Clubs
The NBL had 14 clubs spread across all Australian states and territories with the exception of the Northern Territory.
| 1986 NBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball League |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | 25 April – 28 September 1986 1 – 4 October 1986 (semi-finals) 11 – 19 October 1986 (Grand Final) |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, SAS-10, TV0, STW9 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Adelaide 36ers |
| Season MVP | Leroy Loggins (Brisbane) |
| Top scorer | Andrew Gaze (Melbourne) |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Adelaide 36ers (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Brisbane Bullets |
| Finals MVP | Mark Davis (Adelaide) |
The 1986 NBL season was the eighth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league.
The NBL had 14 clubs spread across all Australian states and territories with the exception of the Northern Territory.
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.
| 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).
|
Main article: 1986 NBL Finals |
| Elimination Finals | Semifinals | 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 Semifinals, and then best of three Grand Final series. All of the Elimination Finals and Semifinals were sudden death. As the top two teams in the regular season the Adelaide 36ers and Canberra Cannons automatically qualified to host a home Semifinal.
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.
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Andrew Gaze | Melbourne Tigers | 922 pts |
| Rebounds per game | Mark Davis | Adelaide 36ers | 16.1 |
| Assists per game | Damian Keogh | West Sydney Westars | 8.1 |
| Steals per game | Leroy Loggins | Brisbane Bullets | 90 stls |
| Blocks per game | Willie Simmons | Coburg Giants | 98 blks |
| Field goal percentage | Murray Shiels | Hobart Devils | 57.3% |
| Three-point percentage | Wayne Burden[1] | Sydney Supersonics | 47.8% |
| Free throw percentage | Dane Suttle | Geelong Supercats | 89.3% |
| # | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Steve Carfino | Hobart Devils |
| SG | Andrew Gaze | Melbourne Tigers |
| SF | Leroy Loggins | Brisbane Bullets |
| PF | Jim Foster | Coburg Giants |
| C | Mark Davis | Adelaide 36ers |
