Nunawading Spectres is a

NBL1 South NBL1 South is a NBL1 conference based in eastern states of Australia, South East Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2019, Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basket ...

club based 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 ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Melbourne East Basketball Association (MEBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Spectres play their home games at Nunawading Basketball Centre.

Club history

NBL/WNBL

Nunawading Basketball was established in 1969. In 1979, a Nunawading Spectres men's team entered the National Basketball League (NBL), joining nine other teams for the league's inaugural season. In 1982, a Nunawading Spectres women's team entered the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

(WNBL) for the league's second season. In 1987, the Spectres men changed their name to Eastside Spectres and spent five years under that moniker before merging with the

Southern Melbourne Saints The Southern Melbourne Saints, previously known as the St. Kilda Saints, the St. Kildas Pumas and the Westside Melbourne Saints, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne. The Saints competed in the National Basketball ...

in 1992 to become the

South East Melbourne Magic The South East Melbourne Magic was an Australian basketball team based in Melbourne. The Magic competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 1992 and 1998, and played their home games at Rod Laver Arena. In their seven seasons, the ...

. During their time in the NBL, the Spectres were two-time grand finalists, losing to Launceston in 1981 and

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 ...

in 1991. The Spectres women played 10 seasons in the WNBL and won six championships, including four in a row between 1986 and 1989.

SEABL/NBL1

In 1990, with the Eastside Spectres still a championship contender in the NBL, a Nunawading Spectres men's team re-emerged in the form of a

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

(SEABL) franchise. Two years later, the Spectres women joined the men's team in the SEABL after withdrawing from the WNBL following the 1991 season. In 1995, the men's team collected their first title as they won the CBA East Conference Championship. The women's team were conference runners-up in both 2000 and 2008, while the men were conference runners-up in 1999 and 2004. In 2011, the men's team won their second conference title and their first SEABL National Championship after defeating 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 ...

88–61 in the grand final. Spectres guard

Shane McDonald Shane McDonald (born 29 May 1985) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He had four stints in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Singapore Slingers, Perth Wildcats, Melbourne Tigers and New Zealand Breakers. The m ...

was superb as he racked up a game-high 28 points to earn the MVP award. After finishing as conference runners-up in 2013, the men's team won their third conference title in 2014 behind the likes of

Mitch Creek Mitchell Creek (born 27 April 1992) is an Australian professional basketball player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He began his NBL career with the Adelaide 36ers in 2010 and spent eight seasons w ...

Tommy Greer Tommy Greer (born 29 December 1983) is an Australian former professional basketball player who is currently the CEO of the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). Greer played college basketball for Augusta Stat ...

, Shane McDonald, Simon Conn and Matt O'Hea. However, they were unsuccessful in claiming National Championship honours after going down to 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 ...

85–71 in the grand final. After finishing as runners-up in the SEABL in 2018, the Spectres won 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 ...

championship in 2019 with a 99–90 win over the

in the grand final. The

season did not go ahead in 2020 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 identif ...

NBL Season by season

References

External links

Nunawading Basketball's official website
{{NBLdefunct South East Australian Basketball League teams Defunct National Basketball League (Australia) teams Basketball teams established in 1979 Basketball teams in Melbourne Sport in the City of Whitehorse