men's grand final MVP.

Central

The women's minor premiers were the Sturt Sabres with an 18–0 record while the men'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. Brooke Basham 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 Jordan Forbes of the Sturt Sabres was named men's MVP. The women's grand final saw the

Norwood Flames Norwood may refer to: Places Australia * Norwood, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide ** Norwood Football Club, an Australian rules football club *Electoral district of Norwood, a state electoral district in South Australia * Norwood, Tasma ...

defeat the Sturt Sabres 80–65 while the men's grand final saw the West Adelaide Bearcats defeat the Forestville Eagles 106–95. Ally Wilson of the Norwood Flames was named women's grand final MVP while Lachlan Olbrich of the West Adelaide Bearcats was named men's grand final MVP.

West

The women's minor premiers were the

Cockburn Cougars Cockburn Cougars 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 Cockburn Basketball Association (CBA), the major administrative basketball organis ...

with an 18–2 record while the men's minor premiers were 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 ...

with a 19–3 record.

Alexandra Sharp Alexandra Jane Sharp (born 4 February 1997) is an Australian professional basketball player. Early life and career Sharp was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and attended Our Lady of Mercy College. Sharp attended the Australian Institute of Sport ...

of 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 ...

was named women's MVP while Devondrick Walker of the Rockingham Flames was named men's MVP. The women's grand final saw the Cockburn Cougars defeat the Willetton Tigers 68–61 while the men's grand final saw the Geraldton Buccaneers defeat the

Joondalup Wolves Joondalup Wolves 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 Wanneroo Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organis ...

86–80. Stephanie Gorman of the Cockburn Cougars was named women's grand final MVP while

Johny Narkle Johny Narkle (born 1 August 2001) is an Australian basketball player for the Geraldton Buccaneers of the NBL1 West. With the Buccaneers, he won back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year awards in 2022 and 2023 and led the team to the championship in 20 ...

of the Geraldton Buccaneers was named men's grand final MVP.

East

The women's minor premiers were the

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

with a 20–2 record while the men's minor premiers were the BA Centre of Excellence with a 20–2 record. Nicole Munger of the

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

was named women's MVP while William Cranston-Lown of 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 ...

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

Norths Bears Norths may refer to: * Norths Devils, an Australian rugby league football club based in Brisbane's Northern Suburbs * North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. ...

defeat the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 71–56 while the men's grand final saw the Sutherland Sharks defeat the Maitland Mustangs 83–80. Jolene Anderson of the Norths Bears was named women's grand final MVP while Lochlan Hutchison of the Sutherland Sharks was named men's grand final MVP.

Champions summary

Women

Men

National Finals

The 2023 NBL1 National Finals took place at

HBF Arena Arena Joondalup, known as HBF Arena under a commercial naming rights arrangement, is a multi-purpose sports complex in Joondalup, Western Australia, located on 35 ha of parkland approximately 25 km north of Perth. It was officially o ...

between Friday 18 August and Sunday 20 August. It served as the second annual National Finals after the inaugural event took place in

. The 2022 defending champions, 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

men, earned automatic qualification into the 2023 NBL1 National Finals. Had either team made their respective 2023 conference grand final, their opponents would have been guaranteed a spot in the National Finals. The Senators women finished the 2023 West season in fifth place and lost in the semi finals while the Flames men finished the 2023 West season in first place and lost in the preliminary finals. Joining them in the tournament were the champions from each of the five conferences. The six women's and men's teams 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. Zero points were awarded for winning overtime periods. 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. Both South Conference teams were victorious in the Championship Games, with the

women and the

men being crowned NBL1 National champions.

Day One – Friday

Women

*East vs North *West vs South *Defending champion vs Central

Men

*South vs Central *Defending champion vs North *West vs East

Day Two – Saturday

Women

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

Men

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

Day Three – Sunday

Championship Games

=Women

Rosters

Game summary

=Men

Rosters

Game summary

All-Star Five

Women

* Jolene Anderson (Norths Bears) *

(Bendigo Braves) * Megan McKay (Bendigo Braves) * Karly Murphy (Warwick Senators) * Ally Wilson (Norwood Flames)

Men

* Jeremy Combs (Rockingham Flames) * Ke'Jhan Feagin (Knox Raiders) *

(Geraldton Buccaneers) * Marshall Nelson (Rockingham Flames) * Wayne Stewart Jr. (Knox Raiders)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:NBL1,2023

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

2022–23 in Australian basketball 2023–24 in Australian basketball