2018 NBL Finals
| Dates | 3–31 March 2018 |
|---|
The 2018 NBL Finals were the championship series of the 2017–18 NBL season and the conclusion of the season. The semi-finals started on 3 March and ended 9 March 2018. The Grand Final series started on 16 March and ended on 31 March 2018. Melbourne United won its fifth NBL championship title.
Format
The 2017–18 National Basketball League Finals will be played in March 2018 between the top four teams of the regular season, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final and one best-of-five final series, where the higher seed hosts the first, third and fifth games.
Qualification
Qualified teams
| Team | Date of qualification |
Round of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Previous appearance |
Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne United | 2 February 2018 | 17 | 19th | 2016 | Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008) |
| Adelaide 36ers | 4 February 2018 | 17 | 25th | 2017 | Champions (1986, 1998, 1999, 2002) |
| Perth Wildcats | 4 February 2018 | 17 | 32nd | 2017 | Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017) |
| New Zealand Breakers | 4 February 2018 | 17 | 8th | 2016 | Champions (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015) |
Ladder
| Pos | 2017–18 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | |
| 1 | Melbourne United | 28 | 20 | 8 | 71.43% | 4–1 | L1 | 11–3 | 9–5 | 2434 | 2298 | 105.92% |
| 2 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 3–2 | W3 | 10–4 | 8–6 | 2654 | 2527 | 105.03% |
| 3 | Perth Wildcats | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 2–3 | W1 | 9–5 | 7–7 | 2388 | 2271 | 105.15% |
| 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 1–4 | L4 | 9–5 | 6–8 | 2364 | 2387 | 99.04% |
| 5 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 2–3 | W2 | 7–7 | 5–9 | 2474 | 2539 | 97.44% |
| 6 | Cairns Taipans1 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 39.29% | 1–4 | L1 | 8–6 | 3–11 | 2215 | 2281 | 97.11% |
| 7 | Sydney Kings1 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 39.29% | 4–1 | W4 | 6–8 | 5–9 | 2418 | 2504 | 96.57% |
| 8 | Brisbane Bullets | 28 | 9 | 19 | 32.14% | 1–4 | L3 | 6–8 | 3–11 | 2347 | 2487 | 94.37% |
Updated to match(es) played on 18 February 2018. Source: NBL.com.au
Ladder Progression
- Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
- Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
- Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
| 2017–18 NBL season | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| Adelaide 36ers | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Cairns Taipans | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Melbourne United | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Perth Wildcats | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Sydney Kings | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
Seedings
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 overall points percentage will determine order of seeding.
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne United | 88 | 88 | X | |||||||||||
| 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 77 | 86 | X | |||||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne United | 107 | 95 | 101 | 81 | 100 | |||||||||
| 2 | Adelaide 36ers | 96 | 110 | 98 | 90 | 82 | |||||||||
| 2 | Adelaide 36ers | 109 | 89 | X | |||||||||||
| 3 | Perth Wildcats | 74 | 88 | X | |||||||||||
Semi-finals series
(1) Melbourne United vs (4) New Zealand Breakers
Game 1
3 March 2018
5:30pm EDT |
| Melbourne United 88, New Zealand Breakers 77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21-24, 22-19, 24-18, 21-16 | ||
| Pts: Casper Ware 33 Rebs: Josh Boone 8 Asts: Tai Wesley 4 |
Pts: D. J. Newbill 19 Rebs: Alex Pledger 10 Asts: Shea Ili 5 | |
| Melbourne leads series, 1–0 | ||
Game 2
5 March 2018
7:30pm NZDT |
| New Zealand Breakers 86, Melbourne United 88 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26-13, 12-20, 25-25, 15-20, Overtime: 8-10 | ||
| Pts: D. J. Newbill 21 Rebs: Rakeem Christmas 8 Asts: Thomas Abercrombie 5 |
Pts: Josh Boone 33 Rebs: Josh Boone 15 Asts: Chris Goulding 6 | |
| Melbourne wins series, 2–0 | ||
Regular season series
Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 351-346 points differential to New Zealand:
(2) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Perth Wildcats
Game 1
3 March 2018
7:00pm CDT |
| Adelaide 36ers 109, Perth Wildcats 74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19-18, 31-26, 26-18, 33-12 | ||
| Pts: Josh Childress 22 Rebs: Mitch Creek 11 Asts: Shannon Shorter 7 |
Pts: Bryce Cotton 22 Rebs: Brandt, Cooke 6 Asts: Jarrod Kenny 4 | |
| Adelaide leads series, 1–0 | ||
Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide
Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, James Boyer, Chris Reid |
Game 2
9 March 2018
6:30pm WST |
| Perth Wildcats 88, Adelaide 36ers 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28-15, 21-25, 18-23, 21-26 | ||
| Pts: Bryce Cotton 31 Rebs: Angus Brandt 9 Asts: JP Tokoto 5 |
Pts: Josh Childress 25 Rebs: Josh Childress 10 Asts: Nathan Sobey 5 | |
| Adelaide wins series, 2–0 | ||
Regular season series
Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 367-360 points differential to Perth:
Grand Final series
(1) Melbourne United vs (2) Adelaide 36ers
Game 1
16 March 2018
7:30pm EDT |
| Melbourne United 107, Adelaide 36ers 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29-28, 24-19, 26-24, 28-25 | ||
| Pts: Chris Goulding 26 Rebs: Josh Boone 7 Asts: Wesley, Hooley 5 |
Pts: Daniel Johnson 18 Rebs: Mitch Creek 9 Asts: Creek, Moore 4 | |
| Melbourne led series 1–0 | ||
Game 2
18 March 2018
2:30pm CDT |
| Adelaide 36ers 110, Melbourne United 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27-19, 30-22, 25-23, 28-31 | ||
| Pts: Majok Deng 18 Rebs: Mitch Creek 9 Asts: Nathan Sobey 5 |
Pts: Casey Prather 20 Rebs: Casey Prather 7 Asts: Tai Wesley 3 | |
| Series tied 1–1 | ||
Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide
Attendance: 7,000 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen, Matt Townsend |
Game 3
23 March 2018
7:30pm EDT |
| Melbourne United 101, Adelaide 36ers 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33-22, 20-31, 28-22, 20-23 | ||
| Pts: Casper Ware 25 Rebs: Casey Prather 6 Asts: Ware, Hooley 3 |
Pts: Daniel Johnson 20 Rebs: Creek, Deng 8 Asts: Mitch Creek 5 | |
| Melbourne led series 2–1 | ||
Game 4
25 March 2018
2:30pm CDT |
| Adelaide 36ers 90, Melbourne United 81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29-21, 26-10, 16-27, 19-23 | ||
| Pts: Daniel Johnson 21 Rebs: Daniel Johnson 9 Asts: Shannon Shorter 3 |
Pts: Casey Prather 23 Rebs: Casey Prather 7 Asts: Chris Goulding 4 | |
| Series tied 2–2 | ||
Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide
Attendance: 7,500 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen, Chris Reid |
Game 5
31 March 2018
6:00pm EDT |
| Melbourne United 100, Adelaide 36ers 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34-22, 23-22, 21-25, 22-13 | ||
| Pts: Goulding, Ware 23 Rebs: Josh Boone 12 Asts: Tai Wesley 3 |
Pts: Shannon Shorter 20 Rebs: Mitch Creek 10 Asts: Ramone Moore 7 | |
| Melbourne wins series and NBL Championship, 3-2 | ||