NBL Finals
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 2014 NBL Finals logo | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Melbourne United (1st title) |
| Most titles | Perth Wildcats (8 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Australia: New Zealand: Online: |
| Official website | NBL.com.au |
The National Basketball League (NBL) Finals is a tournament held at the end of each NBL season to determine the league champions. The top four teams qualify for the finals based on the regular season results. The current finals format consists of two rounds: the best-of-three Semi Finals and best-of-five Grand Final series.
Format
1980–1984
| Semi Finals | Grand Final | ||||||||
| 1 | |||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||
| 2 | |||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||
1985
| Quarter Finals | Semi Final | Grand Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||||||
1986
Template:6TeamBracket-3GameFinal
1987
| Semi Finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||||||
1988
1989–1991
1992–1996
| Quarter Finals | Semi Finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
1997–1998
1999
The top six teams at the end of the regular season advance to the finals under this playoff system:
- The first round of the postseason sees the team that finishes in first place at the end of the regular season against the team that finishes sixth; second plays fifth, and third plays fourth.
- The three teams that win their respective best-of-three first-round series advances, and is joined in the semifinals by the highest-placed losing team from the first round.
- Teams are then seeded again for the best-of-three semifinal series. The three winning teams from the first round are seeded in order of their regular-season finishing positions, and the first-round loser automatically becomes the No. 4 seed.
- The two winning teams from the semifinals meet in a best-of-three Grand Final series to determine the champion.
2000
2001–2003
The top six teams at the end of the regular season advance to the finals under this playoff system:
- The first round of the postseason sees the team that finishes in first place at the end of the regular season against the team that finishes sixth; second plays fifth, and third plays fourth.
- The three teams that win their respective best-of-three first-round series advances, and is joined in the semifinals by the highest-placed losing team from the first round.
- Teams are then seeded again for the best-of-three semifinal series. The three winning teams from the first round are seeded in order of their regular-season finishing positions, and the first-round loser automatically becomes the No. 4 seed.
- The two winning teams from the semifinals meet in a best-of-three Grand Final series to determine the champion.
2017
| Semi Finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||||||||
Finals appearances
| Team | Appearances | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Perth Wildcats | 32 | 32 straight Finals appearances since 1987. |
| Adelaide 36ers | 25 | Formerly the Adelaide City Eagles (1982 only). |
| Brisbane Bullets | 21 | |
| Illawarra Hawks | 19 | Only team to play all seasons since 1979. |
| Melbourne Tigers | 19 | Team left the NBL in 2014, now in the SEABL. |
| Sydney Kings | 16 | Formerly the Sydney Supersonics (2) and the West Sydney Westars (1). |
| Canberra Cannons | 11 | Last season in 2003. Became the Hunter Pirates in 2003-04. |
| New Zealand Breakers | 8 | |
| South East Melbourne Magic | 7 | Last season in 1998. |
| Cairns Taipans | 6 | |
| West Adelaide Bearcats | 5 | Last season in 1984. Now in the ABA. |
| North Melbourne Giants | 4 | Last season in 1998. |
| Sydney Spirit | 4 | Formerly the West Sydney Razorbacks. Last season in 2009. |
| Gold Coast Blaze | 3 | Last season in 2012. |
| Newcastle Falcons | 3 | Last season in 1999. |
| Southern Melbourne Saints | 3 | Last season in 1991. |
| Victoria Titans | 3 | Last season in 2001. |
| Geelong Supercats | 2 | Last season in 1996. Now in the ABA. |
| Hunter Pirates | 2 | Last season in 2006. |
| Melbourne United | 2 | Team formed in 2014, claiming to be the team that represents the whole Melbourne. |
| South Dragons | 2 | Last season in 2009. |
| Launceston Casino City Tigers | 1 | Last season in 1982. |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 1 | Last season in 2016. |