1986 NBL season

The 1986 NBL season was the eighth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league.

1986 NBL season
LeagueNational Basketball League
SportBasketball
Duration25 April – 28 September 1986
1 – 4 October 1986 (semi-finals)
11 – 19 October 1986 (Grand Final)
Number of teams14
TV partner(s)ABC, SAS-10, TV0, STW9
Regular season
Season championsAdelaide 36ers
Season MVPLeroy Loggins (Brisbane)
Top scorerAndrew Gaze (Melbourne)
Finals
ChampionsAdelaide 36ers (1st title)
  Runners-upBrisbane Bullets
Finals MVPMark Davis (Adelaide)

Clubs

The NBL had 14 clubs spread across all Australian states and territories with the exception of the Northern Territory.

Club Location Home Venue Capacity Founded Head coach
Adelaide 36ers South Australia Adelaide, South Australia Apollo Stadium 3,000 1982 Australia Ken Cole
Brisbane Bullets Queensland Brisbane, Queensland Sleeman Sports Centre
Brisbane Entertainment Centre		 2,700
13,500		 1979 Australia Brian Kerle
Canberra Cannons Australian Capital Territory Canberra, Australian Capital Territory AIS Arena 5,200 1979 United States Bob Turner
Coburg Giants Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1980 Australia Les Riddle
Geelong Supercats Victoria (state) Geelong, Victoria Geelong Arena 2,000 1982 United States Ken Richardson
Hobart Devils Tasmania Hobart, Tasmania Kingborough Sports Centre 1,800 1983 United States David Adkins
Illawarra Hawks New South Wales Wollongong, New South Wales Illawarra Basketball Stadium 2,000 1979 Australia Dave Lindstrom
Melbourne Tigers Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria Albert Park Basketball Stadium 2,000 1931 Australia Lindsay Gaze
Newcastle Falcons New South Wales Newcastle, New South Wales Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium 2,200 1979 Australia Steve Johansen
Nunawading Spectres Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria Burwood Stadium 2,000 1979 Australia Barry Barnes
Perth Wildcats Western Australia Perth, Western Australia Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium 1,500 1982 Australia Jay Brehmer
St. Kilda Saints Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1979 Australia Andris Blicavs
Sydney Supersonics New South Wales Sydney, New South Wales State Sports Centre 5,006 1982 Australia Owen Wells
West Sydney Westars New South Wales Sydney, New South Wales State Sports Centre 5,006 1982 Australia Robbie Cadee

Regular season

The home and away season took place over 21 rounds between 25 April 1986 and 28 September 1986.

The Adelaide 36ers had a near perfect regular season recording a 24–2 win–loss record which included an undefeated 13-0 home record at the Apollo Stadium, a feat not matched before or since in the NBL. Adelaide's only two losses of the year came away in Round 6 when they lost 89–87 to the West Sydney Westars in Sydney, and in Round 11 against the Coburg Giants in Melbourne when they went down 116–114. Both the Westars and Giants won the games on last second baskets. The 36ers were easily the best offensive team in the league, averaging 116 points per game (11.5 points more per game than the next best team, the Brisbane Bullets), while they had the 5th best defence in the NBL only giving up 96.5 points per game.

6'5" (196 cm) Brisbane Bullets swingman Leroy Loggins was selected as the NBL's Most Valuable Player. Loggins averaged 29.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game in 1986. It was Loggins' 2nd NBL MVP award having also won in 1984.

Ladder
Pos 1986 NBL season
Team Pld W L PCT Last 5 Streak Home Away PF PA PP
1 Adelaide 36ers 26 24 2 92.31% 5–0 W12 13–0 11–2 3016 2510 120.16%
2 Canberra Cannons 26 19 7 73.11% 4–1 W1 11–2 8–5 2718 2520 107.86%
3 Brisbane Bullets 26 17 9 65.38% 3–2 W1 10–3 7–6 2650 2485 106.64%
4 West Sydney Westars1 26 15 11 57.69% 3–2 W2 8–5 7–6 2519 2492 101.08%
5 Illawarra Hawks1 26 15 11 57.69% 3–2 W2 10–3 5–8 2551 2472 103.20%
6 Sydney Supersonics2 26 14 12 53.85% 3–2 W2 8–5 7–6 2518 2438 103.28%
7 Geelong Cats2 26 14 12 53.85% 2–3 W1 8–5 6–7 2875 2889 99.52%
8 Coburg Giants2 26 14 12 53.85% 2–3 W2 9–4 5–8 2841 2825 100.57%
9 Nunawading Spectres 26 12 14 46.15% 4–1 L1 8–5 4–9 2592 2642 98.11%
10 Newcastle Falcons 26 10 16 38.46% 1–4 L4 6–7 4–9 2782 2878 96.66%
11 Hobart Devils 26 9 17 34.62% 2–3 L1 7–6 2–11 2606 2704 96.38%
12 Perth Wildcats 26 8 18 30.77% 0–5 L5 6–7 2–11 2458 2693 91.27%
13 Melbourne Tigers 26 6 20 23.08% 1–4 L1 5–8 1–12 2822 3089 91.36%
14 St. Kilda Saints 26 5 21 19.23% 1–4 L2 3–10 2–11 2742 3053 89.81%

Updated to match(es) played on 28 September 1986. Source: NBL.com.au

The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win–loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.

1Head-to-Head between West Sydney Westars and Illawarra Hawks (1-1). West Sydney Westars won For and Against (+8).

23-way Head-to-Head between Sydney Supersonics (3-1), Geelong Cats (2-2) and Coburg Giants (1-3).

Finals
Main article: 1986 NBL Finals

Playoff bracket
Elimination Finals Semi Final Grand Final
1 Adelaide 36ers 116
4 West Sydney Westars 86 5 Illawarra Hawks 92
5 Illawarra Hawks 105 1 Adelaide 36ers 122 83 113
3 Brisbane Bullets 119 104 91
2 Canberra Cannons 100
3 Brisbane Bullets 100 3 Brisbane Bullets 120
6 Sydney Supersonics 82

There were two elimination finals, two semi-finals, and then best of three grand final. All of the Elimination-finals and Semi-finals were sudden death. As the top two teams in the regular season the Adelaide 36ers and Canberra Cannons automatically qualified to host a home Semi-final.

Grand Final

After being a single game from 1979-1985, 1986 saw the establishment of the best of three Grand Final series. Game 1 in Brisbane saw a then NBL record attendance of over 11,000. The game went into overtime with the 36ers coming out on top with a 122-119 win. Game 2 saw Adelaide lose its only game at home for the season when the Bullets kept the series alive with a 104-83 win. Adelaide wrapped up its first NBL Championship with a 113-91 win in Game 3 at the Apollo Stadium.

Regular season MVP winner, Brisbane's Leroy Loggins, fouled out of both Games 1 and 3. Adelaide import Power forward Mark Davis was selected as the Grand Final MVP. Davis averaged 25.0 points, 19.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists over the series.

1986 NBL statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameAndrew GazeMelbourne Tigers922 pts
Rebounds per gameMark DavisAdelaide 36ers16.1
Assists per gameDamian KeoghWest Sydney Westars8.1
Steals per gameLeroy LogginsBrisbane Bullets90 stls
Blocks per gameWillie SimmonsCoburg Giants98 blks
Field goal percentageMurray ShielsHobart Devils57.3%
Three-point percentageWayne Burden[1]Sydney Supersonics47.8%
Free throw percentageDane SuttleGeelong Supercats89.3%

NBL awards

All NBL Team
# Player Team
PGSteve CarfinoHobart Devils
SGAndrew GazeMelbourne Tigers
SFLeroy LogginsBrisbane Bullets
PFJim FosterCoburg Giants
CMark DavisAdelaide 36ers

References
  1. "All Time Leaders". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.