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Women's National Basketball League facts for kids

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Women's National Basketball League (WNBL)
Women's National Basketball League (2025).png
WNBL Logo since 2025
Formerly Women's Interstate Basketball Conference (WIBC) (1981)
Sport Basketball
Founded 1981
Inaugural season 1981
CEO Jennie Sager (from April 2025)
Commissioner Christy Collier-Hill
No. of teams 8
Country Australia
Continent FIBA Oceania (Oceania)
Most recent
champion(s)
Bendigo Spirit
(3rd title)
Most titles Canberra Capitals
(9 titles)
TV partner(s) ESPN
Streaming partner(s) 9Now
Sponsor(s) Cygnett
Level on pyramid 1
Related
competitions
Women's Basketball Conference
Official website wnbl.com.au/

The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional basketball league for women in Australia. It has eight teams and is the top women's basketball league in the country. The WNBL started in 1981. It is like the women's version of the National Basketball League (NBL) for men.

History of the WNBL

How the WNBL Started

In August 1980, a basketball coach named Ted Powell had an idea. He wanted to create a competition where top teams from different states could play each other. He met with other coaches, and they decided to invite teams from Victoria and South Australia.

Six teams agreed to form a new league. They met in Sydney and planned a two-round competition for July and August 1981. The main goal was to give the best players more chances to play against each other. This would help improve women's basketball in Australia.

Money was a big concern, so they planned the games to save costs. Teams would play three games on one weekend. Two teams from New South Wales, Bankstown and Sutherland, joined later. They paid their own travel costs to be part of the league.

The league was first called the Women's Interstate Basketball Conference (WIBC). Each team paid $25 to join. The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) also joined, making it nine teams in the first season. The very first game was played on June 19, 1981, between AIS and West Adelaide.

Early Years: 1981–1985

The first champion was St. Kilda, who beat North Adelaide Rockets 77–58. St. Kilda was a very strong team at the time. Their player, Karen Ogden, won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 1982 and 1983.

In 1982, the league grew to include a team from Brisbane. The competition also changed its name to the Women's Basketball League. St. Kilda won the championship again.

By 1983, the Nunawading Spectres, led by Robyn Maher, became very strong. They won many titles over the next 12 years. More clubs joined, and a second league, the Women's Basketball Conference (WBC), was formed. This meant 20 women's teams were playing regularly, which greatly improved the game.

The league also started to get more attention. Sometimes, women's games were played before men's NBL games. This helped more people see how good women's basketball was.

Growing Bigger: 1986–1989

In 1986, a team from Perth joined the Women's Basketball Conference. This meant the women's leagues truly covered the whole country. The league was then renamed the National Women's Basketball League (WNBL).

The WNBL started playing a full home and away season in 1986. After the success of the Australian women's basketball team at the Seoul Olympics, the WNBL grew even more. Lyn Palmer became the first full-time general manager.

In 1989, the WNBL got its first major sponsor, Pony, a sports clothing company. The ABC TV channel also agreed to show the finals games. The league had 13 teams, showing how much it had grown.

Continued Growth in the 1990s

The WNBL kept growing in the 1990s. Australia was chosen to host the Women's World Championships in 1994. This made it even more important for women's basketball to be well-known. In 1993, WNBL teams agreed to help pay for games to be shown on ABC TV every week. This was a big step forward for the sport.

The Sydney Flames, coached by Carrie Graf, became very popular. They even started getting news coverage on the back pages of Sydney newspapers, which was a huge achievement.

Teams like Sydney, Melbourne Tigers, Adelaide Lightning, and Canberra were very strong in the 1990s. The AIS team won their first title in 1998–99, led by the amazing player Lauren Jackson. By the late 1990s, the WNBL was one of the most famous women's sports leagues in Australia and one of the top three women's basketball leagues in the world.

The 2000s and Beyond

ABC TV continued to show WNBL games, helping the league stay popular. The WNBL was stable with eight teams for many seasons. In 2006, two new teams joined for the 2007–08 season: Bendigo Spirit and Christchurch Sirens from New Zealand. The Logan Thunder joined in 2008–09.

Canberra Capitals vs Logan Thunder 1 - Australian Institute of Sport Training Hall
WNBL teams, the Logan Thunder (white) and the University of Canberra Capitals (blue), playing a game in 2012.

In February 2023, a game between the Southside Flyers and the Sydney Flames had a record crowd of 7,681 fans. This was the biggest crowd ever for a WNBL game.

New League Management

In June 2024, Basketball Australia sold the WNBL to a group that includes the National Basketball League (NBL). The NBL will start managing the WNBL from April 2025, after the 2024–25 WNBL season finishes.

In May 2025, the WNBL showed off a new logo and brand.

Current Clubs

Overview of WNBL teams
Club Location Arena Capacity Head Coach Titles Founded
Adelaide Lightning Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide 36ers Arena 8,000 Australia Natalie Hurst 5 1992; 33 years ago (1992)
Bendigo Spirit Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo Stadium 4,000 New Zealand Kennedy Kereama 2 2007; 18 years ago (2007)
Canberra Capitals Canberra, Australian Capital Territory AIS Arena 5,200 Australia Paul Goriss 9 1986; 39 years ago (1986)
Geelong Venom Geelong, Victoria Geelong Arena 2,000 Australia Chris Lucas 2 1984; 41 years ago (1984)
Perth Lynx Perth, Western Australia Bendat Basketball Centre
Perth High Performance Centre
2,000 (BBC)
4,500 (PHPC)
Australia Ryan Petrik 1 1988; 37 years ago (1988)
Southside Flyers Dandenong, Victoria State Basketball Centre 3,200 Australia Kristi Harrower 4 1992; 33 years ago (1992)
Sydney Flames Sydney, New South Wales Qudos Bank Arena 18,000 Australia Guy Molloy 4 1981; 44 years ago (1981)
Townsville Fire Townsville, Queensland Townsville Entertainment Centre 5,257 Australia Shannon Seebohm 4 2001; 24 years ago (2001)

Former Clubs

  • Adelaide City Comets – 1992
  • Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) – 1981 to 2011–12
  • Brisbane Blazers – 1982 to 1998
  • Christchurch Sirens – 2007–08
  • Coburg Cougars – 1983 to 1990
  • Geelong Cats – 1986
  • Hobart Islanders – 1986 to 1996
  • Logan Thunder – 2008–09 to 2013–14
  • Melbourne Telstars – 1981
  • Melbourne Tigers – 1989 to 2000–01
  • Noarlunga City Tigers – 1981 to 1991
  • North Adelaide Rockets – 1981 to 1991
  • Nunawading Spectres (Melbourne East Spectres) – 1982 to 1991
  • South East Queensland Stars – 2015–16
  • St. Kilda Saints – 1981 to 1985
  • Sutherland Sharks – 1981 to 1986
  • West Adelaide Bearcats – 1981 to 1992

Season Format

Regular Season Games

The WNBL regular season usually starts in October and ends in February. Teams play each other three times, making it 21 games for each team. This means there are 84 games in total during the regular season.

The top four teams then move on to the WNBL Finals, which usually happen in March. Before the season starts, teams have training camps. Coaches use these camps to get players ready and decide who will be on the team.

WNBL Finals and Champions

The four best teams from the regular season play in the finals. The teams that finished first and second get to play their first-round games at home. They play against the teams that finished fourth and third. These first-round games are a "best-of-three" series, meaning a team needs to win two games to move on.

The winners of these series then play in the Grand Final. The team with the better record gets to play at home. The team that wins two games in the Grand Final series is crowned the WNBL champion.

Over the years, many teams have won the WNBL championship. The Canberra Capitals have won the most titles, with nine championships. Other successful teams include the Adelaide Lightning, Nunawading Spectres, Sydney Flames, Townsville Fire, and Southside Flyers. The most recent champion is Bendigo Spirit, who won their third title in the 2024–25 season.

Players and Coaches

The WNBL has helped many Australian players become famous. These players have also played for the Australian national team, known as the Opals. Some of these amazing players include Robyn Maher, Michele Timms, Rachael Sporn, Lauren Jackson, and Penny Taylor. They were key players for their clubs and for Australia.

Player Milestones

Here are some cool facts about WNBL players:

Milestone Player Team Date Information
Most career points Rachael Sporn Adelaide 1993–2004 5,823 points
Most career rebounds Rachael Sporn Adelaide 1993–2004 3,229 rebounds
Most career assists Kristen Veal AIS, Canberra, Sydney, Logan, Melbourne 1997–2016 1,617 assists
Most career blocks Jenny Whittle AIS, Brisbane, Perth, Bulleen, Canberra, Adelaide 1989–2009 672 blocks
Most career steals Tully Bevilaqua Perth, Canberra 1991–2011 722 steals
Most career three-points made Belinda Snell AIS, Sydney, Bendigo 1998–2019 605 three-points made
Most career games played Kelly Wilson AIS, Sydney, Townsville, Bendigo, Canberra 2002–present 395 games played

WNBL Awards

The WNBL gives out several awards each season to recognize great players and coaches:

  • The Most Valuable Player Award goes to the best player in the league for that season.
  • The Grand Final Most Valuable Player Award is for the best player in the finals.
  • The Rookie of the Year Award is given to the best first-year player.
  • The Defensive Player of the Year Award goes to the league's top defender.
  • The Top Shooter of the Year Award is for the player who scores the most points per game.
  • The Coach of the Year Award is for the coach who made the biggest positive difference to their team.
  • The All-Star Five is a team of the five best players from the season.

Recent Award Winners (2023–24)

Award Winner Position Team
Most Valuable Player Jordin Canada Guard Melbourne Boomers
Grand Final MVP Mercedes Russell Center Southside Flyers
Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Nicholson Guard Sydney Flames
Sixth Woman of the Year Leilani Mitchell Guard Southside Flyers
Breakout Player of the Year Alex Sharp Guard Canberra Capitals
Coach of the Year Shannon Seebohm Coach Townsville Fire
Leading Scorer Award Aari McDonald Guard Perth Lynx
Leading Rebounder Award Brianna Turner Forward Adelaide Lightning
Golden Hands Award Jordin Canada Guard Melbourne Boomers
Cygnett Community Award Courtney Woods Guard Townsville Fire
All-WNBL First Team Jordin Canada Guard Melbourne Boomers
Jade Melbourne Guard Canberra Capitals
Lauren Nicholson Guard Sydney Flames
Isobel Borlase Forward Adelaide Lightning
Mercedes Russell Center Southside Flyers
All-WNBL Second Team Aari McDonald Guard Perth Lynx
Sami Whitcomb Guard Townsville Fire
Amy Atwell Guard Perth Lynx
DiDi Richards Forward Sydney Flames
Naz Hillmon Forward Melbourne Boomers

International Players

The WNBL is a great place for Australian players to get noticed by teams in Europe and the WNBA in the United States. Many WNBA players also come to play in the WNBL during their off-season. This is because the WNBA plays in the Northern Hemisphere summer, which is winter in Australia.

Many international players have played in the WNBL, including:

  • Canada Chelsea Aubry, Canada
  • United States Alana Beard, United States
  • New Zealand Micaela Cocks, New Zealand
  • United States Shanavia Dowdell, United States
  • France Olivia Époupa, France
  • New Zealand Antonia Farnworth, United States
  • Canada Ruth Hamblin, Canada
  • United States Laurie Koehn, United States
  • United States Betnijah Laney, United States
  • United Kingdom Jo Leedham, Great Britain
  • New Zealand Angela Marino, New Zealand
  • Canada Kia Nurse, Canada
  • Canada Krista Phillips, Canada
  • United States Cappie Pondexter, United States
  • China Qiu Chen, China
  • Belgium Julie Vanloo, Belgium
  • Sweden Amanda Zahui B., Sweden

Television Coverage

The ABC TV channel showed WNBL games from the very first season in 1981 until the 2014–15 season. After two seasons without TV coverage, Fox Sports started showing the games for the 2017–18 season.

For the 2020 season, games were shown on ABC, Fox Sports, and Kayo. Since the 2022–23 season, ESPN Australia has been showing the games, and 9Now streams every game online.

See also

  • Australian Basketball Association
  • Basketball Australia
  • Basketball in Australia
  • National Basketball League
  • Women's Basketball Conference
  • Timeline of women's basketball

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