1986 NBL season

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 Adelaide, South Australia Apollo Stadium 3,000 1982 Ken Cole Brisbane Bullets Brisbane, Queensland Sleeman Sports CentreBrisbane Entertainment Centre 2,70013,500 1979 Brian Kerle Canberra Cannons Canberra, Australian Capital Territory AIS Arena 5,200 1979 Bob Turner Coburg Giants Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1980 Les Riddle Geelong Supercats Geelong, Victoria Geelong Arena 2,000 1982 Ken Richardson 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 Nunawading Spectres Melbourne, Victoria Burwood Stadium 2,000 1979 Barry Barnes Perth Wildcats Perth, Western Australia Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium 1,500 1982 Jay Brehmer St. Kilda Saints Melbourne, Victoria The Glass House 7,200 1979 Andris Blicavs Sydney Supersonics Sydney, New South Wales State Sports Centre 5,006 1982 Owen Wells 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 21 rounds between 25 April 1986 and 28 September 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.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Round 20

Round 21

Ladder

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.

1Head-to-Head between West Sydney Westars and Illawarra Hawks (1-1). West Sydney Westars won For and Against (+8).

23-way Head-to-Head between Sydney Supersonics (3-1), Geelong Cats (2-2) and Coburg Giants (1-3).

Finals

Playoff bracket

There were two Elimination Finals, two Semifinals, and then best of three Grand Final series. All of the Elimination Finals and Semifinals were sudden death. As the top two teams in the regular season the Adelaide 36ers and Canberra Cannons automatically qualified to host a home Semifinal.

Elimination Finals

Semifinals

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.

1986 NBL statistics leaders + Category Player Team Stat Points per game Andrew Gaze Melbourne Tigers 922 pts Rebounds per game Mark Davis Adelaide 36ers 16.1 Assists per game Damian Keogh West Sydney Westars 8.1 Steals per game Leroy Loggins Brisbane Bullets 90 stls Blocks per game Willie Simmons Coburg Giants 98 blks Field goal percentage Murray Shiels Hobart Devils 57.3% Three-point percentage Wayne Burden Sydney Supersonics 47.8% Free throw percentage Dane Suttle Geelong Supercats 89.3%

NBL awards Most Valuable Player: Leroy Loggins, Brisbane Bullets Most Valuable Player Grand Final: Mark Davis, Adelaide 36ers Rookie of the Year: Steve Lunardon, Nunawading Spectres Coach of the Year: Ken Cole, Adelaide 36ers

All NBL Team #PlayerTeam 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

References

1986 NBL season

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