NBL Championship

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

NBL Championship
NBL Championship logo
Status	Active
Genre	Sporting event
Date(s)	February – March
Frequency	Annual
Country	Australia  New Zealand
Inaugurated	1979 (1979)
Organised by	National Basketball League
Sponsor	Hungry Jack's (2018–present)
Most titles	Perth Wildcats (10 titles)
Website	NBL.com.au
2025 NBL Finals

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.

Dr John Raschke Trophy

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.

During 2023–24 NBL season, NBL Grand Final has renamed as NBL Championship Series.

Results

Year	Date	Home	Score	Away	MVP	Arena
1979	10 June	St. Kilda Saints	94–93	Canberra Cannons	Larry Sengstock	Albert Park Basketball Stadium
1980	15 June	West Adelaide Bearcats	88–113	St. Kilda Saints	Rocky Smith	Dowling Street Stadium
1981	28 June	Launceston Casino City	75–54	Nunawading Spectres	N/A	Apollo Stadium
1982	18 July	West Adelaide Bearcats	80–74	Geelong Cats	N/A	Newcastle Sports Entertainment Centre
1983	4 July	Canberra Cannons	75–73	West Adelaide Bearcats	N/A	Kilsyth Stadium
1984	1 July	Brisbane Bullets	82–84	Canberra Cannons	N/A	The Glass House
1985	7 September	Brisbane Bullets	121–95	Adelaide 36ers	N/A	Sleeman Sports Centre
1986	11 October	Brisbane Bullets	119–122	Adelaide 36ers	Mark Davis	Brisbane Entertainment Centre
	17 October	Adelaide 36ers	83–104	Brisbane Bullets		Apollo Stadium
	19 October	Adelaide 36ers	113–91	Brisbane Bullets		Apollo Stadium
1987	10 October	Perth Wildcats	79–80	Brisbane Bullets	Leroy Loggins	Challenge Stadium
	16 October	Brisbane Bullets	106–87	Perth Wildcats		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
1988	30 July	Canberra Cannons	120–95	North Melbourne Giants	Phil Smyth	AIS Arena
	5 August	North Melbourne Giants	117–101	Canberra Cannons		The Glass House
	7 August	North Melbourne Giants	102–108	Canberra Cannons		The Glass House
1989	14 October	Canberra Cannons	105–111	North Melbourne Giants	Scott Fisher	AIS Arena
	20 October	North Melbourne Giants	111–97	Canberra Cannons		The Glass House
1990	19 October	Perth Wildcats	112–106	Brisbane Bullets	Ricky Grace	Perth Entertainment Centre
	26 October	Brisbane Bullets	106–90	Perth Wildcats		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
	28 October	Brisbane Bullets	86–109	Perth Wildcats		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
1991	19 October	Eastside Spectres	83–109	Perth Wildcats	Pete Hansen	The Glass House
	25 October	Perth Wildcats	81–86	Eastside Spectres		Perth Entertainment Centre
	27 October	Perth Wildcats	90–80	Eastside Spectres		Perth Entertainment Centre
1992	24 October	Melbourne Tigers	116–98	S.E. Melbourne Magic	Bruce Bolden	Melbourne Park
	30 October	S.E. Melbourne Magic	115–93	Melbourne Tigers		Melbourne Park
	1 November	S.E. Melbourne Magic	95–88	Melbourne Tigers		Melbourne Park
1993	23 October	Melbourne Tigers	117–113	Perth Wildcats	Ricky Grace	Melbourne Park
	29 October	Perth Wildcats	112–105	Melbourne Tigers		Perth Entertainment Centre
	31 October	Perth Wildcats	102–104	Melbourne Tigers		Perth Entertainment Centre
1994	22 October	Adelaide 36ers	93–95	North Melbourne Giants	Paul Rees	Clipsal Powerhouse
	28 October	North Melbourne Giants	117–97	Adelaide 36ers		The Glass House
1995	7 October	Perth Wildcats	97–104	North Melbourne Giants	Andrew Vlahov	Perth Entertainment Centre
	13 October	North Melbourne Giants	88–97	Perth Wildcats		The Glass House
	15 October	Perth Wildcats	108–88	North Melbourne Giants		Perth Entertainment Centre
1996	25 October	S.E. Melbourne Magic	89–100	Melbourne Tigers	Mike Kelly	Melbourne Park
	1 November	Melbourne Tigers	84–88	S.E. Melbourne Magic		Melbourne Park
	3 November	Melbourne Tigers	70–107	S.E. Melbourne Magic		Melbourne Park
1997	25 October	Melbourne Tigers	111–74	S.E. Melbourne Magic	Lanard Copeland	Melbourne Park
	29 October	S.E. Melbourne Magic	84–78	Melbourne Tigers		Melbourne Park
	1 November	S.E. Melbourne Magic	83–93	Melbourne Tigers		Melbourne Park
1998	28 June	Adelaide 36ers	100–93	S.E. Melbourne Magic	Kevin Brooks	Adelaide Arena
	1 July	S.E. Melbourne Magic	62–90	Adelaide 36ers		Melbourne Park
1999	16 April	Victoria Titans	94–104	Adelaide 36ers	Brett Maher	Melbourne Park
	21 April	Adelaide 36ers	82–88	Victoria Titans		Adelaide Arena
	23 April	Adelaide 36ers	80–63	Victoria Titans		Adelaide Arena
2000	7 April	Victoria Titans	78–84	Perth Wildcats	Marcus Timmons	Melbourne Park
	12 April	Perth Wildcats	83–76	Victoria Titans		Perth Entertainment Centre
2001	22 April	Wollongong Hawks	104–101	Townsville Crocodiles	Glen Saville	Wollongong Entertainment Centre
	28 April	Townsville Crocodiles	114–97	Wollongong Hawks		Townsville Entertainment Centre
	29 April	Townsville Crocodiles	94–97	Wollongong Hawks		Wollongong Entertainment Centre
2002	12 April	Adelaide 36ers	106–97	West Sydney Razorbacks	Brett Maher	Adelaide Arena
	14 April	West Sydney Razorbacks	103–100	Adelaide 36ers		State Sports Centre
	19 April	Adelaide 36ers	125–107	West Sydney Razorbacks		Adelaide Arena
2003	3 April	Sydney Kings	98–94	Perth Wildcats	Chris Williams	Sydney Entertainment Centre
	6 April	Perth Wildcats	101–117	Sydney Kings		Challenge Stadium
2004	24 March	Sydney Kings	96–76	West Sydney Razorbacks	Matthew Nielsen	Sydney Entertainment Centre
	26 March	West Sydney Razorbacks	87–72	Sydney Kings		State Sports Centre
	31 March	Sydney Kings	80–82	West Sydney Razorbacks		Sydney Entertainment Centre
	4 April	West Sydney Razorbacks	77–82	Sydney Kings		State Sports Centre
	6 April	Sydney Kings	90–79	West Sydney Razorbacks		Sydney Entertainment Centre
2005	11 March	Sydney Kings	96–73	Wollongong Hawks	Jason Smith	Sydney Entertainment Centre
	13 March	Wollongong Hawks	80–105	Sydney Kings		Wollongong Entertainment Centre
	19 March	Sydney Kings	112–85	Wollongong Hawks		Sydney Entertainment Centre
2006	24 February	Sydney Kings	93–100	Melbourne Tigers	Chris Anstey	Sydney Entertainment Centre
	26 February	Melbourne Tigers	103–99	Sydney Kings		State Netball Hockey Centre
	28 February	Sydney Kings	83–88	Melbourne Tigers		Sydney Entertainment Centre
2007	2 March	Brisbane Bullets	98–95	Melbourne Tigers	Sam Mackinnon	Brisbane Entertainment Centre
	4 March	Melbourne Tigers	105–91	Brisbane Bullets		State Netball Hockey Centre
	7 March	Brisbane Bullets	113–93	Melbourne Tigers		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
	9 March	Melbourne Tigers	94–103	Brisbane Bullets		State Netball Hockey Centre
2008	5 March	Sydney Kings	95–74	Melbourne Tigers	Chris Anstey	Sydney Entertainment Centre
	7 March	Melbourne Tigers	104–93	Sydney Kings		State Netball Hockey Centre
	9 March	Sydney Kings	87–89	Melbourne Tigers		Sydney Entertainment Centre
	12 March	Melbourne Tigers	87–90	Sydney Kings		State Netball Hockey Centre
	14 March	Sydney Kings	73–85	Melbourne Tigers		Sydney Entertainment Centre
2009	4 March	South Dragons	93–81	Melbourne Tigers	Donta Smith	Hisense Arena
	6 March	Melbourne Tigers	88–83	South Dragons		State Netball Hockey Centre
	8 March	South Dragons	84–67	Melbourne Tigers		Hisense Arena
	11 March	Melbourne Tigers	108–95	South Dragons		State Netball Hockey Centre
	13 March	South Dragons	102–91	Melbourne Tigers		Hisense Arena
2010	5 March	Perth Wildcats	75–64	Wollongong Hawks	Kevin Lisch	Challenge Stadium
	9 March	Wollongong Hawks	75–63	Perth Wildcats		WIN Entertainment Centre
	12 March	Perth Wildcats	96–72	Wollongong Hawks		Challenge Stadium
2011	20 April	New Zealand Breakers	85–67	Cairns Taipans	Thomas Abercrombie	North Shore Events Centre
	24 April	Cairns Taipans	85–81	New Zealand Breakers		Cairns Convention Centre
	29 April	New Zealand Breakers	71–53	Cairns Taipans		North Shore Events Centre
2012	12 April	New Zealand Breakers	104–98	Perth Wildcats	C.J. Bruton	Vector Arena
	20 April	Perth Wildcats	87–86	New Zealand Breakers		Challenge Stadium
	24 April	New Zealand Breakers	79–73	Perth Wildcats		Vector Arena
2013	7 April	New Zealand Breakers	79–67	Perth Wildcats	Cedric Jackson	Vector Arena
	12 April	Perth Wildcats	66–70	New Zealand Breakers		Perth Arena
2014	7 April	Perth Wildcats	92–85	Adelaide 36ers	Jermaine Beal	Perth Arena
	11 April	Adelaide 36ers	89–84	Perth Wildcats		Adelaide Arena
	13 April	Perth Wildcats	93–59	Adelaide 36ers		Perth Arena
2015	6 March	Cairns Taipans	71–86	New Zealand Breakers	Cedric Jackson	Cairns Convention Centre
	8 March	New Zealand Breakers	83–81	Cairns Taipans		North Shore Events Centre
2016	2 March	Perth Wildcats	82–76	New Zealand Breakers	Damian Martin	Perth Arena
	4 March	New Zealand Breakers	72–68	Perth Wildcats		North Shore Events Centre
	6 March	Perth Wildcats	75–52	New Zealand Breakers		Perth Arena
2017	26 February	Perth Wildcats	89–77	Illawarra Hawks	Bryce Cotton	Perth Arena
	1 March	Illawarra Hawks	77–89	Perth Wildcats		Wollongong Entertainment Centre
	5 March	Perth Wildcats	95–86	Illawarra Hawks		Perth Arena
2018	16 March	Melbourne United	107–96	Adelaide 36ers	Chris Goulding	Hisense Arena
	18 March	Adelaide 36ers	110–95	Melbourne United		Adelaide Arena
	23 March	Melbourne United	101–98	Adelaide 36ers		Hisense Arena
	25 March	Adelaide 36ers	90–81	Melbourne United		Adelaide Arena
	31 March	Melbourne United	100–82	Adelaide 36ers		Hisense Arena
2019	8 March	Perth Wildcats	81–71	Melbourne United	Terrico White	Perth Arena
	10 March	Melbourne United	92–74	Perth Wildcats		Melbourne Arena
	15 March	Perth Wildcats	96–67	Melbourne United		Perth Arena
	17 March	Melbourne United	84–97	Perth Wildcats		Melbourne Arena
2020	8 March	Sydney Kings	86–88	Perth Wildcats	Bryce Cotton	Sydney SuperDome
	13 March	Perth Wildcats	83–97	Sydney Kings		Perth Arena
	15 March	Sydney Kings	96–111	Perth Wildcats		Sydney SuperDome
2021	18 June	Perth Wildcats	70–73	Melbourne United	Jock Landale	Perth Arena
	20 June	Perth Wildcats	74–83	Melbourne United		Perth Arena
	25 June	Melbourne United	81–76	Perth Wildcats		John Cain Arena
2022	6 May	Sydney Kings	95–78	Tasmania JackJumpers	Xavier Cooks	Sydney SuperDome
	8 May	Tasmania JackJumpers	86–90	Sydney Kings		Derwent Entertainment Centre
	11 May	Sydney Kings	97–88	Tasmania JackJumpers		Sydney SuperDome
2023	3 March	Sydney Kings	87–95	New Zealand Breakers	Derrick Walton	Sydney SuperDome
	5 March	New Zealand Breakers	74–81	Sydney Kings		Spark Arena
	10 March	Sydney Kings	91–68	New Zealand Breakers		Sydney SuperDome
	12 March	New Zealand Breakers	80–70	Sydney Kings		Spark Arena
	15 March	Sydney Kings	77–69	New Zealand Breakers		Sydney SuperDome
2024	17 March	Melbourne United	104–81	Tasmania JackJumpers	Jack McVeigh	John Cain Arena
	22 March	Tasmania JackJumpers	82–77	Melbourne United		Derwent Entertainment Centre
	24 March	Melbourne United	91–93	Tasmania JackJumpers		John Cain Arena
	28 March	Tasmania JackJumpers	86–88	Melbourne United		Derwent Entertainment Centre
	31 March	Melbourne United	81–83	Tasmania JackJumpers		John Cain Arena
2025	8 March	Illawarra Hawks	88–96	Melbourne United	Matthew Dellavedova	Wollongong Entertainment Centre
	12 March	Melbourne United	100–102	Illawarra Hawks		John Cain Arena
	16 March	Illawarra Hawks	77–83	Melbourne United		Wollongong Entertainment Centre
	19 March	Melbourne United	71–80	Illawarra Hawks		John Cain Arena
	23 March	Illawarra Hawks	114–104	Melbourne United		Wollongong Entertainment Centre

Grand Final Record

Finals	Team	Win	Loss	%	Note
16	Perth Wildcats	10	6	.625	Have made every playoffs since 1986 to 2021.
13	Melbourne United	6	7	.462	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.
5	Illawarra Hawks	2	3	.400	Won title as Wollongong Hawks in 2001.
4	North Melbourne Giants	2	2	.500	Merged to form the Victoria Titans in 1998–99.
4	S.E. Melbourne Magic	2	2	.500	Merged to form the Victoria Titans in 1998–99.
2	St. Kilda Saints	2	0	1.000	Inaugural NBL champions in 1979. Became the Westside Saints in 1987.
3	West Adelaide Bearcats	1	2	.333	Left the NBL in 1984, now in the NBL1 Central.
2	Tasmania JackJumpers	1	1	.500	Runners-up in 2022. Champions 2024.
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 title win.
2	Cairns Taipans	0	2	.000	Runners-up in 2011, 2015.
2	Victoria Titans	0	2	.000	Became the Victoria Giants in 2002.
2	West Sydney Razorbacks	0	2	.000	Became the Sydney Spirit in 2008, folded in 2009.
1	Eastside Spectres	0	1	.000	Merged to form the S.E. Melbourne Magic in 1991.
1	Geelong Cats	0	1	.000	Became the Geelong Supercats in 1988, now in NBL1 South.
1	Nunawading Spectres	0	1	.000	Became the Eastside Spectres in 1987, now in NBL1 South.
1	Townsville Crocodiles	0	1	.000	Runners-up in 2001.

* Teams in bold are currently in the NBL.

See also

• Australia portal
• Basketball portal

• NBL Finals
• List of NBL champions
• WNBL Grand Final