The 2006–07 BBL season, the 20th since its establishment of the British Basketball League, started on 29 September 2006 when reigning champions Newcastle Eagles began with an 85–83 loss away to Sheffield Sharks.
Ten teams took to the field this season, including two new franchises to the BBL, London United and the Worcester Wolves, who both moved up from the English Basketball League during summer 2006. The new additions were brought in after three teams withdrew from the League before the start of the season. Brighton Bears and London Towers both decided to "park" their respective franchises and take a one-year break whilst Birmingham Bullets also decided to sit out due to a lack of suitable home venues available and have since gone into liquidation.
Teams
TeamCity/AreaArenaCapacityLast season Chester Jets Chester Northgate Arena 1,000 7th Guildford Heat Guildford Guildford Spectrum 1,100 5th Leicester Riders Leicester John Sanford Centre 800 6th London United London SPACe 600 New Milton Keynes Lions Milton Keynes Bletchley Centre 800 10th Newcastle Eagles Newcastle upon Tyne Metro Radio Arena 6,500 1st Plymouth Raiders Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions 1,480 9th Scottish Rocks Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 2nd Sheffield Sharks Sheffield English Institute of Sport 1,200 3rd Worcester Wolves Worcester University of Worcester 600 New
Notable occurrences
Following on from Brighton and Birmingham's decision to withdraw from the league, London Towers announced they were to be the third, and most high-profile team to sit out the upcoming season. London United and Worcester Wolves were both elected from the English Basketball League to replace the three departed teams, and to keep franchises in the major markets of London and the Midlands. A£2.5 million sponsorship deal was agreed on 22 September 2006, between the BBL and national broadcaster MKTV, including primetime TV coverage of 40 live games per season, high-profile sponsorship and a National Community Development Programme. Molten, the world's leading manufacturer of inflatable sports balls, signed a ball sponsorship with the BBL worth £150,000 prior to the season opening. The new GG7 ball was unveiled on 25 September as the official match ball for the next three seasons. New league franchise Worcester Wolves record their first ever BBL win on 7 October, an 82–79 home victory against Chester Jets. The BBL Cup final took place at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham on 7 January 2007, and saw Guildford Heat claim their first Championship since foundation 18 months previous, with an 81–78 win against Scottish Rocks. The game was the first ever BBL match to be broadcast live over the internet, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Plymouth Raiders also won their first silverware since stepping-up to the BBL, with a 74–65 win in the BBL Trophy final against holders Newcastle Eagles on 4 March. Held at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena, the game was the first to be broadcast live on national television in over four years, as part of the sponsorship agreement with MKTV. Leicester Riders guard, and former Los Angeles Lakers star Steve Bucknall, as well as Guildford star Chad McKnight both test positive for marijuana and are each handed a three-month suspension. However, the story only comes to public attention several months later. Chester Jets owner and head coach Mike Burton announced prior to their season finale that he would be retiring from the franchise at the end of the season. Burton's announcement, after 19 years at the helm, put serious doubts of the clubs' future. Despite leading the League for most of the season, Guildford's one point 90–91 loss away to Scottish Rocks on 1 April, ensured that the title race went down to the wire, and only a final day 114–85 win at home to Chester Jets on 8 April guaranteed the 2007 League crown would belong to the Heat. Newcastle, playing in front of their home fans at the Metro Radio Arena on 29 April, were victorious against a resilient Scottish Rocks in the climax to the BBL Finals Weekend and the BBL season, as they claimed their third consecutive Playoff Championship with a 95–82 win.
BBL Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings
PosTeamPldWL%Pts1Guildford Heat362970.806582Sheffield Sharks362880.778563Newcastle Eagles3625110.694504Scottish Rocks3622140.611445Plymouth Raiders3620160.556406Milton Keynes Lions3618180.500367Leicester Riders3613230.361268London United3611250.306229Chester Jets3610260.2782010Worcester Wolves364320.1118
= League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
Playoffs
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Third-place game
Final
National League Division 1 (Tier 2)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Worthing Thunder 22 21 1 0.955422 Reading Rockets 22 19 3 0.86438 3 Manchester Magic 22 17 5 0.77334 4 London Leopards 22 13 9 0.59126 5 PAWS London Capital 22 13 9 0.59126 6 West Hertfordshire Warriors 22 11 11 0.50022 7 City of Sheffield Arrows 22 11 11 0.50022 8 Solent Stars 22 7 15 0.31814 9 Coventry Crusaders 22 6 16 0.27312 10 King's Lynn Fury 22 5 17 0.22710 11 Teesside Mohawks 22 5 17 0.22710 12 Northampton Neptunes 22 4 18 0.1828 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
National League Division 2 (Tier 3)
Final standings PosTeamPldWL%Pts1 Derby Trailblazers 22 19 3 0.864382 Bristol Academy Flyers 22 19 3 0.86438 3 Taunton Tigers 22 15 7 0.68230 4 Team Northumbria 22 14 8 0.63628 5 Newi Nets 22 12 10 0.54524 6 Leicester Warriors 22 11 11 0.50022 7 Birmingham Aston Athletics 22 11 11 0.50022 8 Tamar Valley Cannons 22 10 12 0.45520 9 Kent Crusaders 22 7 15 0.31814 10 Plymouth Raiders II 22 6 16 0.27312 11 Mansfield Express 22 5 17 0.22710 12 Liverpool 22 3 19 0.1366 = League winners = Qualified for the play-offs
BBL Cup This season's edition of the BBL Cup saw the two lowest seeds from the previous season's League rankings face off with the BBL's two newest additions – London United and Worcester Wolves – in the first round. As expected, the experience of Milton Keynes and Plymouth paid off and both teams advanced to the quarter-finals to join the rest of their league rivals in the last eight. In the clash of the round, eventual winners Guildford Heat saw off the Plymouth Raiders in a tie dominated by the shooting of Chad McKnight, who posted 39 points for the Heat.
The Semi-finals saw the league's four strongest teams drawn against each other, but while Guildford easily dispatched the visiting Sheffield Sharks, the Cup holders Newcastle Eagles, were defeated by the Scottish Rocks, where Rocks' Robert Yanders netted a game-high 23 points.
In only their second season since establishment, Guildford's success story continued when they scooped their first piece of silverware with an 82–79 victory in the Cup Final against the Rocks. Heat's star guard Brian Dux was named as MVP scoring 21 points on the way to victory.
First round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
BBL Trophy Due to the lack of teams competing in this season's Championship, the BBL Trophy featured all 10 BBL teams plus six invited teams, four from the English Basketball League (Coventry Crusaders, London Leopards, Reading Rockets and Worthing Thunder) and two from the Scottish Basketball League (Edinburgh Kings and Troon Tornadoes). The First round saw all 16 teams divided into four regionalised groups with the top finishing team advancing to the Semi-finals.
Group stage
Northern Group 1
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Newcastle Eagles63301.0002.Scottish Rocks43210.6663.Edinburgh Kings23120.3334.Troon Tornadoes03030.000
Southern Group 1
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Leicester Riders43210.6662.London United43210.6663.Milton Keynes Lions43210.6664.London Leopards03030.000
Northern Group 2
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Sheffield Sharks63301.0002.Chester Jets23120.3333.Coventry Crusaders23120.3334.Worcester Wolves23120.333
Southern Group 2
TeamPtsPldWLPercent1.Plymouth Raiders63301.0002.Guildford Heat43210.6663.Worthing Thunder23120.3334.Reading Rockets03030.000
Semi-finals
Final
Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerStatPoints per game Jazwyn Cowan (Chester Jets) 23.07Rebounds per game Carlton Aaron (Plymouth Raiders) 12.43Assists per game TJ Walker (Newcastle Eagles) 5.86Steals per game Maurice Hampton (Scottish Rocks) 2.86Blocks per game Andrew Alleyne (Leicester Riders) 1.36Field goal percentage Darius Defoe (Newcastle Eagles) 60.00%Free throw percentage Dan Wardrope (Guildford Heat) 86.19%Three-point field goal percentage Hugo Sterk (Scottish Rocks) 44.00%
Monthly awards
MonthCoachPlayerOctober Tom Hancock (Milton Keynes Lions) Tony Windless (Milton Keynes Lions)November Peter Scantlebury MBE (Sheffield Sharks) Carlton Aaron (Plymouth Raiders)December Paul James (Guildford Heat) Jazwyn Cowan (Chester Jets)January Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles) Jeff Bonds (Sheffield Sharks)February Peter Scantlebury MBE (Sheffield Sharks) Tarick Johnson (London United)March Thorsten Leibenath (Scottish Rocks) Daniel Gilbert (Guildford Heat)
Seasonal awards
Most Valuable Player: Brian Dux (Guildford Heat) and Jeff Bonds (Sheffield Sharks) Coach of the Year: Paul James (Guildford Heat) All-Star First Team: Jeff Bonds (Sheffield Sharks) Brian Dux (Guildford Heat) Mike Martin (Guildford Heat) Carlton Aaron (Plymouth Raiders) Robert Yanders (Scottish Rocks) All-Star Second Team: Blake Shelton (Sheffield Sharks) Jazwyn Cowan (Chester Jets) Sterling Davis (Scottish Rocks) Tarick Johnson (London United) Fabulous Flournoy (Newcastle Eagles)
References