1989 NBL season

The 1989 NBL season was the 11th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 13 teams contest the league.

1989 NBL season
LeagueNational Basketball League
SportBasketball
Duration20 April – 24 September 1989
29 September – 8 October 1989 (Semi-finals)
14 – 20 October 1989 (Grand Finals)
Number of teams13
TV partner(s)Seven Network
Regular season
Season championsCanberra Cannons
Season MVPScott Fisher (North Melbourne)
Top scorerAndrew Gaze (Melbourne)
Finals
ChampionsNorth Melbourne Giants (1st title)
  Runners-upCanberra Cannons
Finals MVPScott Fisher (North Melbourne)

Clubs
Club Location Home Venue Capacity Founded Head Coach
Adelaide 36ers South Australia Adelaide, South Australia Apollo Stadium 3,000 1982 United States Gary Fox
Brisbane Bullets Queensland Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane Entertainment Centre 13,500 1979 Australia Brian Kerle
Canberra Cannons Australian Capital Territory Canberra, Australian Capital Territory AIS Arena 5,200 1979 Australia Steve Breheny*
Eastside Spectres Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria Burwood Stadium 2,000 1979 United States Brian Goorjian
Geelong Supercats Victoria (state) Geelong, Victoria Geelong Arena 2,000 1982 Australia Barry Barnes[1]
Hobart Tassie Devils Tasmania Hobart, Tasmania Derwent Entertainment Centre 5,400 1983 Australia Tom Maher
Illawarra Hawks New South Wales Wollongong, New South Wales Illawarra Basketball Stadium 2,000 1979 Australia Dave Lindstrom
Melbourne Tigers Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1931 Australia Lindsay Gaze
Newcastle Falcons New South Wales Newcastle, New South Wales Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium 2,200 1979 Australia Ken Cole
North Melbourne Giants Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1980 United States Bruce Palmer
Perth Wildcats Western Australia Perth, Western Australia Perth Superdome 4,500 1982 Australia Alan Black
Sydney Kings New South Wales Sydney, New South Wales State Sports Centre 5,006 1988 United States Bob Turner
Westside Saints Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria Keilor Stadium 2,000 1979 Australia Colin Cadee

NOTES
  • Steve Breheny was suspended by the league following the semi-finals series between Canberra and Sydney for allegedly headbutting Kings player Damian Keogh.[2] Assistant Coach Andy Campbell was in charge of the team for the Grand Final Series.[3]

Regular season

The 1989 regular season took place over 22 rounds between 20 April 1989 and 16 September 1989.

Ladder

This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.

Pos 1989 NBL season
Team Pld W L PCT Last 5 Streak Home Away PF PA PP
1 Canberra Cannons 24 18 6 75.00% 4–1 W4 10–2 8–4 2736 2580 106.05%
2 North Melbourne Giants 24 17 7 70.33% 5–0 W7 11–1 6–6 2993 2701 110.81%
3 Perth Wildcats1 24 16 8 66.67% 3–2 W2 11–1 5–7 2681 2660 100.79%
4 Melbourne Tigers1 24 16 8 66.67% 3–2 L2 8–4 8–4 2802 2660 105.34%
5 Sydney Kings2 24 15 9 62.50% 2–3 L2 9–3 6–6 2471 2489 99.28%
6 Adelaide 36ers2 24 15 9 62.50% 3–2 W2 10–2 5–7 2778 2668 104.12%
7 Eastside Spectres 24 14 10 53.85% 4–1 W4 9–3 5–7 2527 2454 102.97%
8 Brisbane Bullets 24 11 13 45.83% 1–4 W1 7–5 4–8 2563 2492 102.85%
9 Westside Saints3 24 8 16 33.33% 3–2 W1 5–7 3–9 2522 2648 95.24%
10 Hobart Tassie Devils3 24 8 16 33.33% 3–2 W1 6–6 2–10 2566 2757 93.07%
11 Illawarra Hawks 24 7 17 29.17% 0–5 L6 5–7 2–10 2826 2929 96.48%
12 Newcastle Falcons 24 6 18 25.00% 2–3 L2 5–7 1–11 2649 2799 94.64%
13 Geelong Supercats 24 5 19 20.83% 0–5 L6 3–9 2–10 2445 2722 89.82%

Updated to match(es) played on 16 September 1989. 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.

1Perth Wildcats won Head-to-Head (2-0).

2Head-to-Head between Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers (1-1). Sydney Kings won For and Against (+7).

3Head-to-Head between Westside Saints and Hobart Tassie Devils (1-1). Westside Saints won For and Against (+5).

Finals
Main article: 1989 NBL Finals

Playoff bracket
Elimination Finals Semi-finals Grand Final
1 Canberra Cannons 108 92 142
4 Melbourne Tigers 105 112 83 5 Sydney Kings 98 100 82
5 Sydney Kings 117 89 85 1 Canberra Cannons 105 97 X
2 North Melbourne Giants 111 111 X
2 North Melbourne Giants 129 108 165
3 Perth Wildcats 122 114 112 3 Perth Wildcats 108 111 110
6 Adelaide 36ers 124 94 108

There were two best of three Elimination finals, four best of three Semi-finals, and then best of three grand final.

1989 NBL statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameAndrew GazeMelbourne Tigers34.5
Rebounds per gameDean UthoffEastside Spectres17.0
Assists per gameAndrew GazeMelbourne Tigers7.2
Steals per gamePhil SmythCanberra Cannons3.3
Blocks per gameWillie SimmonsCanberra Cannons3.2
Free throw percentageScott FisherNorth Melbourne Giants87.5%

NBL awards

All NBL Team
# Player Team
PGPhil SmythCanberra Cannons
SGKent LockhartEastside Spectres
SFAndrew GazeMelbourne Tigers
PFScott FisherNorth Melbourne Giants
CMark DavisAdelaide 36ers

References
  1. "Honour Boards".
  2. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "NBL 1989 Basketball Highlights (02of13) *PLAYS OF THE YEAR - ALL STAR GAME - MAZDA SLAM DUNKS* (VCD)". YouTube.
  3. "NBL 1989 Basketball Highlights (11of13) GAME 1 Finals Nth. Melb. Giants vs. Canberra Cannons (VCD)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.
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