National Basketball League (Australia)
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The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's
professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
in
Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
, currently composed of 10 teams: 9 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand. It is the premier professional men's basketball league in Australia and New Zealand.NBL HQ


History

Before the establishment of the NBL, there were two national basketball competitions: the National Titles and the Australian Club Championships. In August 1979, the inaugural season of the NBL commenced, playing in the winter season (April–September) which it did so until the completion of the 1998 season, the league's twentieth season. The 1998–99 season, which began only months later, was the first to be played during the summer season (October–April). The shift, which is currently used by the league, was an attempt to avoid competing directly against Australia's various winter season football codes. Officially the NBL is Australia's second oldest continuing national sporting competition after the domestic cricket competition as football competitions were predominantly state based until the 1980s. The NBL experienced its "golden age" in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but its popularity, media attention, attendance and corporate support deteriorated and plateaued in the decade afterward with the growth of the country's four football codes. A second Melbourne club, the
South Dragons The South Dragons were an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). They made their debut in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09. The club was based at MSAC in Melbourne's in ...
, entered the league in the 2006–07 season, but was short lived, soon folding 3 years later after the 2008–09 season in which they were premiers. In the 2006–07 season, the NBL became the first Australasian sporting league to field a team from Asia with the
Singapore Slingers The Singapore Slingers is a Singaporean professional basketball team that currently compete in the ASEAN Basketball League. The Slingers were known as the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers between 2009 and 2014, due to sponsorship ties with Job ...
playing. The
Gold Coast Blaze The Gold Coast Blaze were an Australian men's professional basketball team which competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The Blaze competed in their inaugural season in 2007–08. The club was based on the Gold Coast and joined the ...
also joined the competition in the 2007–08 season. In 2007, Australian NBA player
Andrew Bogut Andrew Michael Bogut (born 28 November 1984) is an Australian former basketball player who spent the majority of his professional career playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The tall center was selected by the Milwaukee Buck ...
suggested the NBL try to adopt a model similar to the Australian Football League (AFL) whereby there are the same 10 or 15 teams over a 10-year period. A turbulent period during 2008 and 2009 saw the league lose teams from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Singapore. The 2009–10 season earmarked as the season in which the NBL would begin its revamping, much like the old
National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...
which became the eight team
A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
. The NBL returned to
free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...
television in Australia for the first time in three years with One broadcasting 2–3 games a week. The 2010–11 season saw the return of the
Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the ...
after the club was purchased for 20,000 on 31 July 2008. In 2013, the NBL had a de-merger from
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 ...
. Crowds improved for the 2013–14 NBL season, recording the highest cumulative crowd attendance figures for the past five years. After numerous teams folding and a plummeting public profile property developer Larry Kestelman purchased a 51% portion of the league. Since then game attendance, TV viewership, website visitors and app downloads have been consistently on the increase. In April 2016, the Townsville Crocodiles folded as they had become too financially unsustainable to continue. Larry Kestelman has stated on the Aussie Hoopla podcast that no NBL club will ever fold again as long as he is in control of the league. Allowing for clubs to recruit the best Australian players not in the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
became easier with the marquee rule which saw the return from Europe and the US of players such as
Brad Newley Brad Newley (born 18 February 1985) is an Australian professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). After starting his career in Australia, playing for the Australian Institute of Sport and the Tow ...
,
David Andersen David Emil Andersen (born 23 June 1980) is an Australian-Danish former professional basketball player. One of Australia's most experienced and successful players, Andersen won 12 league championships (9 European national domestic league champ ...
and
Andrew Bogut Andrew Michael Bogut (born 28 November 1984) is an Australian former basketball player who spent the majority of his professional career playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The tall center was selected by the Milwaukee Buck ...
. In addition the Special Restricted Player rule, introduced for the 2016–17 season, allows for clubs to recruit players born in countries such
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
who would not count as imports under NBL rules. The growth of Basketball in Asia over recent years and the overall strength and standard of Australian Basketball should ensure the sustainability of the league for many years provided Asian players continue to strive to compete in the NBL and Asian basketball fans are able to follow the league. Current trends should see the NBL as the third highest attended basketball league in the world, after the NBA and EuroLeague. From 2016 to 2018, there was a renewed interest in the sport, with it being described as being the National Basketball League's greatest ever period. 2016–17 set a new attendance record for the league, with the figure being matched the following year, as well as the Grand Final series for the 2017–18 season. In 2018, the
South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...
were announced as the latest club to join the league, and started competing in the 2019–20 season; a season which was widely regarded as a major season for the league. After an active off-season, including the signings of
LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. ...
and
R. J. Hampton Roderick "R. J." Hampton Jr. (born February 7, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League (NB ...
, two highly rated
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
2020 draft picks, the league started by continuing to topple attendance records from the first round. The season's opening night had 10,300 fans in attendance to watch Melbourne United and the South East Melbourne Phoenix compete in the first "Throwdown", with a further 20,550 fans attending games across the first round. After signing a broadcasting deal with
Facebook Watch Facebook Watch is a video on demand service operated by American company Meta Platforms (previously named Facebook, Inc.). The company announced the service in August 2017 and was available to all U.S. users that month. Facebook Watch's original ...
, over one million American fans watched
Ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...
's first game in the NBL against the
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...
.


Competition format


Regular season

Since the 2009–10 season, each team has played 28 games during the regular season, 14 home and 14 away. The regular season starts in early October and ends in mid February. In the 2020–21 season, each team played an extra 8 games (36 games) due to the newly formatted
NBL Cup The National Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the NBL Cup is an annual cup competition for the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). History On 21 December 2020 the Australian National Basketball League established the first N ...
tournament. The following season the NBL returned to their normal format of 28 games with no midseason tournament.


NBL Cup

In the 2020–21 season, the NBL introduced the
NBL Cup The National Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the NBL Cup is an annual cup competition for the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). History On 21 December 2020 the Australian National Basketball League established the first N ...
which is a 36-game mid-season competition. Each game would contribute to each team's regular season record.


Finals

The top four teams at the end of the regular season advances to the Finals. The team finishing in the first and second position at the completion of the regular season receives home advantages in their best-of-three first round matchup against the team finishing in third and fourth position. The winner of each of the three matches advances to the Grand Final. The winner of Series 1 plays the winner of Series 2 in the best-of-five Grand Final series, with home advantage being awarded to the highest remaining seed. The winner of this series is crowned as NBL champion. In the 2022–23 season, the league will introduce Play-In games. The top two seeds in the regular season will automatically qualify to the semi-finals. Teams ranked three to six will compete in the play-in tournament. The third seed will play the fourth seed for third spot and the loser will play the winner of fifth or sixth for the fourth seed.


Current clubs

The National Basketball League (NBL) was founded in 1979 with nine teams. Due to club expansions, reductions and relocations, many of the teams either changed or ceased to exist. There are currently ten teams; nine teams in Australia and one team in New Zealand. The teams are located in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
,
Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
,
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 ...
,
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 is ...
,
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, and
Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...
. 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 games ...
are the oldest club in the competition, having participated in every season since 1979. The salary cap for each team is $AU1.1 million as a 'soft cap' with marquee players able to be paid amounts that will exceed that amount for the team.


Former clubs


Recent expansion

After weeks of reports of a return of a Tasmanian team, in June 2019, Larry Kestelman flagged Tasmania as a potential 10th team. However he stressed that if a Tasmanian team did enter the NBL, they would be eased in, and that there was no timeline. On 28 February 2020, the NBL and the
Tasmanian Government The Tasmanian Government is the democratic administrative authority of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania, is invite ...
announced that they had reached an agreement for Tasmania to host the 10th team in the league, known as the Tasmania JackJumpers, which would join for the 2021–22 season. In April 2022, Larry Kestelman flagged Canberra as a potential 11th team. Kestelman says “Canberra could be next in line for a league license, following the same model as the Tasmania JackJumpers.” The last Canberra team to play in the NBL was the
Cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during ...
from 1979–2003. They won three NBL championships and played their home games at the
AIS Arena AIS Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Canberra, Australia. Its capacity is 5,200 and it was built in 1980. The arena was opened by the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser, on 26 January 1981 and was originally named the National Indo ...
.


Rivalries

''
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
vs
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...
'' Arguably the NBL's oldest rivalry started in 1985 when the Brian Kerle coached Bullets defeated the Ken Cole coached 36ers 121–95 in the 1985 NBL Grand Final, the last single game
Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
in NBL history. From 1985 to 1987, the Bullets and 36ers were the two dominant teams in the league and the two clubs met in the 1986 NBL Grand Final, the first NBL GF to be played over a 3-game series. An Australian indoor sports attendance record of around 11,000 saw the first game of the 1986 series played at the
Brisbane Entertainment Centre The Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Brisbane suburb of Boondall, Queensland, Australia. The centre is managed by ASM Global. The arena has an array of seating plans which facilitate the comfort of ...
with Adelaide, who had a 24–2 record for the
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, winning 122–119 in overtime. Brisbane then handed Adelaide its only home loss of 1986 (the 36ers had gone 13–0 at the
Apollo Stadium Apollo Stadium (officially called the Apollo Entertainment Centre) was a multi-purpose indoor arena located at 41 Kingston Avenue, Richmond, South Australia, just 5 minutes from the Adelaide city centre. The stadium had an original seating capac ...
) when they won Game 2 104–83 before Adelaide won its first NBL title with a 113–91 win at Apollo in Game 3. The teams were evenly matched at the time with players such as Al Green, Mark Davis, Bill Jones, Peter Ali,
Darryl Pearce Darryl "The Iceman" Pearce (born 15 October 1960) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) for the Adelaide 36ers from 1982 to 1991 before playing four seasons (1992–19 ...
, Mike McKay and Dwayne Nelson (Adelaide) against Brisbane's star import
Leroy Loggins Leroy Loggins (born 20 December 1957) is an Australian-American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball League (NBL) from 1981 until 2001. College career Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Loggins attended ...
, captain
Larry Sengstock Larry Sengstock (born 4 March 1960 in Maryborough, Queensland) is an Australian retired basketball player and was the CEO of Basketball Australia and the NBL until April 2012. Career Larry was born in Maryborough Qld. He was a champion swi ...
, guard
Ron Radliff Ron Radliff (born 1958) is a former professional basketball player who played in the Australia, Australian National Basketball League (Australasia), National Basketball League between 1983 and 1992. He won the NBL Championship with the Brisbane ...
, forwards Danny Morseu, Robert Sibley and Chris McGraw, centre
John Dorge John Dorge (born 17 October 1962 in Toowoomba, Queensland) is a former basketball player from Australia. Dorge played in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) from 1985 to 1998, playing for the Brisbane Bullets, Geelong Supercats and t ...
and (in 1985 and 1986) Cal Bruton. Loggins was the NBL MVP in 1986 and 1987 (and player of the match in the 1985 GF) while Mark Davis was the Grand Final MVP in 1986 and shared the league MVP award with Loggins in
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
. The Rivalry between the two clubs again reached fever pitch in the mid-1990s when Bullets guard
Shane Heal Shane Douglas Heal (born 6 September 1970) is an Australian basketball coach and former player. Playing career International Heal's international career highlights include representing the Australian Boomers at the 1992, 1996, 2000 and 20 ...
earned the ire of the Adelaide crowd during Game 3 of the 1994 Elimination final series when he gave the crowd at the
Clipsal Powerhouse Adelaide Arena (known commercially as Adelaide 36ers Arena) is a multipurpose indoor sports stadium located in Findon, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the former home arena for the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL and th ...
a 'double bird'. Heal, who had scored 61 points in the last regular season game before scoring 42 points in Game 1 to lead Brisbane to a 116–105 home win over the 36ers, had not actually managed to score a point before half time in Game 2 which the 36ers had won 99–91 before also winning Game 3 101–84. Heal, along with former 36er
Mark Bradtke Mark Robert Bradtke (born 27 September 1969) is an Australian retired professional basketball player who played mainly in Australia's National Basketball League, but also had a single stint in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the ...
who had left under acrimonious circumstances at the end of
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
to join the Melbourne Tigers, became public enemy #1 to the 36ers crowd following the incident. With the Bullets returning to the NBL in 2016, the rivalry has continued with Adelaide defeating the Bullets in their first encounter at home, the Bullets returning the favour with an away win in Adelaide, while a week later Adelaide spoiled the Bullets regular season return to the Entertainment Centre for the first time since 1997 with a resounding 101–83 win. ''
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
vs
Melbourne United 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 ...
'' Apart from the normal South Australian and Victorian rivalry, the 36ers vs United (formerly Tigers) rivalry started at the end of the 1992 season when 36ers centre
Mark Bradtke Mark Robert Bradtke (born 27 September 1969) is an Australian retired professional basketball player who played mainly in Australia's National Basketball League, but also had a single stint in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the ...
joined Spanish club Juver Murcia following the 1992 Olympics in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain for a short stint. Before he left he signed an agreement with the 36ers stating that he would finish his one-year contract with the club should he return within a certain time. Upon his return to Australia, Bradtke stated his intention not to return to the 36ers with the Tigers rumoured to be actively chasing him. After protracted negotiations with 36ers management that led to the club being prepared to buy out his remaining contract, the NBL stepped in and vetoed the buy out, effectively letting Bradtke leave for Melbourne without the 36ers receiving any compensation for the remainder of his contract with the club. When Bradtke returned to Adelaide with the Tigers on 4 July 1993 he was soundly booed whenever he touched the ball by the 8,000 strong crowd at the
Clipsal Powerhouse Adelaide Arena (known commercially as Adelaide 36ers Arena) is a multipurpose indoor sports stadium located in Findon, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the former home arena for the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL and th ...
. The booing of Bradtke and the
Andrew Gaze Andrew Barry Casson Gaze (born 24 July 1965) is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He played 22 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Melbourne Tigers from 1984 to 2005, winning the league's MVP a ...
led Tigers continued for a number of seasons. A new rivalry has emerged with
Julius Hodge Julius Melvin Hodge (born November 18, 1983) is an American-Antiguan former professional basketball player and current assistant coach at Little Rock Trojans. Originally from Harlem, New York, Hodge played college basketball at NC State and was se ...
, a former 36er, returning to the NBL in November 2009, signing with the Melbourne Tigers. Hodge was a star in Adelaide when he joined the 36ers mid-season the previous two years, however issues relating to alleged missed payments caused him to walk out on the club in early January 2009 on bad terms. Hodge returned to his old home court for the first time on 5 December 2009 in a Tigers overtime victory. After being heckled and taunted all night in a quiet game by his standards, Hodge caused more controversy when he stamped and spat on the Brett Maher signature on the centre of the Brett Maher Court following his new club's win. He was booed off aggressively and loudly by the Adelaide fans and needed security to escort him out of the stadium. ''
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
vs
Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...
'' Both teams were perennial championship contenders in the late 1980s and early 90s and had several marquee players with excellent match-ups, the three most notable all involving American imports:
Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
(Adelaide) vs
Cal Bruton Calvin Thomas Bruton, (born 29 September 1954) is an American-born Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He has been an integral part of the National Basketball League (NBL) since its inception. Bruton won an NBL champio ...
(Perth),
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
(Adelaide) vs James Crawford (Perth) and Bill Jones (Adelaide) vs
Tiny Pinder Kendal Nathaniel "Tiny" Pinder (born 25 April 1956) is a Bahamian former professional basketball player. Early life Pinder was born in the Bahamas. College career Pinder played four seasons of college basketball in the United States, first fo ...
(Perth). Games during this era were rarely blowouts and helped to fuel the rivalry. Adelaide won the 1986 NBL Championship over the
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...
and Bruton, who moved from Brisbane to be player-coach of Perth in 1987, built a team specifically to beat the reigning champions. Despite the long time rivalry between the two clubs, and the two teams having played numerous semi-final series against each other with the first being in that 1987 season, they did not face each other in a grand final series until the 2013–14 season, which was won by the Perth Wildcats. the Wildcats have won each semi-finals series played between the two (1987,
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
and
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
). The 1995 series proved to be one of the most volatile and controversial due to an incident between 36ers forward Chris Blakemore and Perth's Martin Cattalini in Game 1 in Adelaide. Under instructions from coach
Mike Dunlap Michael Gregory Dunlap (born May 27, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach who serves as assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. Dunlap is the former head coach of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. ...
to basically belt the next Perth player to go through the key, Blakemore back handed Cattalini, giving the Wildcats forward a large cut on his mouth that required 15 stitches. Blakemore was suspended for Game 2 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 is ...
as the Wildcats swept the 36ers 2–0 before going on to defeat the defending champion
North Melbourne Giants The North Melbourne Giants, previously known as the Coburg Giants, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of ...
(who had swept Adelaide in 1994) 2–1 in the Grand Final. In an ironic twist, Cattalini would join the 36ers in 1996 and later went on to win two championships with the club (plus another with Perth), while Blakemore, the NBL's Rookie of the year in
1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
and its Most Improved Player award winner in
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, as well as playing for the
Australian Boomers The Australian men's national basketball team, known as the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has been placed among the world elite t ...
in 1995, joined the
Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After t ...
in 1996 and his career went downhill from there with his NBL career ending at the end of
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
after just two seasons with the Cannons. As the mainstay players began to slow with age and retire, the intensity of this rivalry has declined. The two clubs remain some of the most successful in the NBL with four championships for Adelaide and ten for Perth, and are first and second on the all-time wins list (748 wins for Perth, 692 wins for Adelaide as of 20 May 2021) and have also matched up on more occasions (134 times total; Perth leading all time between the two 73 – 61) than any other two teams in the NBL (as of 15 November 2019). The rivalry continues into the 2012–13 season with the 36ers beating the Wildcats in back to back games in rounds 6 and 7, including the opening game at Perth's new home, the
Perth Arena Perth Arena (known commercially as ) is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia, used mostly for basketball matches. It is located on Wellington Street near the site of the former Perth Entertainmen ...
, in front of a then record Wildcats crowd of 11,562. The Wildcats and the 36ers dominated the 2013–14 NBL season, finishing first and second respectively during the regular round. After the three previous semi-final meetings, they then faced off in their first ever Grand Final series which saw the Wildcats emerge with their record 6th NBL championship with a 2–1 series win. This was one of the most anticipated series in NBL history, not only given the two clubs' long-standing rivalry, but also due to the post-game on court 'brawl' which took place following their Round 18 clash in Perth earlier in the season. Adelaide and Perth play for the Cattalini Cup named for Perth born Martin Cattalini who won two championships with each club. In each game, the game MVP is awarded with the Paul Rogers Medal named for Adelaide born centre Paul Rogers who made his NBL debut for the 36ers in 1992 and later joined Perth, winning 2 championships and the NBL MVP award in 2000 while with the Wildcats. ''
Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...
vs
Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...
'' A local derby-style rivalry nicknamed "Reptile Rumble" has developed to determine which is the dominant North Queensland team. The Cairns-Townsville basketball rivalry would have to be one of the longest and most passionate in the NBL. Both teams generally attract a close to capacity crowd anywhere from 4000+ at their home games. Each team and their supporters and mascots generally boo and taunt their visiting rivals. The rivalry has been in existent for over 10 years and almost came to a near end when the Cairns Taipans were on the verge of extinction due to financial issues. The rivalry between the two North Queensland based clubs is currently extinct due to the Crocodiles folding at the end of the
2015–16 NBL season The 2015–16 NBL season was the 38th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 7 October 2015 and 14 February 2016, followed by a post-season featuri ...
. ''
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 games ...
vs
Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the ...
'' Illawarra Hawks fans consider the Sydney Kings to be their most fierce rival. Many Hawks players have moved to the Kings including two former Rookie of the Year winners and a two-time Olympian. In the absence of the Kings, the Sydney Spirit took the role of rival, but this felt fake to some Hawks faithful. The Hawks took bragging rights after the 2000–01 season when they became the first team from New South Wales to qualify for the NBL finals, which they won against Townsville. Sydney then took the ascendency when they won three championships in a row, including a clean sweep of the Hawks. The next time they met in the post-season, Sydney swept the Hawks 2–0 in the 2022 Semi-Finals enroute to their fourth championship. ''
New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...
vs
Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...
'' The Breakers and the Wildcats have arguably been the league's current strongest teams, and have been fairly evenly matched. Between them, they have won every year's league from 2009–10 to 2016–17, and met in the final in 2011–12 and 2012–13 (both won by the Breakers) and 2015–16 (won by the Wildcats). Both teams have similarities in that they have to travel great distances to play any other NBL team. These two factors have combined to make a "derby of distance" between the NBL's farthest-flung members. The rivalry may have its origins in a scrap between players from each side after a game in 2004. Games between the two sides have been intense ones for several years and often marked with incident. ''
Melbourne United 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 ...
vs
South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...
'' Known as the "Throwdown", these two teams formed a rivalry as they are both based in Melbourne and play their games at
John Cain Arena John Cain Arena is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located within Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is the second-largest venue and show court for the Australian Open, the first Grand Sla ...
. The first Throwdown was the Phoenix's first game in the league, as well as the first game of the
2019–20 NBL season The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. Teams Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 Season with the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix. Off-season changes *The ...
, with the Phoenix winning 91–88. The two teams have since met in the 2021 semi-finals, with United winning the series 2–1.


Organisation


Sponsorship

At the start of the 2004–05 season, the league struck a new television deal with
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
in Australia and a multi-year naming-rights sponsorship deal with electronics manufacturer
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
. Though in 2007, Philips announced they would not continuing their naming rights sponsorship in response to the NBL wishing to increase the sponsorship deal. On 18 September 2007, the NBL announced
Hummer Hummer (stylized as HUMMER) is a brand of pickups and SUVs that was first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a sub-brand of GMC in 2020. ...
as their naming rights sponsor for the 2007–08 season. On 13 September 2010,
iiNet iiNet Limited is an Australian internet service provider that sells NBN plans and services on its ULTRA Broadband Cable, FTTB and VDSL2 networks. It was acquired by TPG Telecom in July 2020. iiNet was acquired by TPG in September 2015 for $1 ...
was announced as the league naming rights sponsor and Centrebet as the official sports betting partner. Spalding provided equipment including the official game ball, with AND1 supplying team apparel. The iiNet sponsorship lasted for 3 seasons, and the Centrebet sponsorship lasted for two seasons. On 5 October 2017, Hungry Jack's became the naming rights sponsor for the National Basketball League. The Hungry Jack's logo features on player jerseys, in and around venues and the company is closely associated with Heritage Month in January.


Naming rights

* 1979 to 1987: none * 1988 to 1991:
Hungry Jack's Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd. is an Australian fast food franchise of the Burger King Corporation. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin. Hungry Jack's owns and operates or sub-l ...
* 1992 to 2001–02:
Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
* 2002–03 to 2003–04: none * 2004–05 to 2006–07:
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
* 2007–08:
Hummer Hummer (stylized as HUMMER) is a brand of pickups and SUVs that was first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a sub-brand of GMC in 2020. ...
* 2008–09 to 2009–10: none * 2010–11 to 2012–13:
iiNet iiNet Limited is an Australian internet service provider that sells NBN plans and services on its ULTRA Broadband Cable, FTTB and VDSL2 networks. It was acquired by TPG Telecom in July 2020. iiNet was acquired by TPG in September 2015 for $1 ...
* 2013–14 to 2016–17: none * 2017–18 to present: Hungry Jack's


Media coverage

National television broadcasting rights are as follows: While the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
had exclusive national broadcasting rights from 1979 to 1987, other television stations around the country (usually those affiliated with either the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
or
Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
) would broadcast their local teams to their state markets once the sport gained popularity. For example, in the mid-1980s the
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
and
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...
home games were shown in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
and
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
by Network Ten stations SAS and TV0 respectively. In 2015,
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
secured a 5-year deal for the Australian broadcasting rights of all games, starting with the 2015–16 season. In addition, for the 2015–16 season
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
secured one weekly match (every Sunday afternoon) for FTA. In 2016, SBS secured the exclusive free-to-air rights for the 2016–17 season, broadcasting and streaming online one Sunday match live each week. In the 2017–18 Season, SBS broadcast 2 games live, one on Saturday and another on Sunday, while ABC broadcast a Friday night game on delay at 11pm. In 2021, the NBL signed a three-year deal with
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
,
Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
,
Kayo Sports Kayo Sports is an over-the-top video streaming subscription service available in Australia, owned by Streamotion ( a wholly owned subsidiary of Foxtel). The service offers sports live and on demand from Fox Sports, ESPN, beIN Sports, and Racin ...
and
News Corp News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the News Corporation (1980–2013), original News Corporation, it was formed ...
, with every game broadcast on ESPN and Kayo Sports, and selected games broadcast with the league's free-to-air partner
10 Peach 10 Peach is an Australian free-to-air television channel operated by Network 10. It was launched on 11 January 2011 as Eleven. It is owned by ElevenCo, which was established as a joint venture between Ten Network Holdings and CBS Studios Inter ...
. In August 2022,
FanDuel TV FanDuel TV is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by FanDuel Group, the U.S. subsidiary of Irish bookmaker Flutter Entertainment. Formerly known as TVG and specializing in coverage of live horse ra ...
announced they had acquired the rights to the league in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.


Squad formation and salary cap

Most teams have historically featured at least one and usually two American imports. Currently, teams are limited to having three imports (i.e., non-Australasians) on the roster at any one time; league initiatives in recent years have added two roster slots that may be filled by imports without counting against the three-import limit. Some of these players have moved to Australia permanently and become Australian citizens; a few including
Cal Bruton Calvin Thomas Bruton, (born 29 September 1954) is an American-born Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He has been an integral part of the National Basketball League (NBL) since its inception. Bruton won an NBL champio ...
,
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
,
Leroy Loggins Leroy Loggins (born 20 December 1957) is an Australian-American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball League (NBL) from 1981 until 2001. College career Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Loggins attended ...
and
Ricky Grace Ricky Ray Grace (born August 20, 1966) is an American-Australian former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career in the Australian National Basketball League with the Perth Wildcats. Playing career Ricky "Amazing ...
have even played for the Australian national team (under a
FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...
rule that allows one naturalised player to compete for a national team). The NBL's salary cap for the 2006–07 season was 776,000, and increased to 810,000 for the 2007–08 season; the cap rose for two consecutive years due to the continued growth of the league. The salary cap rose 1,000,000 for the 2009–10 season. The cap remains at 1,000,000 for the 2012–13 season. For the 2016–17 season, the salary cap was changed from a 1,000,000 ‘hard cap’ to a 1,100,000 ‘soft cap’. Teams may exceed the soft cap provided that they pay a salary equalisation subsidy based on the extent to which they have exceeded the cap. In addition, player values for purposes of the salary cap are not based on the salary submitted to the league, but are determined by a special NBL panel. The cap regulations also mandate that teams distribute their salaries so that at least one group of five players has a collective cap value of no more than 400,000. Both cap numbers (the soft cap and the 5-player aggregate cap) have increased since then, based on average league salaries. On 9 May 2014, to help attract high-calibre imports or offer financial incentive for local stars considering overseas opportunities, the NBL introduced a marquee player rule, in which a team can nominate one player whose salary is paid outside the cap, with a 25% Marquee Player levy applied to any payment made above the salary cap. For the 2016–17 season, the value was modified so that if the marquee player is a "non-restricted" player (explained below), only the first $150,000 of that player's salary will be counted toward that team's salary cap. NBL legend Andrew Gaze has pointed to these changes being instrumental to the improvement of NBL and its Australian players. Also effective in 2016–17, the number of import roster slots was increased from two to three, and each team was allowed (but not required) to have one player from a
FIBA Asia FIBA Asia is a zone within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) which contains all 44 Asian FIBA federations. Member associations Tournaments Organized by FIBA Asia National teams * FIBA Asia Cup – since 2017, also inclu ...
or
FIBA Oceania The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...
country other than Australia or New Zealand on its roster who would not be counted against the import limit. Since then, the NBL has used the term "non-restricted" to describe all players signed as locals, including Asian/Oceanian players signed under the regional initiative. With this change, many of the best Asian-born players were expected to seek NBL contracts, as teams can now recruit them and play them as locals. In 2020, the NBL reduced the number of imports per club from 3 to 2. The maximum length of NBL player contracts is three years. The 2020–21 NBL salary cap has been set at $US 1,227,930, with one marquee 'local' player (including players with Asian or Oceania passports) and traditional imports exempt from the salary cap. Next Stars may also be exempt.


Next Stars Program

On 2 March 2018, the NBL announced the "Next Stars" initiative which would launch with the league's 2018–19 season. The scheme is designed to provide young elite overseas players, mainly Americans (who are currently barred from the NBA draft until one year out of secondary school), as well as Australians and New Zealanders considering U.S. college basketball, with a professional option immediately out of secondary school. Each team will receive one additional import roster slot intended to provide a "Next Star" slot. Players who will be part of the scheme will be selected by a special NBL panel and, should they accept the league's offer, be contracted directly by the NBL and placed into an allocation pool to be distributed among the league's teams. The chosen players will receive a salary of at least 100,000, as well as a car, apartment, and flights home during league breaks. The scheme will be funded for the first season by the NBL, meaning that "Next Star" players will not count against the salary cap. Finally, under current rules, the NBA allows its teams to spend up to 700,000 to buy players out of professional contracts in non-North American leagues; should a "Next Star" be bought out by an NBA team (or by a team in another overseas league), the buyout amount will be split between the team and the NBL. The first player signed to a Next Star contract was American
Brian Bowen Brian Bowen II (born October 2, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He originally committed to play college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals but was suspended by the ...
, signed on 7 August 2018 and assigned to the Sydney Kings.


Uniforms

Since the 2020–21 season,
Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...
has supplied the uniforms for all teams in the league.


City Round

With the introduction of
First Ever First Ever Pty Ltd. is an Australian manufacturing company located in Melbourne. The company was established in 2018, and was the official manufacturer and supplier of sportswear and clothing for the National Basketball League during the 2018 ...
as uniform supplier in 2018, the NBL announced the "City" round. During this annual round, all teams wear limited edition jerseys which are specific to the city of their team.


Indigenous Round

In December 2018, the Illawarra Hawks and Sydney Kings wore Indigenous based jerseys to celebrate "the rich Indigenous culture within basketball as a whole." After this successful launch, the league announced that in the 2019–20 season all teams would be competing in an Indigenous round.


Honours


List of champions


Regular season champions

''* Note: In 1983 and 1984, the NBL was split into Eastern and Western divisions during the regular season.''


Hall of Fame

The NBL Hall of Fame was instituted by the league in 1998 as part of their 20th season celebrations, to recognise the outstanding players, coaches, referees and contributors to the league. In 2010, the NBL Hall of Fame united with the
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 ...
Hall of Fame to create the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame. To be eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame, NBL 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.


Awards

* NBL (Australia) 25th Anniversary Team, 25th Anniversary Team (2003) * NBL (Australia) 20th Anniversary Team, 20th Anniversary Team (1998) * NBL Most Valuable Player Award, Most Valuable Player * NBL Grand Final Most Valuable Player Award, Most Valuable Player – Grand Final * NBL Coach of the Year Award, Coach of the Year * NBL Rookie of the Year Award, Rookie of the Year * NBL Most Improved Player Award, Most Improved Player * NBL Best Defensive Player Award, Best Defensive Player * NBL Best Sixth Man Award, Best Sixth Man * NBL Good Hands Award, Good Hands Award (defunct) * NBL Most Efficient Player Award, Most Efficient Player (defunct) * All-NBL Team * List of National Basketball League (Australia) annual scoring leaders, Scoring champions


Road trips

''Doomsday Double''
The Doomsday Double, involving a road trip to play the
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
and
Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...
during the same round, has occurred 141 times as at the end of the 2010–11 season. Only four teams have won both legs of the trip, played either on consecutive nights or on a Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Due to the long time success rate of both the 36ers and Wildcats, the Double has long been considered the toughest two games in one weekend road trip in the NBL. The Doomsday Double was given its name by Australian Basketball Hall of Fame, Hall of Famer
Cal Bruton Calvin Thomas Bruton, (born 29 September 1954) is an American-born Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He has been an integral part of the National Basketball League (NBL) since its inception. Bruton won an NBL champio ...
during its early days when the trip was a game in Perth on the Friday night followed by Adelaide the following night or vice versa. ''Sunshine Swing''
Similar to the Doomsday Double, the Sunshine Swing pits teams against an away double or even triple game schedule against opponents from the state of Queensland, in the same round. The most frequent combinations have featured the
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...
/Gold Coast Rollers (NBL), Gold Coast Rollers or
Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...
/
Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...
double. Other variants include
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...
/
Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...
(current version),
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...
/
Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...
and the gruelling
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...
/
Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...
/
Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...
triple.


NBLxNBA

NBLxNBA is a series involving clubs from the NBL and the National Basketball Association (NBA) of Northern America. The series started in 2017 for each league's 2017–18 season, and each season includes between two and seven games. The games have previously always been held in the U.S. and Canada, and typically are held during September and early October.


NBL All-Star Game

The NBL All-Star Game is an event that was first contested in 1982 by East and West teams. It was revived in 1988 when North and South teams competed. This match was played annually until 1997. In 2003–04 NBL season, 2003–04 season the concept was revived with an east–west match being held in Melbourne. The following season saw a change of format, with a local team (Aussie All-Stars) playing an imports team (World All-Stars). This was discontinued after the 2007–08 season. The concept was revived in 2012 with an All-Star game between North and South that was scheduled for December 2012.


See also

*
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 ...
* Basketball in Australia * List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues – the NBL in a worldwide context * List of National Basketball League (Australia) venues * NBL (Australia) All-time Records, NBL All-time Records * National Basketball League (New Zealand), New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) * Women's National Basketball League (WNBL)


References


External links

*
Basketball Australia official website

NBL All-Time Stats
at AussieHoopla.com
NBL Historical Stats
at SpatialJam.com

{{Sports leagues of Australia National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) Basketball leagues in Australia Basketball leagues in New Zealand Professional sports leagues in Australia Professional sports leagues in New Zealand 1979 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1979 Multi-national professional sports leagues