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 1986 – 28 September 1986
1 – 4 October 1986 (Semi-Finals)
11 – 19 October 1986 (Grand Finals)
Number of teams14
TV partner(s)ABC, SAS-10, TV0, STW9
Regular season
Top seedAdelaide 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 Adelaide, South Australia Apollo Stadium 3,000 1982 Ken Cole
Brisbane Bullets Brisbane, Queensland Sleeman Sports Centre
Brisbane Entertainment Centre		 2,700
13,500		 1979 Brian Kerle
Canberra Cannons Canberra, Australian Capital Territory AIS Arena 5,200 1979 Bob Turner
Coburg Giants Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1980 Bruce Palmer
Geelong Supercats Geelong, Victoria Geelong Arena 2,000 1982 Ken Richardson
Hobart Devils Hobart, Tasmania Kingborough Sports Centre 1,800 1983 David Adkins
Illawarra Hawks Wollongong, New South Wales Illawarra Basketball Stadium 2,000 1979 Dave Lindstrom
Melbourne Tigers Melbourne, Victoria Albert Park Basketball Stadium 2,000 1931 Lindsay Gaze
Newcastle Falcons Newcastle, New South Wales Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium 2,200 1979 Steve Johansen
Nunawading Spectres Melbourne, Victoria Burwood Stadium 2,000 1979 Barry Barnes
Perth Wildcats Perth, Western Australia Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium 1,500 1982 Jay Brehmer
St Kilda Saints Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1979 Andris Blicavs
Sydney Supersonics Sydney, New South Wales State Sports Centre 5,006 1982 Owen Wells
West Sydney Westars Sydney, New South Wales State Sports Centre 5,006 1982 Robbie Cadee

Regular season

The home and away season took place over 21 rounds between 25 April 1986 and 28 September 1986 with semi-final on 1 October 1986 until 4 October 1986 and grand final on 11–19 October 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

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

# Team Pld Won Lost Last 5 Streak Home Away For Against % Pts % Won
1 Adelaide 36ers 26 24 2 5-0 W12 13-0 11-2 3,016 2,510 120.16% 92.31%
2 Canberra Cannons 26 19 7 4-1 W1 11-2 8-5 2,718 2,520 107.86% 73.11%
3 Brisbane Bullets 26 17 9 3-2 W1 10-3 7-6 2,650 2,485 106.64% 65.38%
4 West Sydney Westars 26 15 11 3-2 W2 8-5 7-6 2,519 2,492 101.08% 57.69%
5 Illawarra Hawks 26 15 11 3-2 W2 10-3 5-8 2,551 2,472 103.20% 57.69%
6 Sydney Supersonics 26 14 12 3-2 W2 8-5 7-6 2,518 2,438 103.28% 53.85%
7 Geelong Supercats 26 14 12 2-3 W1 8-5 6-7 2,875 2,889 99.52% 53.85%
8 Coburg Giants 26 14 12 2-3 W2 9-4 5-8 2,841 2,825 100.57% 53.85%
9 Nunawading Spectres 26 12 14 4-1 L1 8-5 4-9 2,592 2,642 98.11% 46.15%
10 Newcastle Falcons 26 10 16 1-4 L4 6-7 4-9 2,782 2,878 96.66% 38.46%
11 Hobart Devils 26 9 17 2-3 L1 7-6 2-11 2,606 2,704 96.38% 34.62%
12 Perth Wildcats 26 8 18 0-5 L5 6-7 2-11 2,458 2,693 91.27% 30.77%
13 Melbourne Tigers 26 6 20 1-4 L1 5-8 1-12 2,822 3,089 91.36% 23.08%
14 St. Kilda Saints 26 5 21 1-4 L2 3-10 2-11 2,742 3,053 89.81% 19.23%

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.

Finals
Main article: 1986 NBL Finals

There were two quarter finals, two semi-finals, and then best of three grand final. All of the Quarter 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.

Quarter-Finals
Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue
1 OctoberBrisbane Bullets100-82Sydney SupersonicsBrisbane Entertainment Centre
1 OctoberWest Sydney Westars86-105Illawarra HawksState Sports Centre

Semi-Finals
Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue
4 OctoberCanberra Cannons100-120Brisbane BulletsAIS Arena
4 OctoberAdelaide 36ers116-92Illawarra HawksApollo Stadium

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.

Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Attendance
11 OctoberBrisbane Bullets119-122 (OT)Adelaide 36ersBrisbane Entertainment Centre11,000
17 OctoberAdelaide 36ers83-104Brisbane BulletsApollo Stadium3,000
19 OctoberAdelaide 36ers113-91Brisbane BulletsApollo Stadium3,000

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 SheilsHobart 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 September 23, 2017.
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