The 2019 NBL Finals were the championship series of the 2018–19 NBL season and the conclusion of the season. The semi-finals started on 28 February and ended 3 March 2019, making way for the Grand Final series to commence on 8 March and end on 17 March 2018. The Perth Wildcats were 3-1 victors over Melbourne United in the best of 5 series, winning their ninth NBL championship title.[1]

2019 NBL Finals
Tournament details
Countries Australia
 New Zealand
Dates28 February – 17 March 2019
Season2018–19
Teams4
Defending championsMelbourne United
Final positions
ChampionsPerth Wildcats (9th title)
Runner-upMelbourne United
Semifinalists
Tournament statistics
Matches played8
Attendance84,212 (10,527 per match)
Scoring leader(s)Terrico White (Perth)
Terrico White (Perth)
← 2018
2020 →

Format

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The finals were played in February and March 2020 between the top four teams of the regular season, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final and one best-of-five final series, where the higher seed hosts the first, third and fifth games.[2]

Qualification

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Qualified teams

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Team Date of

qualification

Round of

qualification

Finals

appearance

Previous

appearance

Previous best

performance

Ref.
Perth Wildcats 1 February 2019 16 33rd 2018 Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017) [3]
Melbourne United 3 February 2020 16 24th 2018 Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2018) [4]
Sydney Kings 3 February 2019 16 14th 2013 Champions (2003, 2004, 2005) [5]
Brisbane Bullets 17 February 2019 18 21st 2008 Champions (1985, 1987, 2007) [6]

Ladder

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Pos 2018–19 NBL season
Team Pld W L PCT Last 5 Streak Home Away PF PA PP
1 Perth Wildcats1 28 18 10 64.29% 4–1 L1 12–2 6–8 2499 2355 106.11%
2 Melbourne United1 28 18 10 64.29% 3–2 W1 10–4 8–6 2586 2478 104.36%
3 Sydney Kings1 28 18 10 64.29% 4–1 W1 9–5 9–5 2438 2380 102.44%
4 Brisbane Bullets2 28 14 14 50.00% 2–3 W1 9–5 5–9 2503 2480 100.93%
5 Adelaide 36ers2 28 14 14 50.00% 2–3 L2 6–8 8–6 2687 2681 100.22%
6 New Zealand Breakers3 28 12 16 42.86% 2–3 L1 7–7 5–9 2649 2641 100.30%
7 Illawarra Hawks3 28 12 16 42.86% 1–4 L3 8–6 4–10 2493 2664 93.58%
8 Cairns Taipans 28 6 22 21.43% 2–3 L1 3–11 3–11 2400 2576 93.17%

Updated to match(es) played on 17 February 2019. Source: NBL.com.au

Ladder progression

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  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
2018–19 NBL season
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Adelaide 36ers 3 4 4 6 7 5 5 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 5
Brisbane Bullets 5 6 6 3 5 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 4
Cairns Taipans 2 3 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Illawarra Hawks 8 7 7 7 6 7 7 5 6 6 6 7 6 6 6 6 6 7
Melbourne United 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 3 3 2 2 1 1 2 2
New Zealand Breakers 6 8 5 5 4 4 6 7 7 7 7 6 7 7 7 7 7 6
Perth Wildcats 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 1 1
Sydney Kings 7 5 3 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3

Seedings

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  1. Perth Wildcats
  2. Melbourne United
  3. Sydney Kings
  4. Brisbane Bullets

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 overall points percentage will determine order of seeding.

Playoff bracket

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Semifinals Grand Final
            
1 Perth Wildcats 89 84 X
4 Brisbane Bullets 59 79 X
1 Perth Wildcats 81 74 96 97 X
2 Melbourne United 71 92 67 82 X
2 Melbourne United 95 90 X
3 Sydney Kings 73 76 X


Semi-Finals Series

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(2) Melbourne United vs. (3) Sydney Kings

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28 February 2019 Melbourne United 95–73
(Series: Melbourne leads series, 1–0)
Sydney Kings Melbourne Arena, Melbourne
19:50 Scoring by quarter: 24–24, 28–11, 19–18, 24–20
Fox Sports Pts: Ware 22
Rebs: Boone 7
Asts: Ware 7
boxscore Pts: Newley 17
Rebs: Bogut 7
Asts: Bowen, Lisch, Newley 3
Attendance: 7,566
3 March 2019 Sydney Kings 76–90
(Series: Melbourne wins series, 2–0)
Melbourne United Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
14:20 Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 16–20, 18–25, 18–23
Fox Sports Pts: Adnam, Lisch 13
Rebs: Bogut 12
Asts: Bogut, Randle 5
boxscore Pts: Ware 30
Rebs: Boone 8
Asts: McCarron 5
Attendance: 14,569

(1) Perth Wildcats vs. (4) Brisbane Bullets

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28 February 2019 Perth Wildcats 89–59
(Series: Perth leads series, 1–0)
Brisbane Bullets RAC Arena, Perth
19:20 Scoring by quarter: 23–16, 18–24, 30–15, 18–4
Fox Sports Pts: Cotton 22
Rebs: Kay 10
Asts: Cotton 6
boxscore Pts: Gliddon 18
Rebs: Hodgson 7
Asts: Patterson 6
Attendance: 10,587
2 March 2019 Brisbane Bullets 79–84
(Series: Perth wins series, 2–0)
Perth Wildcats Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
13:50 Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 21–24, 21–20, 17–15
Fox Sports Pts: Patterson 19
Rebs: Bairstow 7
Asts: Gibson 5
boxscore Pts: White 24
Rebs: Kay 15
Asts: Cotton 10
Attendance: 5,519

Grand Final Series

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(1) Perth Wildcats vs. (2) Melbourne United

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8 March 2019 Perth Wildcats 81–71
(Series: Perth leads series, 1–0)
Melbourne United RAC Arena, Perth
19:20 Scoring by quarter: 14–13, 15–20, 31–14, 21–24
Fox Sports Pts: White 19
Rebs: Cotton, White 8
Asts: Cotton 8
boxscore Pts: Ware 19
Rebs: Boone 12
Asts: Ware 4
Attendance: 12,490
10 March 2019 Melbourne United 92–74
(Series: Series tied, 1–1)
Perth Wildcats Melbourne Arena, Melbourne
14:50 Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 22–21, 26–16, 24–17
Fox Sports Pts: Goulding, Ware 14
Rebs: Kennedy 14
Asts: Kennedy, McCarron 4
boxscore Pts: Cotton 19
Rebs: Kay 8
Asts: Cotton, White 4
Attendance: 10,062
15 March 2019 Perth Wildcats 96–67
(Series: Perth leads series, 2–1)
Melbourne United RAC Arena, Perth
19:35 Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 21–20, 28–15, 26–16
Fox Sports Pts: White 31
Rebs: Kay, White 7
Asts: Cotton 10
boxscore Pts: Barlow, Kennedy 13
Rebs: Kennedy 10
Asts: Kennedy 6
Attendance: 13,412
17 March 2019 Melbourne United 84–97
(Series: Perth wins series, 3–1)
Perth Wildcats Melbourne Arena, Melbourne
14:20 Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 17–27, 12–15, 27–29
Fox Sports Pts: Ware 18
Rebs: Boone 7
Asts: Goulding, Ware 4
boxscore Pts: Cotton 28
Rebs: Kay 10
Asts: Martin 6
Attendance: 10,007

References

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  1. ^ Ward, Roy (17 March 2019). "Perth win ninth NBL title with game 4 victory over Melbourne United". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  2. ^ "National Basketball League | NBL". nbl.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  3. ^ "National Basketball League | NBL". nbl.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  4. ^ "National Basketball League | NBL". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Kings lock in finals spot after blowout win over the Bullets". www.sydneykings.com. Retrieved 5 April 2020.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "National Basketball League | NBL". www.brisbanebullets.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2020.