Saturday, February 6, 2010

NBL History

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NBL History

The National Basketball League is regarded as one of the premier basketball leagues in the world, and after a humble beginning, is today home to some of the world's best players.

In 1978, New South Wales Basketball president John Raschke sat with 10 interested parties in an unused aircraft hangar at Sydney Airport to discuss the formation of a national competition that would help the development of the sport throughout Australia.

A national competition was also seen as a way of improving the standard of players who would compete for Australia at events such as the Olympic Games and World Championships.

Since that day, the NBL has grown from a fledgling competition with games played in front of just a few hundred people to a league that attracts more than 750,000 spectators each season, as well as prime-time television audiences for games broadcast live nationally.

While games were initially played in small suburban stadiums, clubs now perform at major Australian arenas, including the 8,000-seat Distinctive Homes Dome in Adelaide.

Basketball also has one of the highest participation rates of any team sport in Australia, with numbers continuing to grow each year.

Between 1979 and 1997, the NBL season was played between April and September, but in 1998 the league moved its season to the summer place, with games played between October and April.

Eight teams currently compete in the NBL- the Adelaide 36ers, Cairns Taipans, Gold Coast Blaze, Melbourne Tigers, New Zealand Breakers, Perth Wildcats, Townsville Crocodiles and Wollongong Hawks.

Of these clubs, Wollongong competed in the first NBL season in 1979, alongside the St Kilda Saints, Nunawading Spectres, West Adelaide Bearcats, City of Sydney Astronauts, Newcastle Falcons, Canberra Cannons, Bankstown Bruins, and Glenelg Tigers.

St Kilda won the inaugural NBL Championship and repeated its success in 1980, but withdrew from the 1981 finals to compete in the World Club Championships. Launceston went on to win the 1981 title.

The Perth Wildcats and the Adelaide 36ers have each won four championships to lead the league in titles won. The Sixers won their most recent title in 2002, defeating the West Sydney Razorbacks in the Grand Final series to clinch the championship.

The Sydney Kings won the trophy an amazing three years in a row from 2003 to 2005 and returned to the Grand Final in 2006 before being defeated by the Melbourne Tigers, who took home their third title.

Former 36ers head coach Phil Smyth has been associated with more NBL championships than any man in league history, having won a total of six, three as a player and three as a head coach.

Some of the NBL’s greatest players include five-time Olympian Andrew Gaze, brilliant 21-season scoring-machine Leroy Loggins, five-time championship-winner Larry Sengstock, and 500-game veterans Ray Borner and James Crawford.

A seven-time winner of the NBL’s Most Valuable Player award, Andrew Gaze was Australia’s most recognised player, having competed at five Olympics and four World Championship tournaments.

Gaze is the NBL’s all-time leading scorer with more than 17,000 points, and he led the league in scoring a record 14 times.

All-time great players, coaches and administrators are honoured in the NBL’s Hall of Fame, with at least two legends of the game inducted each season. In order to be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a player or head coach must have been retired for at least four years.

Annual awards presented by the NBL include the prestigious Most Valuable Player award, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Best Sixth Man, Best Defensive Player, and Coach of the Year.

In addition, an All-NBL First Team is named, and is made up of the leading five players in the league from that season.

YEAR-BY-YEAR HISTORY (coming soon)
NBL CHAMPIONS - YEAR-BY-YEAR

SEASON

CHAMPION

RUNNER-UP

GM 1

GM 2

GM 3

GM 4

GM 5

SENGSTOCK MEDAL (MVP)

1979

St Kilda

Canberra

94-93





Larry Sengstock (St Kilda)

1980

St Kilda

W Adelaide

113-88





Rocky Smith (St Kilda)

1981

Launceston

Nunawading

75-54





Not awarded

1982

W Adelaide

Geelong

80-74





Not awarded

1983

Canberra

W Adelaide

75-73





Not awarded

1984

Canberra

Brisbane

84-82





Not awarded

1985

Brisbane

Adelaide

121-95





Not awarded

1986

Adelaide

Brisbane

122-119 OT

83-104

113-91



Mark Davis (Adelaide)

1987

Brisbane

Perth

80-79

106-87




Leroy Loggins (Brisbane)

1988

Canberra

Nth Melbourne

120-95

101-117

108-101



Phil Smyth (Canberra)

1989

Nth Melbourne

Canberra

111-105

111-197




Scott Fisher (Nth Melb)

1990

Perth

Brisbane

112-106

90-106

109-86



Ricky Grace (Perth)

1991

Perth

Eastside

109-83

81-86

90-80



Pete Hansen (Perth)

1992

S/E Melbourne

Melbourne

98-116

115-93

95-88



Bruce Bolden (S/E Melb)

1993

Melbourne

Perth

117-113

105-112

104-102



Ricky Grace (Perth)

1994

Nth Melbourne

Adelaide

95-93 OT

117-97




Paul Rees (North Melb)

1995

Perth

Nth Melbourne

97-104

97-88

108-88



Andrew Vlahov (Perth)

1996

S/EMelbourne

Melbourne

89-100

88-84

107-70



Mike Kelly (S/E Melb)

1997

Melbourne

S/E Melbourne

111-74

78-84

93-83



Lanard Copeland (Melb)

1998

Adelaide

S/E Melbourne

100-93

90-62




Kevin Brooks (Adelaide)

1998-99

Adelaide

Victoria

104-94

82-88

80-69



Brett Maher (Adelaide)

1999-00

Perth

Victoria

84-78

83-76




Marcus Timmons (Perth)

2000-01

Wollongong

Townsville

104-101

97-114

97-94



Glen Saville (Wollongong)

2001-02

Adelaide

W Sydney

106-97

100-103

125-107



Brett Maher (Adelaide)

2002-03

Sydney

Perth

98-94

117-101




Chris Williams (Sydney)

2003-04

Sydney

W Sydney

96-76

72-87

80-82 OT

82-77

90-79

Matthew Nielsen (Sydney)

2004-05

Sydney

Wollongong

96-73

105-80

112-85



Jason Smith (Sydney)

2005-06

Melbourne

Sydney

100-93

103-99

88-83



Chris Anstey (Melbourne)

2006-07

Brisbane

Melbourne

98-95

91-105

113-93

113-93

103-94

Sam Mackinnon (Brisbane)

2007-08

Melbourne

Sydney

74-95

104-93

89-87

87-90

85-73

Chris Anstey (Melbourne)

2008-09

South

Melbourne

93-81

83-88

84-67

95-108

102-81

Donta Smith (South)


SCOREBOARD



Cairns
def.
Perth
79-76
New Zealand
def.
Wollongong
88-60
Gold Coast
def.
Perth
86-73
Melbourne
def. by
Perth
78-84
Townsville
def.
Cairns
89-76
Wollongong
def.
Gold Coast
100-88

2009/10 NBL CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER

TEAM P W L PCWon
Perth 27 16 11 59.26
Townsville 26 15 11 57.69
Gold Coast 26 15 11 57.69
Wollongong 26 14 12 53.85
New Zealand 26 13 13 50.00
Melbourne 26 11 15 42.31
Cairns 27 11 16 40.74
Adelaide 26 10 16 38.46

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