1985 NBL season

The 1985 NBL season was the seventh season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league.

1985 NBL season
League	National Basketball League
Sport	Basketball
Duration	12 April 1985 – 24 August 1985 31 August 1985 (Semi-Finals) 7 September 1985 (Grand Final)
Number of teams	14
TV partner(s)	ABC
Regular season
Top seed	Brisbane Bullets
Season MVP	Ray Borner (Coburg)
Top scorer	Kendal Pinder (Sydney)
Finals
Champions	Brisbane Bullets (1st title)
Runners-up	Adelaide 36ers

Regular season

The 1985 regular season took place over 18 rounds between 12 April 1985 and 18 August 1985.

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

#	Team	Played	Won	Loss	Win%	Last 5	Streak	Home	Away	For	Against	Points%
1	Brisbane Bullets^1	26	20	6	76.92%	4-1	Won 2	12-1	8-5	2,832	2,328	121.65%
2	Adelaide 36ers^1	26	20	6	76.92%	4-1	Lost 1	11-2	9-4	3,155	2,693	117.16%
3	Nunawading Spectres^2	26	19	7	73.08%	4-1	Won 3	10-3	9-4	2,574	2,388	107.79%
4	Canberra Cannons^2	26	19	7	73.08%	3-2	Lost 2	7-6	12-1	2,607	2,439	106.89%
5	Coburg Giants	26	18	8	69.23%	4-1	Won 4	11-2	7-6	2,947	2,730	107.95%
6	Newcastle Falcons	26	16	10	61.54%	2-3	Lost 1	9-4	7-6	2,864	2,796	102.43%
7	Geelong Cats	26	15	11	57.69%	2-3	Lost 1	8-5	7-6	2,871	2,674	107.37%
8	Perth Wildcats	26	13	13	50.00%	3-2	Won 3	9-4	4-9	2,816	2,844	99.02%
9	Illawarra Hawks^3	26	10	16	38.46%	1-4	Lost 1	6-7	4-9	2,690	2,975	90.42%
10	St. Kilda Saints^3	26	10	16	38.46%	2-3	Lost 1	7-6	3-10	2,699	2,810	96.05%
11	Sydney Supersonics	26	9	17	34.62%	2-3	Lost 3	6-7	3-10	2,804	2,934	95.57%
12	Bankstown Bruins	26	6	20	23.08%	3-2	Won 1	3-10	3-10	2,527	2,694	93.80%
13	Melbourne Tigers	26	5	21	19.23%	1-4	Lost 2	3-10	2-11	2,362	2,903	81.36%
14	Hobart Devils	26	2	24	7.69%	0-5	Lost 8	2-11	0-13	2,519	3,059	82.35%

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 Brisbane Bullets and Adelaide 36ers (1-1). Brisbane Bullets won For and Against (+19).

²Head-to-Head between Nunawading Spectres and Canberra Cannons (1-1) & For and Against (0). Nunawading Spectres won Overall Points Percentage (+0.90%).

³Illawarra Hawks won Head-to-Head (2-0).

Finals

There were two quarter finals, two semi-finals, and then one grand final. All three of these finals were sudden death. The top two teams of the regular season, the Brisbane Bullets and Adelaide 36ers, automatically qualified to host their respective Semi-finals.

Quarter Finals

Semi-Finals

Grand Final

1985 NBL statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	Kendal Pinder	Sydney Supersonics	33.5[1]
Rebounds per game	Kendal Pinder	Sydney Supersonics	17.8[1]
Assists per game	Gordie McLeod	Illawarra Hawks	10.2
Steals per game	Leroy Loggins	Brisbane Bullets	3.7
Blocks per game	Andy Campbell	Canberra Cannons	3.5
Free throw percentage	Jim Slacke	Illawarra Hawks	87.2%

NBL awards

• Most Valuable Player: Ray Borner, Coburg Giants
• Rookie of the Year: Mike McKay, Adelaide 36ers
• Coach of the Year: Bob Turner, Canberra Cannons

All NBL Team

#	Player	Team
PG	Phil Smyth	Canberra Cannons
SG	Al Green	Adelaide 36ers
SF	Leroy Loggins	Brisbane Bullets
PF	Kendal Pinder[2]	Sydney Supersonics
C	Ray Borner	Coburg Giants

References

1. https://spatialjam.com/nbl-historical-stats/
2. All-NBL Team