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1986 NBL season

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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
Top scorerAndrew Gaze (922 - 36.9 ppg)
Finals
ChampionsAdelaide 36ers
  Runners-upBrisbane Bullets
Finals MVPMark Davis
NBL seasons

The 1986 NBL season was the eighth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league.

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 South Australia Adelaide, South Australia Apollo Stadium 3,000 1982 Australia Ken Cole
Brisbane Bullets Queensland Brisbane, Queensland Sleeman Sports Centre
Brisbane Entertainment Centre 		2,700
13,500 		1979 Australia Brian Kerle
Canberra Cannons Australian Capital Territory Canberra, Australian Capital Territory AIS Arena 5,200 1979 United States Bob Turner
Coburg Giants Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1980 United States Bruce Palmer
Geelong Supercats Victoria (state) Geelong, Victoria Geelong Arena 2,000 1982 United States Ken Richardson
Hobart Devils Tasmania Hobart, Tasmania Kingborough Sports Centre 1,800 1983 United States David Adkins
Illawarra Hawks New South Wales Wollongong, New South Wales Illawarra Basketball Stadium 2,000 1979 Australia Dave Lindstrom
Melbourne Tigers Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria Albert Park Basketball Stadium 2,000 1931 Australia Lindsay Gaze
Newcastle Falcons New South Wales Newcastle, New South Wales Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium 2,200 1979 Australia Steve Johansen
Nunawading Spectres Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria Burwood Stadium 2,000 1979 Australia Barry Barnes
Perth Wildcats Western Australia Perth, Western Australia Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium 1,500 1982 Australia Jay Brehmer
St Kilda Saints Victoria (state) Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1979 Australia Andris Blicavs
Sydney Supersonics New South Wales Sydney, New South Wales State Sports Centre 5,006 1982 Australia Owen Wells
West Sydney Westars New South Wales Sydney, New South Wales State Sports Centre 5,006 1982 Australia 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

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

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 October Brisbane Bullets 100-82 Sydney Supersonics Brisbane Entertainment Centre
1 October West Sydney Westars 86-105 Illawarra Hawks State Sports Centre

Semi-Finals

Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue
4 October Canberra Cannons 100-120 Brisbane Bullets AIS Arena
4 October Adelaide 36ers 116-92 Illawarra Hawks Apollo 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 October Brisbane Bullets 119-122 (OT) Adelaide 36ers Brisbane Entertainment Centre 11,000
17 October Adelaide 36ers 83-104 Brisbane Bullets Apollo Stadium 3,000
19 October Adelaide 36ers 113-91 Brisbane Bullets Apollo Stadium 3,000

1986 NBL statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Andrew Gaze Melbourne Tigers 36.9
Rebounds per game Mark Davis Adelaide 36ers 16.1
Assists per game Damian Keogh West Sydney Westars 8.0
Steals per game Steve Carfino Hobart Devils 3.4
Blocks per game Willie Simmons Coburg Giants 3.8
Field goal percentage Murray Sheils Hobart Devils 57.3%
Three-point percentage Paul Stanley Melbourne Tigers 47.5%
Free throw percentage Dane Suttle Geelong Supercats 89.3%

NBL awards

All NBL Team

# 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
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