NBL Grand Final

NBL Grand Final
NBL Grand Final
	Dr John Raschke Trophy
Status	Active
Genre	Sporting event
Date(s)	April–May
Frequency	Annual
Country	Australia ; New Zealand
Inaugurated	1979
Organised by	National Basketball League
Sponsor	Hungry Jack's (2018–present)
Most titles	Perth Wildcats ; (10 titles)
Website	NBL.com.au
	2023 NBL Finals

Last updated May 09, 2023

The NBL Grand Final is the annual championship series of the National Basketball League (NBL). The entrants are determined by the victors of the two Semi Finals series, who engage in a best-of-five game series to determine the league champion. The winners of the Grand Final series are awarded the Dr John Raschke Trophy.

History

Prior to 1986, the NBL Grand Final was decided by a single game. From 2004 until 2009, the series was expanded to a best-of-five games.

The first NBL Grand Final was played on 10 June 1979 at the Albert Park Basketball Stadium in Melbourne. The St. Kilda Saints defeated the Canberra Cannons 94-93 to become the inaugural NBL Champions.

The Perth Wildcats hold the record for most Grand Final appearances with 15 between 1987 and 2019/20. They have also won a record 10 NBL Championships. The Wildcats have not missed the NBL Finals since 1987, a record of 35 consecutive years.

No Grand Final MVP was awarded between 1981 and 1985. The NBL Grand Final Most Valuable Player Award winner receives the Larry Sengstock Medal, which is named in honour of Larry Sengstock, the winner of the league's first Grand Final MVP award in 1986.

Rocky Smith (1980), Leroy Loggins (1987), Scott Fisher (1989), Chris Williams (2002/03), Chris Anstey (2005/06) and Cedric Jackson (2012/13) all won the Grand Final MVP and the regular season MVP awards in the same season.

Results

Year	Date	Champions	Score	Runners-up	MVP	Arena
1979	10 June 1979	St. Kilda Saints	94–93	Canberra Cannons	Larry Sengstock	Albert Park Basketball Stadium
1980	15 June 1980	St. Kilda Saints	113–88	West Adelaide Bearcats	Rocky Smith	Dowling Street Stadium
1981	28 June 1981	Launceston Casino City	75–54	Nunawading Spectres	N/A	Apollo Stadium
1982	18 July 1982	West Adelaide Bearcats	80–74	Geelong Cats	N/A	Newcastle Sports Entertainment Centre
1983	4 July 1983	Canberra Cannons	75–73	West Adelaide Bearcats	N/A	Kilsyth Stadium
1984	1 July 1984	Canberra Cannons	84–82	Brisbane Bullets	N/A	The Glass House
1985	7 September 1985	Brisbane Bullets	121–95	Adelaide 36ers	N/A	Sleeman Sports Centre
1986	11 October 1986	Adelaide 36ers	122–119 (OT)	Brisbane Bullets	Mark Davis	Brisbane Entertainment Centre
	17 October 1986	Brisbane Bullets	104–83	Adelaide 36ers		Apollo Stadium
	19 October 1986	Adelaide 36ers	113–91	Brisbane Bullets		Apollo Stadium
1987	10 October 1987	Brisbane Bullets	80–79	Perth Wildcats	Leroy Loggins	Challenge Stadium
1987	16 October 1987	Brisbane Bullets	106–87	Perth Wildcats	Leroy Loggins	Brisbane Entertainment Centre
1988	30 July 1988	Canberra Cannons	120–95	North Melbourne Giants	Phil Smyth	AIS Arena
	5 August 1988	North Melbourne Giants	117–101	Canberra Cannons		The Glass House
	7 August 1988	Canberra Cannons	108–101	North Melbourne Giants		The Glass House
1989	14 October 1989	North Melbourne Giants	111–105	Canberra Cannons	Scott Fisher	AIS Arena
1989	20 October 1989	North Melbourne Giants	111–97	Canberra Cannons	Scott Fisher	The Glass House
1990	19 October 1990	Perth Wildcats	112–106	Brisbane Bullets	Ricky Grace	Perth Entertainment Centre
	26 October 1990	Brisbane Bullets	106–90	Perth Wildcats		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
	28 October 1990	Perth Wildcats	109–86	Brisbane Bullets		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
1991	19 October 1991	Perth Wildcats	109–83	Eastside Spectres	Pete Hansen	The Glass House
	25 October 1991	Eastside Spectres	86–81	Perth Wildcats		Perth Entertainment Centre
	27 October 1991	Perth Wildcats	90–80	Eastside Spectres		Perth Entertainment Centre
1992	24 October 1992	Melbourne Tigers	116–98	South East Melbourne Magic	Bruce Bolden	Melbourne Park
	30 October 1992	South East Melbourne Magic	115–93	Melbourne Tigers		Melbourne Park
	1 November 1992	South East Melbourne Magic	95–88	Melbourne Tigers		Melbourne Park
1993	23 October 1993	Melbourne Tigers	117–113	Perth Wildcats	Ricky Grace	Melbourne Park
	29 October 1993	Perth Wildcats	112–105	Melbourne Tigers		Perth Entertainment Centre
	31 October 1993	Melbourne Tigers	104–102	Perth Wildcats		Perth Entertainment Centre
1994	22 October 1994	North Melbourne Giants	95–93 (OT)	Adelaide 36ers	Paul Rees	Clipsal Powerhouse
1994	28 October 1994	North Melbourne Giants	117–97	Adelaide 36ers	Paul Rees	The Glass House
1995	7 October 1995	North Melbourne Giants	104–97	Perth Wildcats	Andrew Vlahov	Perth Entertainment Centre
	13 October 1995	Perth Wildcats	97–88	North Melbourne Giants		The Glass House
	15 October 1995	Perth Wildcats	108–88	North Melbourne Giants		Perth Entertainment Centre
1996	25 October 1996	Melbourne Tigers	100–89	South East Melbourne Magic	Mike Kelly	Melbourne Park
	1 November 1996	South East Melbourne Magic	88–84	Melbourne Tigers		Melbourne Park
	3 November 1996	South East Melbourne Magic	107–70	Melbourne Tigers		Melbourne Park
1997	25 October 1997	Melbourne Tigers	111–74	South East Melbourne Magic	Lanard Copeland	Melbourne Park
	29 October 1997	South East Melbourne Magic	84–78	Melbourne Tigers		Melbourne Park
	1 November 1997	Melbourne Tigers	93–83	South East Melbourne Magic		Melbourne Park
1998	28 June 1998	Adelaide 36ers	100–93	South East Melbourne Magic	Kevin Brooks	Clipsal Powerhouse
1998	1 July 1998	Adelaide 36ers	90–62	South East Melbourne Magic	Kevin Brooks	Melbourne Park
1999	16 April 1999	Adelaide 36ers	104–94	Victoria Titans	Brett Maher	Melbourne Park
	21 April 1999	Victoria Titans	88–82	Adelaide 36ers		Clipsal Powerhouse
	23 April 1999	Adelaide 36ers	80–63	Victoria Titans		Clipsal Powerhouse
2000	7 April 2000	Perth Wildcats	84–78	Victoria Titans	Marcus Timmons	Melbourne Park
2000	12 April 2000	Perth Wildcats	83–76	Victoria Titans	Marcus Timmons	Perth Entertainment Centre
2001	22 April 2001	Wollongong Hawks	104–101	Townsville Crocodiles	Glen Saville	WIN Entertainment Centre
	28 April 2001	Townsville Crocodiles	114–97	Wollongong Hawks		Townsville Entertainment Centre
	29 April 2001	Wollongong Hawks	97–94	Townsville Crocodiles		WIN Entertainment Centre
2002	12 April 2002	Adelaide 36ers	106–97	West Sydney Razorbacks	Brett Maher	Clipsal Powerhouse
	14 April 2002	West Sydney Razorbacks	103–100	Adelaide 36ers		State Sports Centre
	19 April 2002	Adelaide 36ers	125–107	West Sydney Razorbacks		Clipsal Powerhouse
2003	3 April 2003	Sydney Kings	98–94	Perth Wildcats	Chris Williams	Sydney Entertainment Centre
2003	6 April 2003	Sydney Kings	117–101	Perth Wildcats	Chris Williams	Challenge Stadium
2004	24 March 2004	Sydney Kings	96–76	West Sydney Razorbacks	Matthew Nielsen	Sydney Entertainment Centre
	26 March 2004	West Sydney Razorbacks	87–72	Sydney Kings		State Sports Centre
	31 March 2004	West Sydney Razorbacks	106–97	Sydney Kings		Sydney Entertainment Centre
	4 April 2004	Sydney Kings	82–77	West Sydney Razorbacks		State Sports Centre
	6 April 2004	Sydney Kings	90–79	West Sydney Razorbacks		Sydney Entertainment Centre
2005	12 March 2005	Sydney Kings	96–73	Wollongong Hawks	Jason Smith	Sydney Entertainment Centre
	14 March 2005	Sydney Kings	105–80	Wollongong Hawks		WIN Entertainment Centre
	19 March 2005	Sydney Kings	112–85	Wollongong Hawks		Sydney Entertainment Centre
2006	24 February 2006	Melbourne Tigers	100–93	Sydney Kings	Chris Anstey	Sydney Entertainment Centre
	26 February 2006	Melbourne Tigers	103–99	Sydney Kings		State Netball Hockey Centre
	28 February 2006	Melbourne Tigers	88–83	Sydney Kings		Sydney Entertainment Centre
2007	2 March 2007	Brisbane Bullets	98–95	Melbourne Tigers	Sam Mackinnon	Brisbane Entertainment Centre
	4 March 2007	Melbourne Tigers	105–91	Brisbane Bullets		State Netball Hockey Centre
	7 March 2007	Brisbane Bullets	113–93	Melbourne Tigers		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
	9 March 2007	Brisbane Bullets	103–94	Melbourne Tigers		State Netball Hockey Centre
2008	5 March 2008	Sydney Kings	95–74	Melbourne Tigers	Chris Anstey	Sydney Entertainment Centre
	7 March 2008	Melbourne Tigers	104–93	Sydney Kings		State Netball Hockey Centre
	9 March 2008	Melbourne Tigers	89–87	Sydney Kings		Sydney Entertainment Centre
	12 March 2008	Sydney Kings	90–87	Melbourne Tigers		State Netball Hockey Centre
	14 March 2008	Melbourne Tigers	85–73	Sydney Kings		Sydney Entertainment Centre
2009	4 March 2009	South Dragons	93–81	Melbourne Tigers	Donta Smith	Hisense Arena
	6 March 2009	Melbourne Tigers	88–83	South Dragons		State Netball Hockey Centre
	8 March 2009	South Dragons	84–67	Melbourne Tigers		Hisense Arena
	11 March 2009	Melbourne Tigers	108–95	South Dragons		State Netball Hockey Centre
	13 March 2009	South Dragons	102–91	Melbourne Tigers		Hisense Arena
2010	5 March 2010	Perth Wildcats	75–64	Wollongong Hawks	Kevin Lisch	Challenge Stadium
	9 March 2010	Wollongong Hawks	75–63	Perth Wildcats		WIN Entertainment Centre
	12 March 2010	Perth Wildcats	96–72	Wollongong Hawks		Challenge Stadium
2011	20 April 2011	New Zealand Breakers	85–67	Cairns Taipans	Thomas Abercrombie	North Shore Events Centre
	24 April 2011	Cairns Taipans	85–81 (2OT)	New Zealand Breakers		Cairns Convention Centre
	29 April 2011	New Zealand Breakers	71–53	Cairns Taipans		North Shore Events Centre
2012	12 April 2012	New Zealand Breakers	104–98 (OT)	Perth Wildcats	C.J. Bruton	Vector Arena
	20 April 2012	Perth Wildcats	87–86	New Zealand Breakers		Challenge Stadium
	24 April 2012	New Zealand Breakers	79–73	Perth Wildcats		Vector Arena
2013	7 April 2013	New Zealand Breakers	79–67	Perth Wildcats	Cedric Jackson	Vector Arena
2013	12 April 2013	New Zealand Breakers	70–66	Perth Wildcats	Cedric Jackson	Perth Arena
2014	7 April 2014	Perth Wildcats	92–85 (OT)	Adelaide 36ers	Jermaine Beal	Perth Arena
	11 April 2014	Adelaide 36ers	89–84	Perth Wildcats		Adelaide Arena
	13 April 2014	Perth Wildcats	93–59	Adelaide 36ers		Perth Arena
2015	6 March 2015	New Zealand Breakers	86–71	Cairns Taipans	Cedric Jackson	Cairns Convention Centre
2015	8 March 2015	New Zealand Breakers	83–81	Cairns Taipans	Cedric Jackson	North Shore Events Centre
2016	2 March 2016	Perth Wildcats	82–76	New Zealand Breakers	Damian Martin	Perth Arena
	4 March 2016	New Zealand Breakers	71–68	Perth Wildcats		North Shore Events Centre
	6 March 2016	Perth Wildcats	75–52	New Zealand Breakers		Perth Arena
2017	26 February 2017	Perth Wildcats	89–77	Illawarra Hawks	Bryce Cotton	Perth Arena
	1 March 2017	Perth Wildcats	89–77	Illawarra Hawks		WIN Entertainment Centre
	5 March 2017	Perth Wildcats	95–86	Illawarra Hawks		Perth Arena
2018	16 March 2018	Melbourne United	107–96	Adelaide 36ers	Chris Goulding	Hisense Arena
	18 March 2018	Adelaide 36ers	110–95	Melbourne United		Titanium Security Arena
	23 March 2018	Melbourne United	101–98	Adelaide 36ers		Hisense Arena
	25 March 2018	Adelaide 36ers	90–81	Melbourne United		Titanium Security Arena
	31 March 2018	Melbourne United	100–82	Adelaide 36ers		Hisense Arena
2019	8 March 2019	Perth Wildcats	81–71	Melbourne United	Terrico White	RAC Arena
	10 March 2019	Melbourne United	92–74	Perth Wildcats		Melbourne Arena
	15 March 2019	Perth Wildcats	96–67	Melbourne United		RAC Arena
	17 March 2019	Melbourne United	84–97	Perth Wildcats		Melbourne Arena
2020	8 March 2020	Sydney Kings	86–88	Perth Wildcats	Bryce Cotton	Qudos Bank Arena
	13 March 2020	Perth Wildcats	85–97	Sydney Kings		RAC Arena
	15 March 2020	Sydney Kings	96–111	Perth Wildcats		Qudos Bank Arena
2021	18 June 2021	Perth Wildcats	70–73	Melbourne United	Jock Landale	RAC Arena
	20 June 2021	Perth Wildcats	74–83	Melbourne United		RAC Arena
	25 June 2021	Melbourne United	81–76	Perth Wildcats		John Cain Arena
2022	6 May 2022	Sydney Kings	95–78	Tasmania JackJumpers	Xavier Cooks	Qudos Bank Arena
	8 May 2022	Tasmania JackJumpers	86–90	Sydney Kings		MyState Bank Arena
	11 May 2022	Sydney Kings	97–88	Tasmania JackJumpers		Qudos Bank Arena
2023	3 March 2023	New Zealand Breakers	95–87	Sydney Kings	Derrick Walton	Qudos Bank Arena
	5 March 2023	Sydney Kings	81–74	New Zealand Breakers		Spark Arena
	10 March 2023	Sydney Kings	91–68	New Zealand Breakers		Qudos Bank Arena
	12 March 2023	New Zealand Breakers	80–70	Sydney Kings		Spark Arena
	15 March 2023	Sydney Kings	77–69	New Zealand Breakers		Qudos Bank Arena

Grand Final Record

Finals	Team	Win	Loss	%	Note
16	Perth Wildcats	10	6	.625	Have made every playoffs since 1986 to 2021.
11	Melbourne United	6	5	.545	Four championships won as the Tigers. Rebranded as Melbourne United in 2014.
8	Sydney Kings	5	3	.625	Team folded in 2008, returned in 2010.
8	Adelaide 36ers	4	4	.500	Won the first 3-game Grand Final series in 1986.
6	New Zealand Breakers	4	2	.667	Became the first non-Australian NBL champions in 2011.
6	Brisbane Bullets	3	3	.500	Team folded in 2008, won the last stand alone GF in 1985, returned in 2016-17.
5	Canberra Cannons	3	2	.600	Became the Hunter Pirates in 2003.
4	North Melbourne Giants	2	2	.500	Merged to form the Victoria Titans in 1998.
4	South East Melbourne Magic	2	2	.500	Merged to form the Victoria Titans in 1998.
2	St. Kilda Saints	2	0	1.000	Inaugural NBL champions in 1979. Became the Westside Saints in 1987.
4	Illawarra Hawks	1	3	.250	Won their only title as the Wollongong Hawks in 2001.
3	West Adelaide Bearcats	1	2	.333	Left the NBL in 1984, now in the ABA.
1	Launceston Casino City	1	0	1.000	Played only 3 NBL seasons, team folded in 1983.
1	South Dragons	1	0	1.000	Quit the NBL after their 2009 championship win.
2	Cairns Taipans	0	2	.000	Runners-up in 2010-11 and 2014-15.
2	Victoria Titans	0	2	.000	Became the Victoria Giants in 2002.
2	West Sydney Razorbacks	0	2	.000	Became the Sydney Spirit in 2009, folded in 2010.
1	Eastside Spectres	0	1	.000	Merged to form the South East Melbourne Magic in 1991.
1	Geelong Cats	0	1	.000	Became the Geelong Supercats in 1988, now in the ABA.
1	Nunawading Spectres	0	1	.000	Became the Eastside Spectres in 1987, now in NBL1.
1	Tasmania JackJumpers	0	1	.000	Runners-up in 2021-22.
1	Townsville Crocodiles	0	1	.000	Runners-up in 2000-01.

* Teams in bold are currently in the NBL.

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References

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