1986 NBL season

1986 NBL season
League	National Basketball League
Sport	Basketball
Duration	25 April – 28 September 1986 1 – 4 October 1986 (semi-finals) 11 – 19 October 1986 (Grand Final)
Number of teams	14
TV partner(s)	ABC, SAS-10, TV0, STW9
Regular season
Season champions	Adelaide 36ers
Season MVP	Leroy Loggins (Brisbane)
Top scorer	Andrew Gaze (Melbourne)
Finals
Champions	Adelaide 36ers (1st title)
Runners-up	Brisbane Bullets
Finals MVP	Mark Davis (Adelaide)

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 Centre Brisbane Entertainment Centre	2,700 13,500	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.

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

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

Main article: 1986 NBL Finals

Playoff bracket

	Elimination Finals					Semifinals					Grand Final
						1	Adelaide 36ers	116
	4	West Sydney Westars	86			5	Illawarra Hawks	92
	5	Illawarra Hawks	105								1	Adelaide 36ers	122	83	113
											3	Brisbane Bullets	119	104	91
						2	Canberra Cannons	100
	3	Brisbane Bullets	100			3	Brisbane Bullets	120
	6	Sydney Supersonics	82

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.

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

#	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