2005–06 NBL season
The 2005–06 NBL season was the 28th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league.
| 2005–06 NBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball League |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | 2 September 2005 – February 2006 8 – 16 February 2006 (Finals) 24 – 28 February 2006 (Grand Finals) |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| TV partner(s) | Fox Sports |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Sydney Kings |
| Season MVP | Chris Anstey (Melbourne) |
| Top scorer | Cortez Groves (Wollongong) |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Melbourne Tigers (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Sydney Kings |
| Finals MVP | Chris Anstey (Melbourne) |
Regular season
The home and away season took place over 23 rounds between 2 September 2005 to 5 February 2006 with finals starting 8 February 2006 until 16 February 2006 and grand final on 24 February 2006 until 28 February 2006.
Round 1
3 September 2005 |
| Melbourne Tigers | 102–61 | Wollongong Hawks |
Round 2
Round 3
16 September 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 108–100 | Adelaide 36ers |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
17 September 2005 |
| Wollongong Hawks | 101–105 | West Sydney Razorbacks |
WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong |
Round 4
23 September 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 122–113 | New Zealand Breakers |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 5
28 September 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 107–116 | Brisbane Bullets |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
19 October 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 93–119 | Hunter Pirates |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 9
29 October 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 97–101 | Wollongong Hawks |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 10
5 November 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 95–99 | Melbourne Tigers |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 11
11 November 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 115–99 | Cairns Taipans |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 12
20 November 2005 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 129–84 | West Sydney Razorbacks |
Brisbane Convention Centre, Brisbane |
Round 13
26 November 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 119–115 | Brisbane Bullets |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 14
3 December 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 128–131 | Sydney Kings |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 15
10 December 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 118–128 | Wollongong Hawks |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 16
16 December 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 122–100 | West Sydney Razorbacks |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 17
23 December 2005 |
| Melbourne Tigers | 102–89 | Wollongong Hawks |
Round 18
31 December 2005 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 106–105 | Perth Wildcats |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 19
6 January 2006 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 106–120 | New Zealand Breakers |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 20
13 January 2006 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 100–103 | Melbourne Tigers |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 21
21 January 2006 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 111–100 | West Sydney Razorbacks |
Brisbane Convention Centre, Brisbane |
Round 22
27 January 2006 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 101–93 | Adelaide 36ers |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Round 23
3 February 2006 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 90–107 | Cairns Taipans |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville |
Source: https://websites.sportstg.com/
Ladder
This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 176 games were played, 32 for each team. The top 8 teams qualified for the finals series.
| # | Team | Pld | Won | Lost | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | For | Against | % Pts | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney Kings | 32 | 26 | 6 | 3-2 | L2 | 15-1 | 11-5 | 3,472 | 3,094 | 112.22% | 81.25% |
| 2 | Melbourne Tigers | 32 | 25 | 7 | 3-2 | W2 | 15-1 | 10-6 | 3,305 | 2,984 | 110.76% | 78.13% |
| 3 | Wollongong Hawks | 32 | 19 | 13 | 3-2 | W2 | 12-4 | 7-9 | 3,231 | 3,101 | 104.19% | 59.38% |
| 4 | Adelaide 36ers | 32 | 19 | 13 | 2-3 | L3 | 14-2 | 5-11 | 3,222 | 3,277 | 98.32% | 59.38% |
| 5 | Cairns Taipans | 32 | 18 | 14 | 3-2 | W3 | 12-4 | 6-10 | 3,200 | 3,107 | 102.99% | 56.25% |
| 6 | Brisbane Bullets | 32 | 17 | 15 | 4-1 | W4 | 12-4 | 5-11 | 3,373 | 3,280 | 102.84% | 53.13% |
| 7 | Perth Wildcats | 32 | 16 | 16 | 4-1 | W3 | 10-5 | 5-10 | 3,219 | 3,168 | 101.61% | 50.00% |
| 8 | Hunter Pirates | 32 | 13 | 19 | 1-4 | L1 | 8-8 | 5-11 | 3,126 | 3,315 | 94.30% | 40.63% |
| 9 | New Zealand Breakers | 32 | 9 | 23 | 3-2 | L2 | 6-10 | 3-13 | 3,179 | 3,471 | 91.59% | 28.13% |
| 10 | Townsville Crocodiles | 32 | 9 | 23 | 1-4 | L3 | 7-9 | 2-14 | 3,283 | 3,483 | 94.26% | 28.13% |
| 11 | West Sydney Razorbacks | 32 | 5 | 27 | 1-4 | L3 | 4-12 | 1-15 | 2,994 | 3,324 | 90.07% | 15.63% |
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 Series
Elimination Finals
The elimination finals were played over 4 days. The first two teams automatically went ahead to the semi finals. The winner of Game 1 went on to play the 3rd placed team, while the winner of Game 2 went on to play the 4th placed team.
(6) Brisbane Bullets vs. (7) Perth Wildcats
Fox Sports |
8 February 2006 18:40 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 91–96 | Perth Wildcats |
Brisbane Convention Centre, Brisbane Attendance: not available |
(5) Cairns Taipans vs. (8) Hunter Pirates
(3) Wollongong Hawks vs. (7) Perth Wildcats
Fox Sports |
10 February 2006 19:40 |
| Wollongong Hawks | 101–121 | Perth Wildcats |
WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong Attendance: 3,345 |
(4) Adelaide 36ers vs. (5) Cairns Taipans
Semi Finals
The semi finals took place in a best of 3 series. But, both teams that advanced through to the Grand Final didn't need the 3rd game, winning 2-0.
(2) Melbourne Tigers vs. (7) Perth Wildcats
Fox Sports |
16 February 2006 18:40 |
| Perth Wildcats | 101–106 | Melbourne Tigers |
| Melbourne wins series, 2–0 | ||
Challenge Stadium, Perth Attendance: 4,400 |
(1) Sydney Kings vs. (5) Cairns Taipans
Grand Final
The Melbourne Tigers beat the Sydney Kings 3-0 in the best of 5 series. Two of these games were played at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, while one was played at Melbourne's home ground, State Netball and Hockey Centre.
(1) Sydney Kings vs. (2) Melbourne Tigers
Source: https://websites.sportstg.com/
Awards
The MVP was awarded to Chris Anstey of the Melbourne Tigers.
The Grand Final MVP was also awarded to Chris Anstey.
The Coach of the Year went to Alan Westover of the Melbourne Tigers who coached the team to the title.
The Rookie of the Year went to Mark Worthington of the Sydney Kings.
All NBL Team
| # | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Brett Maher[1] | Adelaide 36ers |
| SG | C. J. Bruton | Sydney Kings |
| SF | Cortez Groves | Wollongong Hawks |
| PF | Larry Abney | Townsville Crocodiles |
| C | Chris Anstey | Melbourne Tigers |