Adelaide 36ers
Encyclopedia
The Adelaide 36ers are Adelaide
's men's professional basketball team, established as the Adelaide City Eagles when they joined the National Basketball League
(NBL) in 1982
. The Adelaide 36ers tally of four championships is equal with the Melbourne Tigers
and second behind the Perth Wildcats
as the most by any team in the NBL's history. The 36ers nickname comes from the fact that the Colony of South Australia
was Officially Proclaimed on 28 December 1836.
. Mike Osborne was appointed as team coach, Chris Stirling was captain and the team played out of the 3,000 seat Apollo Stadium
. The Eagles performed well in their first season but missed the playoffs finishing in 7th place on the ladder with a 15-11 record. The championship was won that year be Adelaide's 'other' NBL team at the time the West Adelaide Bearcats
who featured future 36ers in 1982 NBL MVP
Al Green
and Olympian Ray Wood.
The Adelaide City Eagles changed their name after the 1982 season to the Adelaide 36ers to reflect on the history of South Australia's proclamation in 1836. Mike Osborne continued as head coach while David Winslow was named team captain. The 36ers once again missed the NBL playoffs in 1983 finishing 6th on the ladder with an 11-11 record.
The 1984 NBL season saw the first time the 36ers would reach the NBL finals, finishing the regular season in 3rd place in the Western Division with a 16-7 record. The team lost their Elimination Final to the Nunawading Spectres 108-101. Following the season, Mike Osborne was not retained as coach.
Former Australian Boomer
and 1964
Olympic representative Ken Cole was signed as coach of the Adelaide 36ers for the 1985 NBL season. Under Cole, the 36ers became one of the leagues premier teams. Import players including 6'9" (206 cm) centre
Bill Jones, New York
born guard
Al Green (who had been drafted by the San Diego Chargers
as a Defensive back
in the 1979 NFL Draft
despite not playing football
) and an NBL rookie in 24 year old forward from Philadelphia, Mark Davis
, combined with local players Darryl "The Iceman" Pearce, team captain Peter "Pa" Ali and veteran Ray Wood to help Adelaide to a 20-6 record and second on the regular season ladder. The team had a bye going into the semi-final where they easily defeated for the Newcastle Falcons 151-103 at home in what is still a record semi-final win in the NBL. In the last single game NBL grand final ever played, Adelaide were up against the Brisbane Bullets
on the Bullets' home court (Sleeman Sports Centre
). Going into the final period the game the Bullets' were leading 78-74 but a 42-21 last period in favor of the home team saw Adelaide fail to win their first grand final going down 95-120. Al Green would set a still standing single season points per game record for the 36ers when he scored 31ppg in 28 games played.
1986 would see the Adelaide 36ers win the first of their four NBL championships. Bill Jones replaced Peter Ali as captain while Ken Cole would win the NBL Coach of the Year
award after guiding the team to a 24-2 record, 5 more wins than the second placed Canberra Cannons
. The 36ers were also undefeated at home during the regular season going 15-0, the first time in the clubs history. The two games the 36ers lost in the regular season were both last second shots that ultimately denied Adelaide a perfect season and locally the team was known as 'The Invincibles". Again earning a bye into the semi-finals, Adelaide this time accounted for the Illawarra Hawks 116-92 before moving onto their second grand final in a row, this time to be played over three games instead of the single game that had been in place previously. Once again facing the Brisbane Bullets, the 36ers won the first game of the series 122-119 in overtime at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre
. Back home in Adelaide the 36ers would lose only their third game of the year (and first at home) when they lost game two 83-104. The final game played at home in front of a packed Apollo Stadium saw the Adelaide 36ers win their first championship with a 113-91 victory. Mark Davis finished second in the NBL in total rebounds (15.8 per game), won the NBL Grand Final MVP award and also won selection in the All NBL First Team
.
Despite the on court success there was controversy at the club during the 1986 season with coach Ken Cole suspended towards the end of the regular season by the club board over his smoking of marijuana joint
during a road trip to Brisbane, a situation that Cole was open about and never denied. Indeed, he stated that he was recommended it by his family doctor as a way of dealing with health problems and physical pain. After the story was broken in local Adelaide newspaper
The Advertiser by journalist Andrew Both, Cole was suspended by the club for the last two games and the team was coached by his assistant Don Shipway. Before the playoffs, the players got together and went to the club board demanding Cole's return, going so far as to tell the board that they would refuse to play unless Cole was coaching them. Under immense pressure from not only the players but the general public of Adelaide who supported Cole despite his admitted use of the drug, the club board relented and Cole returned for the 1986 playoffs, though it was known that he would be sacked over the incident at the end of the season regardless of a championship win or not.
Ken Cole, the 1986 NBL Coach of the Year and the 1986 championship winning coach was replaced for the 1987 NBL season by Gary Fox who would continue the work started by Cole by coaching Adelaide to their second minor premiership in a row with a 21-5 record. For the third season running the team hard earned a bye to the semi-finals where this time they would face the Perth Wildcats
who were in their first ever playoffs. In a major upset the defending NBL champions lost the series 1-2 to the Wildcats. They won 99-98 in Perth but then lost games two and three 99-101 and 93-103 on their home court. Mark Davis would continue to have a major impact on the NBL when he jointly won the leagues MVP award with Brisbane's Leroy Loggins
. He also led the league in rebounding averaging 17.8 for the season.
Adelaide finished with their third minor premiership in a row and the second under Gary Fox after finishing with a 19-5 record in 1988 but would again be beaten Semi-Finalists. Bill Jones, who was still playing with the club, was replaced as team captain by Australian Boomers
representative Darryl Pearce. Against the Ken Cole coached Falcons in Newcastle
during 1988, Darryl Pearce would set a still standing single game scoring record for the 36ers when he scored 48 points including 11 of 14 three point attempts. 1988 also saw local 6'10" (208 cm) centre Mark Bradtke
make his NBL debut for the 36ers, playing in 23 games and averaging 7.4 points and 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Both Pearce and Bradtke won selection for Australia at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul
.
1989 was Gary Fox's last season with the Adelaide 36ers and it saw the team drop to 6th on the regular season ladder with a 15-9 record. Adelade were eliminated from the playoffs in the Elimination Final. Mark Bradtke's star continued to rise with the Boomers representative winning the NBL's Most Improved Player
award.
Shipway was retained as coach for the 1991 NBL season despite the teams worst ever performance in 1990. The team turned their form around finishing the regular season in 4th place with a 16-10 record. They lost their semi-final series to defending and eventual league champion the Perth Wildcats, missing out on their third grand final appearance. 1991 was the last season that local favourite and former captain Darryl Pearce would play for the club, signing with the North Melbourne Giants
from 1992. The season was also the teams last playing out of the 3,000 seat Apollo Stadium which had opened in 1969. A new venue was due to be opened for the 1992 season.
Adelaide had played at the Apollo Stadium since the teams inception in 1982. However ticket demand was more than double that of what Apollo could hold so in conjunction with the Basketball Association of South Australia (BASA), a new home for basketball in South Australia was opened in 1992 in the western suburb of Findon
. The A$
16m, 8,000 seat Clipsal Powerhouse quickly became a fortress for the 36ers with every game a sell-out. However their road form wasn't so good and they dropped to 9th on the table with an 11-13 record. Team members Mark Bradtke and Mike Mackay would go on to represent Australia at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona
. 1992 was also the rookie NBL season for Brett Maher
who would go on to play a record 526 games for the club.
After their second losing season, the 36ers replaced Don Shipway with Don Monson as coach for the 1993 season. The team had lost centre Mark Bradtke to the Melbourne Tigers
during the off-season but gained Adelaide born veteran Phil Smyth
and veteran 7'0" (213 cm) centre Willie Simmons from Canberra. Adelaide improved to a 14-12 record under Monson and made the playoffs finishing in 7th place but were beaten Quarter-Finalists. Local junior Chris Blakemore was named the 1993 NBL Rookie of the Year
while 8th year guard and future team coach Scott Ninnis was voted as the NBL's Most Improved Player scoring a career best 20.1 points and 4.4 assists per game after returning from two seasons in Melbourne with the Eastside Spectres and the South East Melbourne Magic
.
The Adelaide 36ers pulled off a major signing between the 1993 and 1994 seasons when they signed the league's 1993 MVP Robert Rose for two seasons. They also had a new head coach in former NCAA
coach Mike Dunlap. Finishing in 4th place with a 19-8 record, the 36ers won their semi-final series against the defending champion Melbourne Tigers
to win their way into the 1994 NBL grand final series against the North Melbourne Giants. Adelaide went down two games to none however, losing game one at the Powerhouse 93-95 in overtime and game two at The Glasshouse in Melbourne 117-97. Robert Rose averaged 32 points for the 36ers over the two grand final games.
The team had recruited well going into 1996 obtaining forwards Martin Cattalini
and Leon Trimmingham from Perth and the Sydney Kings
respectively as well as 2nd year guard John Rillie
from Brisbane and despite continued good form which saw the 36ers make the playoffs under Mike Dunlap in 1995 and 1996, the 36ers were eliminated in the Semi-Finals both times. Following the death of his father, coach Dunlap decided to return home to the United States
after the 1996 season and the club hired former Gold Coast Rollers
coach Dave Claxton as his replacement for the 1997 season. This season also saw Brett Maher take over the team captaincy, something he would hold until his retirement in 2009. Adelaide finished with a 14-16 record in 1997, finishing in 7th place and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1992.
from North Melbourne and former NBA player Darnell Mee
from Canberra. They won through to the 1998 NBL Grand Final series against the South East Melbourne Magic where they would win the clubs first championship since 1986 defeating the Magic 2-0, winning Game 1 100-93 at home and Game 2 90-62 at Melbourne Park
. Former NBA player Kevin Brooks
was named the Grand Final MVP in what was the last ever winter season for the National Basketball League.
Following the 1998 season, the NBL moved from being a winter league to playing during Australia's summer, meaning that seasons would start near the end of one calender year and finish early in the next. The change in time slot didn't stop the defending NBL champion 36ers though as they finished the 1998-99 regular season with their first minor premiership since 1988 with an 18-8 record. Again winning their way into the Grand Final series, they became three time NBL champions and the first team to win back to back titles in nearly a decade by defeating the Victoria Titans
two games to one. Captain Brett Maher was voted the Grand Final MVP and coach Phil Smyth had his second championship in two years of coaching.
The 36ers form would continue in both the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, despite losing star import forward Kevin Brooks to the Sydney Kings
for the 99-00 season, though he would return in 2000-01. They were again minor premiers in 1999-2000 with a 22-6 record but missed out on becoming the first team to win three NBL championships in a row when they lost in the Semi-Finals. After falling to 6th on the ladder at the end of 2000-01 and just scraping into the playoffs, the 36ers would again only advance as far as the Semi-Finals before losing to the eventual champions, the Wollongong Hawks
. The 2001-01 season was also the last for longtime player and former club captain Mark Davis who retired from playing after 482 NBL games, all with the Adelaide 36ers. At the time of his retirement, Mark Davis was the NBL's all-time leading rebounder having grabbed 5,200 in his career, averaging 10.7 per game. Import Darnell Mee, in his fourth year with the club would win his third consecutive NBL Best Defensive Player
award but would be lost to the club at the end of the season due to salary cap restraints.
2001-02
would see the Adelaide 36ers win a then record fourth NBL title and the third for coach Phil Smyth. The team would finish the regular season in 3rd place with a 17-13 record before winning their way into their sixth NBL Grand Final. Facing the West Sydney Razorbacks
, Adelaide were victorious two games to one. Adelaide's 125 points in game 3 is the highest ever score in an NBL Grand Final game while they also hit a Grand Final record 19 three-pointers in the game. Adelaide captain Brett Maher became only the second player in NBL history to win two Grand Final MVP awards.
Under Phil Smyth, Adelaide were beaten Elimination-Finalists in both 2002-03
and 2003-04
despite the addition of imports Willie Farley
and the debut of local forward Oscar Forman
. They were beaten Quarter-Finalists in both the 2004-05
and 2005-06
seasons. The 2006-07 NBL season
saw the 36ers miss the playoffs for the first time since Smyth took over as coach, finishing a club record wost place of 11th with an 11-13 record. They would again miss the playoffs in 2007-08
finishing in 9th place with a 14-16 record. Following his second losing season, the team decided to replace Phil Smyth as head coach with former player and Smyth assistant Scott Ninnis.
. The team, which included local junior and former NBA player Luke Schenscher
, finished the regular season in 6th place with a 15-15 record before losing their quarter final 131-101 to the New Zealand Breakers
in Auckland
. 2009 was also the last season for the club games record holder Brett Maher who was retiring after 526 NBL games and three championships with the 36ers. The 2009-10 season was a disaster however and the Adelaide 36ers finished on the bottom of the NBL ladder for the first time in their history with a 10-18 record. American
born but naturalised Australian Adam Ballinger
, in his third season with the club became team captain in 2009-10 following the retirement of Maher.
Following the clubs worst ever season, Scott Ninnis was sacked as coach and replaced by former AIS
coach Marty Clarke
for the 2010-11 NBL season.
Adelaide and Clarke endured a difficult season in 2010-11. They lost guard Nathan Herbert
before the season with an Anterior cruciate ligament
injury. Further injuries to import guards Troy DeVries
and Craig Winder ultimately saw them replaced in the squad. For the first time in their history, the Adelaide 36ers failed to win at least 10 games in a season, finishing with a 9-19 record. They did avoid their second last place finish in a row only because the returning Sydney Kings
finished with an 8-20 record. Captain Adam Ballinger was again the clubs leading player as he won his fourth straight club MVP award, finished third in the NBL's MVP voting and was selected to the NBL's All Third team.
The Adelaide 36ers have reached the playoffs 21 times in 30 full seasons and on top of their four championships in 1986, 1998, 1998–99 and 2001–02 they reached the Grand Final in 1985 and 1994. They have also finished as minor premier on five occasions (1986, 1987, 1988, 1998-99, 1999-2000)
and Sprint Auto Parts. As of 2010, the teams main shirt sponsor is staff recruitment firm extrastaff.
and Australian basketball legend Phil Smyth
who coached the team for 11 seasons from 1998 to 2007-08 and led them to the 1998, 1998–99 and 2001-02 NBL Championships.
In June 2009 Mal Hemmerling sold the team to a group of 8 individuals led by new Club Chairman Mark Lewis and new Club CEO Ben Fitzsimons called the Save Our Sixers Consortium.
NBL article on sale
would sponsor the venue until the end of 2001-02, after which it became known as the Distinctive Homes Dome in recognition of the sponsorship from Distinctive Homes.
The Dome has been without a naming rights sponsor since mid-2009 but on February 7 of that year the main court was named in honor of longtime club captain Brett Maher
who made his 36ers debut at the Powerhouse in 1992 and played all of his 526 NBL games for the club. The venue is now known as the Adelaide Arena or the Brett Maher Court while the national media refer to it as the Adelaide Dome or just The Dome.
The Adelaide Arena is currently the second largest venue used in the National Basketball League behind the 10,517 seat Sydney Entertainment Centre
and despite recent poor performances from Adelaide, the team continues to be at or near the top in NBL average attendance figures.
Source: www.nbl.com.au
Adelaide 36ers NBL Championship banners
* Club and League MVP
** Club and League Grand Final MVP
Source: www.adelaide36ers.com
The 36ers currently only have two retired numbers. The are the #5 which belonged to games record holder Brett Maher and the other is #33 which was worn by Mark Davis throughout his NBL/36ers career. Previously the #4 of Darryl Pearce, who holds the record for most points in a single game as a 36er when he scored 48 against the Newcastle Falcons in 1988 and the #15 of star import guard Al Green who played 136 games for the club between 1985 and 1990 hung high at The Dome in Adelaide but were removed by the team owners. There is gathering support amongst local fans to have both Pearce and Green's numbers re-retired by the 36ers. Green, who holds the NBL's single game scoring record with 71 and Pearce, an Olympian while with the 36ers, were the starting PG and SG on the 36ers 1986 NBL premiership team.
and/or Olympic Games
representatives. Peter Ali, Darryl Pearce, Mark Bradtke, Mark Davis, Mike McKay, Brett Maher, Brett Wheeler
and Phil Smyth all having played for the club along with former NBA
players Luke Schenscher, Kevin Brooks, Jo Jo English
, Rick Brunson
, Darnell Mee, Robert Rose and Julius Hodge
. Bradtke and Schenscher have played both for the Boomers and in the NBA.
Famous fans include television presenter Grant Denyer
and former World Number 1 Tennis Player, Adelaide born Lleyton Hewitt
.
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
's men's professional basketball team, established as the Adelaide City Eagles when they joined the National Basketball League
National Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
(NBL) in 1982
1982 NBL Season
The 1982 National Basketball League was the fourth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested in the league from 6 states and 1 territory across Australia...
. The Adelaide 36ers tally of four championships is equal with the Melbourne Tigers
Melbourne Tigers
The Melbourne Tigers are Australia's oldest and most respected basketball team, established circa 1931 in a local church hall League. Entering the National Basketball League in 1984, they are now the only Melbourne team, after the South Dragons withdrew from the league.The Melbourne Tigers are the...
and second behind the Perth Wildcats
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...
as the most by any team in the NBL's history. The 36ers nickname comes from the fact that the Colony of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
was Officially Proclaimed on 28 December 1836.
1980s
The Adelaide 36ers were born as the Adelaide City Eagles when they joined the NBL in 19821982 NBL Season
The 1982 National Basketball League was the fourth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested in the league from 6 states and 1 territory across Australia...
. Mike Osborne was appointed as team coach, Chris Stirling was captain and the team played out of the 3,000 seat Apollo Stadium
Apollo Stadium
Apollo Stadium was an indoor arena located at 41 Kingston Avenue, Richmond in the Adelaide Metropolitan Area, South Australia...
. The Eagles performed well in their first season but missed the playoffs finishing in 7th place on the ladder with a 15-11 record. The championship was won that year be Adelaide's 'other' NBL team at the time the West Adelaide Bearcats
West Adelaide Bearcats
The West Adelaide Bearcats are a semi-professional basketball team competing in the Australian Basketball Association.-NBL:The West Adelaide Bearcats was a foundation club in the NBL which merged with the Adelaide 36ers in 1985. Founded in 1946, it won the NBL championship 80–74 against the Geelong...
who featured future 36ers in 1982 NBL MVP
NBL (Australia) Most Valuable Player
At the conclusion of each NBL game, both coaches award votes to the best players from that game. Each coach has 10 votes to allocate, with no more than 5 to be awarded to one player by each coach....
Al Green
Al Green (basketball)
Al Green is a retired naturalised Australian professional basketball player originally from the United States who played his career in the Australian National Basketball League from 1981 until his retirement in at the end of 1993.-School/College career:Born and bred in the South Bronx, Al Green...
and Olympian Ray Wood.
The Adelaide City Eagles changed their name after the 1982 season to the Adelaide 36ers to reflect on the history of South Australia's proclamation in 1836. Mike Osborne continued as head coach while David Winslow was named team captain. The 36ers once again missed the NBL playoffs in 1983 finishing 6th on the ladder with an 11-11 record.
The 1984 NBL season saw the first time the 36ers would reach the NBL finals, finishing the regular season in 3rd place in the Western Division with a 16-7 record. The team lost their Elimination Final to the Nunawading Spectres 108-101. Following the season, Mike Osborne was not retained as coach.
Former Australian Boomer
Australia national basketball team
The Australian national basketball team is the men's basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known in Australia as the Boomers, an Australian slang term for Kangaroo. Australia is ranked 9th in the world and finished 7th at the 2008 Beijing Olympic...
and 1964
Basketball at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Basketball contests at the 1964 Summer Olympics took place at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan from October 11 to October 23. The United States defeated the Soviet Union to win their sixth straight gold medal at this event, while Brazil earned the bronze against Puerto...
Olympic representative Ken Cole was signed as coach of the Adelaide 36ers for the 1985 NBL season. Under Cole, the 36ers became one of the leagues premier teams. Import players including 6'9" (206 cm) centre
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
Bill Jones, New York
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
born guard
Combo Guard
A combo guard is a basketball player who combines the attributes of a shooting guard and point guard , but does not necessarily fit the standard description of either position...
Al Green (who had been drafted by the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as a Defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
in the 1979 NFL Draft
1979 NFL Draft
The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979...
despite not playing football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
) and an NBL rookie in 24 year old forward from Philadelphia, Mark Davis
Mark Davis (NBL)
Mark Davis is a naturalised Australian former basketball player who played from 1985 to 2001 with the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers, gaining the nickname of "Chairman of the Boards" for his record breaking rebounding achievements.-Professional career:Davis was signed by then Adelaide...
, combined with local players Darryl "The Iceman" Pearce, team captain Peter "Pa" Ali and veteran Ray Wood to help Adelaide to a 20-6 record and second on the regular season ladder. The team had a bye going into the semi-final where they easily defeated for the Newcastle Falcons 151-103 at home in what is still a record semi-final win in the NBL. In the last single game NBL grand final ever played, Adelaide were up against the Brisbane Bullets
Brisbane Bullets
The Brisbane Bullets were, until 2008, a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets were one of only two teams that survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the only surviving team is now the Wollongong Hawks. The team played in Midnight Navy...
on the Bullets' home court (Sleeman Sports Centre
Chandler Arena
The Chandler Arena is a Brisbane sport venue, located in the suburb of Chandler. It has seating capacity for 2,700, and hosts netball, basketball, indoor soccer, badminton and volleyball....
). Going into the final period the game the Bullets' were leading 78-74 but a 42-21 last period in favor of the home team saw Adelaide fail to win their first grand final going down 95-120. Al Green would set a still standing single season points per game record for the 36ers when he scored 31ppg in 28 games played.
1986 would see the Adelaide 36ers win the first of their four NBL championships. Bill Jones replaced Peter Ali as captain while Ken Cole would win the NBL Coach of the Year
NBL (Australia) Coach of the Year
The NBL Coach of the Year award takes into account regular-season performances only, and is voted on by head coaches, assistant coaches and team captains on a 3-2-1 basis.* 1980 Barry Barnes...
award after guiding the team to a 24-2 record, 5 more wins than the second placed Canberra Cannons
Canberra Cannons
The Canberra Cannons were a basketball team competing in the Australian National Basketball League. They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates...
. The 36ers were also undefeated at home during the regular season going 15-0, the first time in the clubs history. The two games the 36ers lost in the regular season were both last second shots that ultimately denied Adelaide a perfect season and locally the team was known as 'The Invincibles". Again earning a bye into the semi-finals, Adelaide this time accounted for the Illawarra Hawks 116-92 before moving onto their second grand final in a row, this time to be played over three games instead of the single game that had been in place previously. Once again facing the Brisbane Bullets, the 36ers won the first game of the series 122-119 in overtime at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
The Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a centre, located in Boondall, a Brisbane City suburb, in Queensland, Australia.The arena has an assortment of seating plans, which facilitate the comfort of its users, subject to performance. Specific seating plans usually are allocated, depending on the...
. Back home in Adelaide the 36ers would lose only their third game of the year (and first at home) when they lost game two 83-104. The final game played at home in front of a packed Apollo Stadium saw the Adelaide 36ers win their first championship with a 113-91 victory. Mark Davis finished second in the NBL in total rebounds (15.8 per game), won the NBL Grand Final MVP award and also won selection in the All NBL First Team
NBL (Australia) All NBL teams
-NBL First Teams:* 1980 Cal Stamp, Danny Morseu, Brian Banks, Herb McEachin, Ian Davies and Ken Richardson* 1981 Rocky Smith, Danny Morseu, Al Green, David Nelson and Owen Wells* 1982 George Morrow, James Crawford, Leroy Loggins, Phil Smyth and Larry Sengstock...
.
Despite the on court success there was controversy at the club during the 1986 season with coach Ken Cole suspended towards the end of the regular season by the club board over his smoking of marijuana joint
Joint (cannabis)
Joint is a slang term for a cigarette rolled using cannabis. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium among industrialized countries, however brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, and newspaper are commonly used in developing countries. Modern papers are now made from a wide...
during a road trip to Brisbane, a situation that Cole was open about and never denied. Indeed, he stated that he was recommended it by his family doctor as a way of dealing with health problems and physical pain. After the story was broken in local Adelaide newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
The Advertiser by journalist Andrew Both, Cole was suspended by the club for the last two games and the team was coached by his assistant Don Shipway. Before the playoffs, the players got together and went to the club board demanding Cole's return, going so far as to tell the board that they would refuse to play unless Cole was coaching them. Under immense pressure from not only the players but the general public of Adelaide who supported Cole despite his admitted use of the drug, the club board relented and Cole returned for the 1986 playoffs, though it was known that he would be sacked over the incident at the end of the season regardless of a championship win or not.
Ken Cole, the 1986 NBL Coach of the Year and the 1986 championship winning coach was replaced for the 1987 NBL season by Gary Fox who would continue the work started by Cole by coaching Adelaide to their second minor premiership in a row with a 21-5 record. For the third season running the team hard earned a bye to the semi-finals where this time they would face the Perth Wildcats
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...
who were in their first ever playoffs. In a major upset the defending NBL champions lost the series 1-2 to the Wildcats. They won 99-98 in Perth but then lost games two and three 99-101 and 93-103 on their home court. Mark Davis would continue to have a major impact on the NBL when he jointly won the leagues MVP award with Brisbane's Leroy Loggins
Leroy Loggins
Leroy Loggins is a former professional basketball player who played in the Australian National Basketball League from 1981 to the 2000-01 season...
. He also led the league in rebounding averaging 17.8 for the season.
Adelaide finished with their third minor premiership in a row and the second under Gary Fox after finishing with a 19-5 record in 1988 but would again be beaten Semi-Finalists. Bill Jones, who was still playing with the club, was replaced as team captain by Australian Boomers
Australia national basketball team
The Australian national basketball team is the men's basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known in Australia as the Boomers, an Australian slang term for Kangaroo. Australia is ranked 9th in the world and finished 7th at the 2008 Beijing Olympic...
representative Darryl Pearce. Against the Ken Cole coached Falcons in Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
during 1988, Darryl Pearce would set a still standing single game scoring record for the 36ers when he scored 48 points including 11 of 14 three point attempts. 1988 also saw local 6'10" (208 cm) centre Mark Bradtke
Mark Bradtke
Mark Robert Bradtke is a retired Australian professional basketball player who played mainly in Australia's National Basketball League but also had a single stint in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996-97...
make his NBL debut for the 36ers, playing in 23 games and averaging 7.4 points and 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Both Pearce and Bradtke won selection for Australia at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
.
1989 was Gary Fox's last season with the Adelaide 36ers and it saw the team drop to 6th on the regular season ladder with a 15-9 record. Adelade were eliminated from the playoffs in the Elimination Final. Mark Bradtke's star continued to rise with the Boomers representative winning the NBL's Most Improved Player
NBL (Australia) Most Improved Player
* 1988 Darren Lucas * 1989 Mark Bradtke * 1990 Shane Heal * 1991 Andrew Parkinson * 1992 Andrew Svaldenis * 1993 Scott Ninnis...
award.
1990s
Former 36ers assistant coach Don Shipway was appointed coach of the team for the 1990 NBL season which was the team miss the playoffs for the first time since 1983 when they finished 9th with an 11-15 record, the clubs first ever losing season. Mark Davis became captain of the team in 1990, a position he would hold until the end of the 1996 season.Shipway was retained as coach for the 1991 NBL season despite the teams worst ever performance in 1990. The team turned their form around finishing the regular season in 4th place with a 16-10 record. They lost their semi-final series to defending and eventual league champion the Perth Wildcats, missing out on their third grand final appearance. 1991 was the last season that local favourite and former captain Darryl Pearce would play for the club, signing with the North Melbourne Giants
North Melbourne Giants
The North Melbourne Giants were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League.-History :The team was formed in 1980 as the Coburg Giants and were renamed in 1987 as the North Melbourne Giants...
from 1992. The season was also the teams last playing out of the 3,000 seat Apollo Stadium which had opened in 1969. A new venue was due to be opened for the 1992 season.
Adelaide had played at the Apollo Stadium since the teams inception in 1982. However ticket demand was more than double that of what Apollo could hold so in conjunction with the Basketball Association of South Australia (BASA), a new home for basketball in South Australia was opened in 1992 in the western suburb of Findon
Findon, South Australia
Findon is a western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Charles Sturt.-History:In 1839, George Cortis was granted the land now constituting Findon, which he subdivided in 1848...
. The A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
16m, 8,000 seat Clipsal Powerhouse quickly became a fortress for the 36ers with every game a sell-out. However their road form wasn't so good and they dropped to 9th on the table with an 11-13 record. Team members Mark Bradtke and Mike Mackay would go on to represent Australia at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. 1992 was also the rookie NBL season for Brett Maher
Brett Maher
Brett Steven Maher is a retired Australian basketball player who played for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL for his entire career, from 1992-2009.-Professional career:...
who would go on to play a record 526 games for the club.
After their second losing season, the 36ers replaced Don Shipway with Don Monson as coach for the 1993 season. The team had lost centre Mark Bradtke to the Melbourne Tigers
Melbourne Tigers
The Melbourne Tigers are Australia's oldest and most respected basketball team, established circa 1931 in a local church hall League. Entering the National Basketball League in 1984, they are now the only Melbourne team, after the South Dragons withdrew from the league.The Melbourne Tigers are the...
during the off-season but gained Adelaide born veteran Phil Smyth
Phil Smyth
Philip John Smyth AM is an Australian former basketball player and former three time championship winning head coach of the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers.-Professional career:...
and veteran 7'0" (213 cm) centre Willie Simmons from Canberra. Adelaide improved to a 14-12 record under Monson and made the playoffs finishing in 7th place but were beaten Quarter-Finalists. Local junior Chris Blakemore was named the 1993 NBL Rookie of the Year
NBL (Australia) Rookie of the Year
* 1983 Jamie Kennedy * 1984 Andrew Gaze * 1985 Mike McKay * 1986 Steve Lunardon * 1987 Greg Hubbard * 1988 Shane Heal...
while 8th year guard and future team coach Scott Ninnis was voted as the NBL's Most Improved Player scoring a career best 20.1 points and 4.4 assists per game after returning from two seasons in Melbourne with the Eastside Spectres and the South East Melbourne Magic
South East Melbourne Magic
The South East Melbourne Magic were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League. The team was the result of a merger of two Melbourne clubs for the 1992 season...
.
The Adelaide 36ers pulled off a major signing between the 1993 and 1994 seasons when they signed the league's 1993 MVP Robert Rose for two seasons. They also had a new head coach in former NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
coach Mike Dunlap. Finishing in 4th place with a 19-8 record, the 36ers won their semi-final series against the defending champion Melbourne Tigers
Melbourne Tigers
The Melbourne Tigers are Australia's oldest and most respected basketball team, established circa 1931 in a local church hall League. Entering the National Basketball League in 1984, they are now the only Melbourne team, after the South Dragons withdrew from the league.The Melbourne Tigers are the...
to win their way into the 1994 NBL grand final series against the North Melbourne Giants. Adelaide went down two games to none however, losing game one at the Powerhouse 93-95 in overtime and game two at The Glasshouse in Melbourne 117-97. Robert Rose averaged 32 points for the 36ers over the two grand final games.
The team had recruited well going into 1996 obtaining forwards Martin Cattalini
Martin Cattalini
Martin Peter Cattalini is a retired Australian professional basketball player who won championships with both the Perth Wildcats and the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL....
and Leon Trimmingham from Perth and the Sydney Kings
Sydney Kings
The Sydney Kings are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. They are the only team to date to win three consecutive championships in the NBL and currently sit third behind the Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne Tigers two away from the record five wins...
respectively as well as 2nd year guard John Rillie
John Rillie
John Rillie is an Australian basketball player. Rillie previously captained the Townsville Crocodiles in the NBL but his contracted was not renewed. In his first season in the NBL, Rillie won Rookie of the Year honours playing for the Brisbane Bullets. He is known for his long range shooting...
from Brisbane and despite continued good form which saw the 36ers make the playoffs under Mike Dunlap in 1995 and 1996, the 36ers were eliminated in the Semi-Finals both times. Following the death of his father, coach Dunlap decided to return home to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after the 1996 season and the club hired former Gold Coast Rollers
Gold Coast Rollers
The Gold Coast Rollers were an Australian basketball team, that played in Gold Coast, Queensland, in the National Basketball League. The team was originally named the Gold Coast Cougars before being renamed the Rollers in 1992. The team was one of only two teams from the state of Queensland when it...
coach Dave Claxton as his replacement for the 1997 season. This season also saw Brett Maher take over the team captaincy, something he would hold until his retirement in 2009. Adelaide finished with a 14-16 record in 1997, finishing in 7th place and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1992.
Phil Smyth Era
Claxton was sacked as head coach following the 1997 season and was replaced by rookie coach and former player Phil Smyth. The 36ers turned their fortunes around under Smyth and finished the regular season in 2nd place with a 19-11 record. The club head recruited centre Paul ReesPaul Rees (basketball)
Paul Rees is a former Australian professional basketball player who played his entire career in the Australian National Basketball League...
from North Melbourne and former NBA player Darnell Mee
Darnell Mee
LaFarrell Darnell Mee is an American-Australian basketball player and former NBA player. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 34th overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft....
from Canberra. They won through to the 1998 NBL Grand Final series against the South East Melbourne Magic where they would win the clubs first championship since 1986 defeating the Magic 2-0, winning Game 1 100-93 at home and Game 2 90-62 at Melbourne Park
Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena is a tennis stadium that is part of the Melbourne Park complex located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and has been the main venue for the Australian Open in tennis since 1988, replacing the ageing Kooyong Stadium...
. Former NBA player Kevin Brooks
Kevin Brooks (basketball)
Kevin Brooks is a retired American professional basketball player. He is a graduate of White Castle in White Castle in White Castle, Louisiana, USA and graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana.Brooks was drafted by the Milwaukee...
was named the Grand Final MVP in what was the last ever winter season for the National Basketball League.
Following the 1998 season, the NBL moved from being a winter league to playing during Australia's summer, meaning that seasons would start near the end of one calender year and finish early in the next. The change in time slot didn't stop the defending NBL champion 36ers though as they finished the 1998-99 regular season with their first minor premiership since 1988 with an 18-8 record. Again winning their way into the Grand Final series, they became three time NBL champions and the first team to win back to back titles in nearly a decade by defeating the Victoria Titans
Victoria Titans
The Victoria Titans were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League. The team was the result of a merger of two Melbourne clubs for the inaugural NBL summer season of 1998/99...
two games to one. Captain Brett Maher was voted the Grand Final MVP and coach Phil Smyth had his second championship in two years of coaching.
The 36ers form would continue in both the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, despite losing star import forward Kevin Brooks to the Sydney Kings
Sydney Kings
The Sydney Kings are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. They are the only team to date to win three consecutive championships in the NBL and currently sit third behind the Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne Tigers two away from the record five wins...
for the 99-00 season, though he would return in 2000-01. They were again minor premiers in 1999-2000 with a 22-6 record but missed out on becoming the first team to win three NBL championships in a row when they lost in the Semi-Finals. After falling to 6th on the ladder at the end of 2000-01 and just scraping into the playoffs, the 36ers would again only advance as far as the Semi-Finals before losing to the eventual champions, the Wollongong Hawks
Wollongong Hawks
The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010...
. The 2001-01 season was also the last for longtime player and former club captain Mark Davis who retired from playing after 482 NBL games, all with the Adelaide 36ers. At the time of his retirement, Mark Davis was the NBL's all-time leading rebounder having grabbed 5,200 in his career, averaging 10.7 per game. Import Darnell Mee, in his fourth year with the club would win his third consecutive NBL Best Defensive Player
NBL (Australia) Best Defensive Player
* 1980 Ray Wood * 1981 Ray Wood * 1982 Phil Smyth * 1983 Phil Smyth * 1984 not awarded* 1985 not awarded* 1986 not awarded* 1987 Leroy Loggins...
award but would be lost to the club at the end of the season due to salary cap restraints.
2001-02
2001-02 NBL Season
Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2000-2001.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 154 games were played, 28 for each team. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.-First Round:1st played...
would see the Adelaide 36ers win a then record fourth NBL title and the third for coach Phil Smyth. The team would finish the regular season in 3rd place with a 17-13 record before winning their way into their sixth NBL Grand Final. Facing the West Sydney Razorbacks
West Sydney Razorbacks
The Sydney Spirit were a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League...
, Adelaide were victorious two games to one. Adelaide's 125 points in game 3 is the highest ever score in an NBL Grand Final game while they also hit a Grand Final record 19 three-pointers in the game. Adelaide captain Brett Maher became only the second player in NBL history to win two Grand Final MVP awards.
Under Phil Smyth, Adelaide were beaten Elimination-Finalists in both 2002-03
2002-03 NBL Season
The 2002-03 National Basketball League is the 25th season of professional basketball in Australia....
and 2003-04
2003-04 NBL Season
Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2003-2004.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 198 games were played, 33 for each team...
despite the addition of imports Willie Farley
Willie Farley
Willie Deshon Farley is an American professional basketball player best known for playing as a member of the Adelaide 36ers in the Australian NBL. A shooting guard, he is 6'4" tall and weighs 92 kg...
and the debut of local forward Oscar Forman
Oscar Forman
Oscar Forman is a basketball player who currently plays for the Wollongong Hawks in the Australian National Basketball League. Forman played for the Adelaide 36ers from 2001 until 2006, winning a championship in 2002, before moving to the Breakers at the end of the 2005-2006 season...
. They were beaten Quarter-Finalists in both the 2004-05
2004-05 NBL Season
Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2004-2005.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 176 games were played, 32 for each team...
and 2005-06
2005-06 NBL Season
Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2005-2006.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 176 games were played, 32 for each team. The top 8 teams qualified for the finals series.KeyThe quarter finals were...
seasons. The 2006-07 NBL season
2006-07 NBL Season
The 2006-07 National Basketball League is the 29th season of professional basketball in Australia. For the first time, a team was established from outside the Australasian area, with the Singapore Slingers taking over the licence of the Hunter Pirates...
saw the 36ers miss the playoffs for the first time since Smyth took over as coach, finishing a club record wost place of 11th with an 11-13 record. They would again miss the playoffs in 2007-08
2007-08 NBL Season
2007-08 is the 30th NBL season.On 21 November 2006, the NBL announced that Gold Coast Blaze will join the league, expanding it to 13 teams.-2007-08 league participants:-Pre-season Transactions:...
finishing in 9th place with a 14-16 record. Following his second losing season, the team decided to replace Phil Smyth as head coach with former player and Smyth assistant Scott Ninnis.
2008/2009 - Present
Ninnis would coach the team for two seasons of a 3 season contract, leading the team to the Elimination Finals in 2008-092008-09 NBL Season
-2008-09 league participants:* On 30 June 2008 the Brisbane Bullets confirmed they would be handing back the team's license to the NBL. The NBL confirmed there will be no Brisbane team participating in the 2008/09 season....
. The team, which included local junior and former NBA player Luke Schenscher
Luke Schenscher
Luke Dean Schenscher is an Australian professional basketball player for the Townsville Crocodiles in the Australasian National Basketball League.-School/College career:...
, finished the regular season in 6th place with a 15-15 record before losing their quarter final 131-101 to the New Zealand Breakers
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The Breakers joined the NBL for the 2003/04 season as one of two expansion clubs. The club is based in the city of Auckland, New Zealand and play their home games at the North...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. 2009 was also the last season for the club games record holder Brett Maher who was retiring after 526 NBL games and three championships with the 36ers. The 2009-10 season was a disaster however and the Adelaide 36ers finished on the bottom of the NBL ladder for the first time in their history with a 10-18 record. American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
born but naturalised Australian Adam Ballinger
Adam Ballinger
Adam Ballinger is a naturalised Australian professional basketball player, originally from the United States...
, in his third season with the club became team captain in 2009-10 following the retirement of Maher.
Following the clubs worst ever season, Scott Ninnis was sacked as coach and replaced by former AIS
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
coach Marty Clarke
Marty Clarke (basketball)
Martin 'Marty' Clarke is an Australian former basketball player and the current head coach of the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers....
for the 2010-11 NBL season.
Adelaide and Clarke endured a difficult season in 2010-11. They lost guard Nathan Herbert
Nathan Herbert
Nathan Herbert is an Australian professional basketball player currently playing for the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League...
before the season with an Anterior cruciate ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
injury. Further injuries to import guards Troy DeVries
Troy DeVries
Troy Anthony DeVries is an American professional basketball player, who currently plays for Melilla Baloncesto, in the LEB Oro, the Spanish second basketball league.- Player career :*2001/03 Portland State Vikings...
and Craig Winder ultimately saw them replaced in the squad. For the first time in their history, the Adelaide 36ers failed to win at least 10 games in a season, finishing with a 9-19 record. They did avoid their second last place finish in a row only because the returning Sydney Kings
Sydney Kings
The Sydney Kings are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. They are the only team to date to win three consecutive championships in the NBL and currently sit third behind the Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne Tigers two away from the record five wins...
finished with an 8-20 record. Captain Adam Ballinger was again the clubs leading player as he won his fourth straight club MVP award, finished third in the NBL's MVP voting and was selected to the NBL's All Third team.
The Adelaide 36ers have reached the playoffs 21 times in 30 full seasons and on top of their four championships in 1986, 1998, 1998–99 and 2001–02 they reached the Grand Final in 1985 and 1994. They have also finished as minor premier on five occasions (1986, 1987, 1988, 1998-99, 1999-2000)
Sponsorship
The Adelaide 36ers were previously sponsored by Pura milk and with the naming rights of Pura Milk 36ers. Before this they were the West End 36ers (as in West End Brewery) also taking various names from West End products, being known locally for a time during the 1990s as the Eagle Super 6ers. In 2009 the team was sponsored by Hood Sweeney, an Adelaide based consulting firm and were known as the Hood Sweeney Adelaide 36'ers. Other major sponsors include KIA MotorsKia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
and Sprint Auto Parts. As of 2010, the teams main shirt sponsor is staff recruitment firm extrastaff.
Coaches
As of their 30th season (2010-11), the Adelaide 36ers have had nine head coaches including Ken Cole, who coached the team to two NBL Grand Finals in his two seasons with the club (1985 and 1986) including their 1st ever championship in 1986 (the first time the NBL GF was a best of 3 series instead of a single game), American Mike Dunlap who led the team to the 1994 NBL Grand Final series against the North Melbourne GiantsNorth Melbourne Giants
The North Melbourne Giants were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League.-History :The team was formed in 1980 as the Coburg Giants and were renamed in 1987 as the North Melbourne Giants...
and Australian basketball legend Phil Smyth
Phil Smyth
Philip John Smyth AM is an Australian former basketball player and former three time championship winning head coach of the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers.-Professional career:...
who coached the team for 11 seasons from 1998 to 2007-08 and led them to the 1998, 1998–99 and 2001-02 NBL Championships.
Ownership
In April 2006 the 36ers, the Adelaide Lightning WNBL team and the teams home venue, the Distinctive Homes Dome, went up for sale due to mishandling of debt owed to the government by the then owner BASA. On 25 July 2006, a consortium of Mal Hemmerling & Eddie Groves bought the Adelaide 36ers & the Distinctive Homes Dome for $3.95 million - with Mal Hemmerling in place as owner of the 36ers and Eddie Groves as the owner of the stadium. The money for the sale went to the government to wipe out the debt owed by BASA. BASA is now defunct and replaced by Basketball SA - focused solely on all Basketball in SA and no one competition.In June 2009 Mal Hemmerling sold the team to a group of 8 individuals led by new Club Chairman Mark Lewis and new Club CEO Ben Fitzsimons called the Save Our Sixers Consortium.
NBL article on sale
Home Arena
Between 1982 and 1991 the home court of the 36ers was the 3,000 seat Apollo Stadium. Home games were always a sell-out for the 36ers but going into the 1990's Apollo seen as too small and due to the high demand for tickets, the 36ers and the BASA built a new home arena which opened in 1992. The newly constructed Clipsal Powerhouse which seats 8,000, was and still is the largest purpose built basketball stadium in Australia. ClipsalClipsal
Clipsal is an Australian brand of electrical accessories. The main factory was located at Bowden, but it was announced in 2008 that a move would be made to a new site, located at Gepps Cross. The move took place in 2009. Clipsal also boasts smaller factories in Nuriootpa, Strathalbyn and Wingfield...
would sponsor the venue until the end of 2001-02, after which it became known as the Distinctive Homes Dome in recognition of the sponsorship from Distinctive Homes.
The Dome has been without a naming rights sponsor since mid-2009 but on February 7 of that year the main court was named in honor of longtime club captain Brett Maher
Brett Maher
Brett Steven Maher is a retired Australian basketball player who played for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL for his entire career, from 1992-2009.-Professional career:...
who made his 36ers debut at the Powerhouse in 1992 and played all of his 526 NBL games for the club. The venue is now known as the Adelaide Arena or the Brett Maher Court while the national media refer to it as the Adelaide Dome or just The Dome.
The Adelaide Arena is currently the second largest venue used in the National Basketball League behind the 10,517 seat Sydney Entertainment Centre
Sydney Entertainment Centre
The Sydney Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose venue, located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished to make way for a new railway. The centre is currently owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which administers...
and despite recent poor performances from Adelaide, the team continues to be at or near the top in NBL average attendance figures.
Honour roll
| NBL Championships: | 4 (1986, 1998, 1998–99, 2001–02) |
| NBL Finals Appearances: | 21 (1984-89, 1991, 1993–96, 1998–2006, 2009) |
| NBL Grand Final Appearances: | 6 (1985, 1986, 1994, 1998, 1998–99, 2001–02) |
| NBL Most Valuable Players: | Mark Davis Mark Davis (NBL) Mark Davis is a naturalised Australian former basketball player who played from 1985 to 2001 with the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers, gaining the nickname of "Chairman of the Boards" for his record breaking rebounding achievements.-Professional career:Davis was signed by then Adelaide... (1987) |
| NBL Grand Final MVPs: | Mark Davis Mark Davis (NBL) Mark Davis is a naturalised Australian former basketball player who played from 1985 to 2001 with the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers, gaining the nickname of "Chairman of the Boards" for his record breaking rebounding achievements.-Professional career:Davis was signed by then Adelaide... (1986), Kevin Brooks Kevin Brooks (basketball) Kevin Brooks is a retired American professional basketball player. He is a graduate of White Castle in White Castle in White Castle, Louisiana, USA and graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana.Brooks was drafted by the Milwaukee... (1998), Brett Maher Brett Maher Brett Steven Maher is a retired Australian basketball player who played for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL for his entire career, from 1992-2009.-Professional career:... (1999, 2001–02) |
| All-NBL First Team: | Dan Clausen (1984), Al Green (1985), Mark Davis Mark Davis (NBL) Mark Davis is a naturalised Australian former basketball player who played from 1985 to 2001 with the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers, gaining the nickname of "Chairman of the Boards" for his record breaking rebounding achievements.-Professional career:Davis was signed by then Adelaide... (1987–89, 1991), Robert Rose (1995), Kevin Brooks Kevin Brooks (basketball) Kevin Brooks is a retired American professional basketball player. He is a graduate of White Castle in White Castle in White Castle, Louisiana, USA and graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana.Brooks was drafted by the Milwaukee... (1999), Darnell Mee Darnell Mee LaFarrell Darnell Mee is an American-Australian basketball player and former NBA player. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 34th overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft.... (2001), Brett Maher Brett Maher Brett Steven Maher is a retired Australian basketball player who played for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL for his entire career, from 1992-2009.-Professional career:... (2000, 2003, 2006) |
| NBL Coach of the Year: | Ken Cole (1986) |
| NBL Rookie of the Year: | Mike McKay (1985), Chris Blakemore (1993), Aaron Bruce (2009) |
| NBL Most Improved Player: | Mark Bradtke Mark Bradtke Mark Robert Bradtke is a retired Australian professional basketball player who played mainly in Australia's National Basketball League but also had a single stint in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996-97... (1989), Scott Ninnis (1993), Chris Blakemore (1994) |
| NBL Best Defensive Player: | Darnell Mee Darnell Mee LaFarrell Darnell Mee is an American-Australian basketball player and former NBA player. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 34th overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft.... (1999, 2000, 2001) |
| NBL Best Sixth Man: | None |
Source: www.nbl.com.au
Adelaide 36ers NBL Championship banners
Season-by-Season
| Season | Results | Finals | Coach | Captain | Club MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 1982 NBL Season The 1982 National Basketball League was the fourth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested in the league from 6 states and 1 territory across Australia... |
7th (15-11) | - | Mike Osborne | Chris Stirling | not awarded |
| 1983 | 6th (11-11) | - | Mike Osborne | David Winslow | not awarded |
| 1984 | 3rd (16-7) | Elimination-Finalists | Mike Osborne | Dean Kinsman | not awarded |
| 1985 | 2nd (20-6) | Grand-Finalists | Ken Cole | Peter Ali | Mark Davis Mark Davis (NBL) Mark Davis is a naturalised Australian former basketball player who played from 1985 to 2001 with the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers, gaining the nickname of "Chairman of the Boards" for his record breaking rebounding achievements.-Professional career:Davis was signed by then Adelaide... |
| 1986 | 1st (24-2) | CHAMPIONS | Ken Cole | Bill Jones | Mark Davis** |
| 1987 | 1st (21-5) | Semi-Finalists | Gary Fox | Bill Jones | Mark Davis* |
| 1988 | 1st (19-5) | Semi-Finalists | Gary Fox | Darryl Pearce Peter Ali |
Mark Davis |
| 1989 | 6th (15-9) | Elimination-Finalists | Gary Fox | Darryl Pearce | Mark Davis |
| 1990 | 9th (11-15) | - | Don Shipway | Mark Davis | Mark Davis |
| 1991 | 4th (16-10) | Semi-Finalists | Don Shipway | Mark Davis | Mark Davis |
| 1992 | 9th (11-13) | - | Don Shipway | Mark Davis | Mark Davis |
| 1993 | 7th (14-12) | Quarter-Finalists | Don Monson | Mark Davis | Mark Davis |
| 1994 | 4th (18-8) | Grand-Finalists | Mike Dunlap | Mark Davis | Robert Rose |
| 1995 | 4th (17-9) | Semi-Finalists | Mike Dunlap | Mark Davis | Robert Rose |
| 1996 | 6th (16-10) | Semi-Finalists | Mike Dunlap | Mark Davis | Rick Brunson |
| 1997 | 7th (14-16) | - | Dave Claxton | Brett Maher Brett Maher Brett Steven Maher is a retired Australian basketball player who played for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL for his entire career, from 1992-2009.-Professional career:... |
Brett Maher |
| 1998 | 2nd (19-11) | CHAMPIONS | Phil Smyth Phil Smyth Philip John Smyth AM is an Australian former basketball player and former three time championship winning head coach of the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers.-Professional career:... |
Brett Maher | Brett Maher Darnell Mee Darnell Mee LaFarrell Darnell Mee is an American-Australian basketball player and former NBA player. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 34th overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft.... |
| 1998-99 | 1st (18-8) | CHAMPIONS | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Kevin Brooks Kevin Brooks (basketball) Kevin Brooks is a retired American professional basketball player. He is a graduate of White Castle in White Castle in White Castle, Louisiana, USA and graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana.Brooks was drafted by the Milwaukee... |
| 1999-00 | 1st (22-6) | Semi-Finalists | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Martin Cattalini Martin Cattalini Martin Peter Cattalini is a retired Australian professional basketball player who won championships with both the Perth Wildcats and the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL.... |
| 2000-01 | 6th (16-12) | Semi-Finalists | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Darnell Mee |
| 2001-02 | 3rd (17-13) | CHAMPIONS | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Brett Maher** |
| 2002-03 | 5th (16-14) | Elimination-Finalists | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Brett Maher |
| 2003-04 | 8th (14-19) | Elimination-Finalists | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Martin Cattalini |
| 2004-05 | 5th (19-13) | Quarter-Finalists | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Willie Farley Willie Farley Willie Deshon Farley is an American professional basketball player best known for playing as a member of the Adelaide 36ers in the Australian NBL. A shooting guard, he is 6'4" tall and weighs 92 kg... |
| 2005-06 | 4th (19-13) | Quarter-Finalists | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Brett Maher |
| 2006-07 | 11th (11-22) | - | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Brett Maher |
| 2007-08 | 9th (14-16) | - | Phil Smyth | Brett Maher | Adam Ballinger Adam Ballinger Adam Ballinger is a naturalised Australian professional basketball player, originally from the United States... |
| 2008-09 | 6th (15-15) | Elimination-Finalists | Scott Ninnis | Brett Maher | Adam Ballinger |
| 2009-10 2009–10 NBL season The 2009–10 National Basketball League was the thirty-second season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 8 teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 24 September 2009 and 14 February 2010, followed by a post-season involving the top four teams... |
8th (10-18) | - | Scott Ninnis | Adam Ballinger | Adam Ballinger |
| 2010-11 2010–11 NBL season The 2010–11 National Basketball League is the thirty-third season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 9 teams will contest the league. The regular season will be played between October 2010 and April 2011, followed by a post-season involving the top four. The schedule was... |
8th (9-19) | - | Marty Clarke Marty Clarke (basketball) Martin 'Marty' Clarke is an Australian former basketball player and the current head coach of the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers.... |
Adam Ballinger | Adam Ballinger |
| 2011-12 2011–12 NBL season The 2011–12 National Basketball League is the thirty-fourth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 9 teams will contest the league. The regular season will be played between October 2011 and March 2012, followed by a post-season involving the top four in April 2012. The... |
- | - | Marty Clarke | Adam Ballinger | - |
* Club and League MVP
** Club and League Grand Final MVP
Source: www.adelaide36ers.com
Depth Chart
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Bench | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Center (basketball) The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well... |
Daniel Johnson Daniel Johnson (basketball) Daniel Johnson is an Australian professional basketball player currently playing for the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League... |
Wade Helliwell | ||
| PF Power forward (basketball) Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low... |
Diamon Simpson | Adam Ballinger Adam Ballinger Adam Ballinger is a naturalised Australian professional basketball player, originally from the United States... |
Jan Warbout | |
| SF Small forward The small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall... |
Stephen Weigh | Mitch Creek Mitch Creek Mitchell Creek is an Australian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League... |
||
| SG Shooting guard The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team... |
Nathan Crosswell Nathan Crosswell Nathan Crosswell is a professional Australian basketball player.-Professional career:Crosswell debuted in the NBL in 1999 with the Melbourne Tigers. He then moved on to the Victoria Titans in 2002, and the Cairns Taipans in 2005 before returning to the Tigers in 2007... |
Nathan Herbert Nathan Herbert Nathan Herbert is an Australian professional basketball player currently playing for the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League... |
Matthew Lycett | |
| PG Point guard Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that... |
Chris Warren | Darren Ng Darren Ng Darren Ng is a Chinese-Australian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL.... |
Tom Daly Tom Daly (basketball) Tom Daly is an Australian professional basketball player currently playing for the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League... |
Retired numbers
- 5 Brett MaherBrett MaherBrett Steven Maher is a retired Australian basketball player who played for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL for his entire career, from 1992-2009.-Professional career:...
- 33 Mark DavisMark Davis (NBL)Mark Davis is a naturalised Australian former basketball player who played from 1985 to 2001 with the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers, gaining the nickname of "Chairman of the Boards" for his record breaking rebounding achievements.-Professional career:Davis was signed by then Adelaide...
The 36ers currently only have two retired numbers. The are the #5 which belonged to games record holder Brett Maher and the other is #33 which was worn by Mark Davis throughout his NBL/36ers career. Previously the #4 of Darryl Pearce, who holds the record for most points in a single game as a 36er when he scored 48 against the Newcastle Falcons in 1988 and the #15 of star import guard Al Green who played 136 games for the club between 1985 and 1990 hung high at The Dome in Adelaide but were removed by the team owners. There is gathering support amongst local fans to have both Pearce and Green's numbers re-retired by the 36ers. Green, who holds the NBL's single game scoring record with 71 and Pearce, an Olympian while with the 36ers, were the starting PG and SG on the 36ers 1986 NBL premiership team.
Famous players and fans
The 36ers have had many famous players in their history with Australian BoomersAustralia national basketball team
The Australian national basketball team is the men's basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known in Australia as the Boomers, an Australian slang term for Kangaroo. Australia is ranked 9th in the world and finished 7th at the 2008 Beijing Olympic...
and/or Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
representatives. Peter Ali, Darryl Pearce, Mark Bradtke, Mark Davis, Mike McKay, Brett Maher, Brett Wheeler
Brett Wheeler
Brett Wheeler, , is a former professional basketball player in the NBL.The 6'10" tall Centre began his NBL career with the Adelaide 36ers in 1991. He stayed with the 36ers until moving to the South East Melbourne Magic in 1998...
and Phil Smyth all having played for the club along with former NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
players Luke Schenscher, Kevin Brooks, Jo Jo English
Jo Jo English
Stephen "Jo Jo" English is a professional basketball player who starred at the University of South Carolina in the early 1990s and later played parts of three seasons for the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls.A 6'4" guard, English is perhaps best remembered for being involved in a...
, Rick Brunson
Rick Brunson
Eric Daniel Brunson , is a retired American professional basketball player, who is currently an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls.-Professional playing career:...
, Darnell Mee, Robert Rose and Julius Hodge
Julius Hodge
Julius Melvin Hodge is an American professional basketball player.Hodge was selected 20th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets. He played four years at North Carolina State University...
. Bradtke and Schenscher have played both for the Boomers and in the NBA.
Famous fans include television presenter Grant Denyer
Grant Denyer
Grant Denyer is an Australian television reporter, personality and motor racing driver.-Television career:In 1997, Denyer began his career in the media, he gained a position at Prime Television in Wagga Wagga as a news reporter and journalist...
and former World Number 1 Tennis Player, Adelaide born Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
.