1983 NBL season

The 1983 NBL season was the fifth season of the National Basketball League (NBL). The regular season began on 10 February and ended on 18 June. The finals began on 23 June with the divisional finals before concluding on 4 July with the NBL Grand Final.

1983 NBL season
League	National Basketball League
Sport	Basketball
Duration	10 February – 18 June (Regular season) 23 June – 4 July (Finals)
Number of games	22
Number of teams	16
TV partner(s)	ABC
Regular season
Top seed	Sydney Supersonics (Eastern) Geelong Cats (Western)
Season MVP	Owen Wells (Sydney)
Top scorer	Mike Jones (Illawarra)
Finals
Champions	Canberra Cannons (1st title)
Runners-up	West Adelaide Bearcats

Regular season

The 1983 regular season took place over 18 rounds between 10 February 1983 and 18 June 1983. Each team played 22 games, against every opponent in their own division twice and against every opponent in the other division once.

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

Ladder

Eastern Division

#	Team	Played	Won	Loss	Win%	Last 5	Streak	Home	Away	For	Against	Points%
1	Sydney Supersonics	22	19	3	86.36%	4-1	Won 2	11-0	8-3	1,956	1,710	114.39%
2	West Adelaide Bearcats	22	17	5	77.27%	4-1	Won 4	10-1	7-4	2,180	1,972	110.55%
3	Coburg Giants^1	22	13	9	59.09%	1-4	Lost 1	9-2	4-7	1,976	1,920	102.92%
4	Newcastle Falcons^1	22	13	9	59.09%	3-2	Lost 1	8-3	5-6	2,143	2,076	103.23%
5	Brisbane Bullets	22	10	12	45.45%	4-1	Won 3	6-5	4-7	1,734	1,763	98.36%
6	Frankston Bears	22	6	16	27.27%	0-5	Lost 6	3-8	3-8	1,809	1,863	97.10%
7	Illawarra Hawks	22	4	18	18.18%	3-2	Lost 1	3-8	1-10	1,929	2,128	90.65%
8	Devonport Warriors	22	2	20	9.09%	1-4	Won 1	1-10	1-10	1,674	2,068	80.95%

Western Division

#	Team	Played	Won	Loss	Win%	Last 5	Streak	Home	Away	For	Against	Points%
1	Geelong Cats	22	18	4	81.82%	5-0	Won 6	9-2	9-2	1,953	1,736	112.50%
2	Canberra Cannons	22	16	6	72.73%	4-1	Won 1	9-2	7-4	2,049	1,777	115.31%
3	Nunawading Spectres	22	15	7	68.18%	3-2	Won 1	9-2	6-5	1,964	1,760	111.59%
4	St. Kilda Saints^2	22	12	10	54.55%	2-3	Won 1	8-3	4-7	1,971	1,942	101.49%
5	Bankstown Bruins^2	22	12	10	54.55%	3-2	Lost 1	6-5	6-5	1,737	1,728	100.52%
6	Adelaide 36ers	22	11	11	50.00%	2-3	Lost 1	7-4	4-7	2,002	2,047	97.80%
7	Westate Wildcats	22	6	16	27.27%	0-5	Lost 5	5-6	1-10	1,929	2,171	88.85%
8	Hobart Devils	22	2	20	9.09%	0-5	Lost 10	2-9	0-11	1,757	2,102	83.59%

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 Coburg Giants and Newcastle Falcons (1-1). Coburg Giants won For and Against (+6).

²Head-to-Head between St. Kilda Saints and Bankstown Bruins (1-1). St. Kilda Saints won For and Against (+6).

Finals

The NBL finals series in 1983 consisted of the divisional finals (which was a round-robin fixture for the top eight teams), two semi-final games, and one championship-deciding grand final.

Round Robin (East)

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification
1	West Adelaide Bearcats	3	2	1	288	269	+19	Qualification to semi finals
2	Coburg Giants	3	2	1	285	271	+14
3	Sydney Supersonics	3	2	1	259	264	−5	Eliminated
4	Newcastle Falcons	3	0	3	267	295	−28

Source: websites.sportstg.com/

Round Robin (West)

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification
1	Canberra Cannons	3	3	0	279	247	+32	Qualification to semi finals
2	Nunawading Spectres	3	2	1	297	238	+59
3	Geelong Cats	3	1	2	250	287	−37	Eliminated
4	St. Kilda Saints	3	0	3	254	308	−54

Source: websites.sportstg.com/

Divisional Finals results

Each of the top eight teams played in a three-game round robin fixture between 23 June and 26 June. The result were as follows:[1]

Results

Team	Record	Points differential	Semi Finals seed
Canberra Cannons	3–0	+32	#1
Nunawading Spectres	2–1	+59	#2
West Adelaide Bearcats	2–1	+19	#3
Coburg Giants	2–1	+14	#4
Sydney Supersonics	2–1	-5	Eliminated
Geelong Cats	1–2	-37	Eliminated
Newcastle Falcons	0–3	-28	Eliminated
St. Kilda Saints	0–3	-54	Eliminated

Bracket

	Semi Finals					Grand Final
	1	Canberra Cannons	80
	4	Coburg Giants	75
						1	Canberra Cannons	75
						2	West Adelaide Bearcats	73
	2	Nunawading Spectres	77
	3	West Adelaide Bearcats	84

Semi Finals

Grand Final

Awards

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points	Mike Jones	Illawarra Hawks	679 pts / 22 games[2]
Rebounds per game	George Morrow	Newcastle Falcons	15.6 rpg / 25 games[2]
Steals	Phil Smyth	Canberra Cannons	67 / 22 games[2]
Blocks	James Crawford	Geelong Cats	69 / 22 games[2]
Field goal percentage	Mike Slusher	St Kilda Saints	64.8% (96/148)[2]
Free throw percentage	Michael Johnson	Newcastle Falcons	91.8% (34/37)[2]

Regular season

• Most Valuable Player: Owen Wells (Sydney Supersonics)
• Rookie of the Year: Jaime Kennedy (Canberra Cannons)
• Best Defensive Player: Phil Smyth (Canberra Cannons)
• Coach of the Year: Robbie Cadee (Bankstown Bruins)
• All-NBL Team:
  • Leroy Loggins (West Adelaide Bearcats)[3]
  • James Crawford (Geelong Cats)
  • George Morrow (Newcastle Falcons)
  • Phil Smyth (Canberra Cannons)
  • Cal Bruton (Geelong Cats)

References

1. "Results for NBL 1983 – Round 19". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
2. "All Time Leaders". nbl.gearbox.performgroup.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
3. "All NBL First Team". andthefoul.net. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012.