1987 NBL season

The 1987 NBL season was the ninth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league. Three of the Melbourne based clubs rebranded themselves in the off season, with the Nundawading Spectres renaming themselves Eastside Melbourne, Coburg Giants became North Melbourne Giants and the St. Kilda Saints became Westside Saints.[1]

1987 NBL season
LeagueNational Basketball League
SportBasketball
Duration24 April 1987 – 27 September 1987
30 September 1987 – 4 October 1987 (Semi-Finals)
10 – 16 October 1987 (Grand Finals)
Number of teams14
TV partner(s)ABC, ATN7, BTQ7, STW9, SAS10
Regular season
Top seedAdelaide 36ers
Season MVPMark Davis (Adelaide)
Leroy Loggins (Brisbane)
Top scorerPaul Stanley (Hobart)
Finals
ChampionsBrisbane Bullets (2nd title)
  Runners-upPerth Wildcats
Finals MVPLeroy Loggins (Brisbane)

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 Gary Fox
Brisbane Bullets Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane Entertainment Centre 13,500 1979 Brian Kerle
Canberra Cannons Canberra, Australian Capital Territory AIS Arena 5,200 1979 Bob Turner
Eastside Spectres Melbourne, Victoria Burwood Stadium 2,000 1979
Geelong Supercats Geelong, Victoria Geelong Arena 2,000 1982 Ken Richardson [2]
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
North Melbourne Giants Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1980 Bruce Palmer
Perth Wildcats Perth, Western Australia Perth Superdome 4,500 1982 Cal Bruton
Sydney Supersonics Sydney, New South Wales State Sports Centre 5,006 1982 Ken Cole
Westside Melbourne Saints Melbourne, Victoria Keilor Stadium 2,000 1979 Andris Blicavs
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 23 rounds between 24 April 1987 and 27 September 1987 with semi-final on 30 September 1987 until 4 October 1987 and grand final on 10–16 October 1987.

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 21 5 4-1 W2 11-2 10-3 3,046 2,677 113.78% 80.77%
2 Brisbane Bullets 26 20 6 5-0 W9 13-0 7-6 2,711 2,497 108.57% 76.92%
3 Illawarra Hawks 26 20 6 4-1 W4 13-0 7-6 2,680 2,528 106.01% 76.92%
4 Perth Wildcats 26 19 7 4-1 W4 11-2 8-5 3,005 2,756 109.03% 73.08%
5 Canberra Cannons 26 17 9 3-2 W1 10-3 7-6 2,848 2,770 102.82% 65.38%
6 North Melbourne Giants 26 15 11 2-3 W1 10-3 5-8 3,060 2,807 109.01% 57.69%
7 Hobart Devils 26 14 12 2-3 L3 8-5 6-7 2,599 2,568 101.21% 53.85%
8 Eastside Melbourne Spectres 26 13 13 2-3 L1 6-7 7-6 2,607 2,596 100.42% 50.00%
9 Geelong Supercats 26 13 13 3-2 L2 10-3 3-10 2,644 2,707 97.67% 50.00%
10 Sydney Supersonics 26 9 17 2-3 W1 5-8 4-9 2,744 2,861 95.91% 34.62%
11 West Sydney Westars 26 8 18 2-3 L2 4-9 4-9 2,564 2,695 95.14% 30.77%
12 Newcastle Falcons 26 6 20 3-2 W1 4-9 2-11 2,948 3,176 92.82% 23.08%
13 Westside Melbourne Saints 26 4 22 0-5 L6 3-10 1-12 2,673 2,980 89.70% 15.38%
14 Melbourne Tigers 26 3 23 1-4 W1 3-10 0-13 2,635 3,146 83.76% 11.54%

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: 1987 NBL Finals

Elimination-Finals
Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue
26 SeptemberIllawarra Hawks105-97North Melbourne GiantsIllawarra Basketball Stadium
27 SeptemberPerth Wildcats101-96Canberra CannonsPerth Superdrome

Semi-Finals

There were four semi-finals, and then best of three grand final. All three of these finals were sudden death.

Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue
30 SeptemberIllawarra Hawks87-109Brisbane BulletsIllawarra Basketball Stadium
30 SeptemberPerth Wildcats98-99Adelaide 36ersPerth Superdrome
2 OctoberAdelaide 36ers99-101Perth WildcatsApollo Stadium
2 OctoberBrisbane Bullets77-78Illawarra HawksBrisbane Entertainment Centre
4 OctoberAdelaide 36ers93-120Perth WildcatsApollo Stadium
4 OctoberBrisbane Bullets100-82Illawarra HawksBrisbane Entertainment Centre

Grand Final
Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue
10 OctoberPerth Wildcats79-80Brisbane BulletsPerth Superdrome
16 OctoberBrisbane Bullets106-87Perth WildcatsBrisbane Entertainment Centre

1987 NBL statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gamePaul Stanley[3]Hobart Devils920 pts
Rebounds per gameMark DavisAdelaide 36ers17.1
Assists per gameGordie McLeodIllawarra Hawks8.5
Steals per gameSteve CarfinoHobart Devils88 stls
Blocks per gameWillie SimmonsNorth Melbourne Giants114 blks
Field goal percentageJames CrawfordPerth Wildcats62.6%
Three-point percentageAlan BlackPerth Wildcats53.8%
Free throw percentageScott FentonSydney Supersonics92.5%

NBL awards

All NBL Team
# Player Team
PGSteve CarfinoHobart Devils
SGAndrew GazeMelbourne Tigers
SFLeroy LogginsBrisbane Bullets
PFMark DavisAdelaide 36ers
CJames CrawfordPerth Wildcats

References
  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V8hogqYGyg&t=270s
  2. http://supercats.com.au/about-us/history/honour-boards/
  3. "All Time Leaders". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017.
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