Bankstown Bruins is a NBL1 East club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club fields a team in the Men's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Bankstown Basketball Association (BBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Bruins play their home games at Bankstown Basketball Stadium.

Bankstown Bruins
Bankstown Bruins logo
LeaguesNBL1 East
Founded1979
HistoryNBL:
Bankstown Bruins
1979–1985
West Sydney Westars
1986–1987
Waratah League / NBL1 East:
Bankstown Bruins
1991–present
ArenaBankstown Basketball Stadium
Capacity2,500
LocationSydney, New South Wales
Team colorsNavy blue & white
   
CEOChristian Gobolos
Championships4 (1993, 1996, 1997, 2016) (M)
10 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2015) (W)
WebsiteBruinsBasketball.com.au

Club history

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Background

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In 1979, a Bankstown Bruins men's team entered the National Basketball League (NBL) for the league's inaugural season. In 1983, Robbie Cadee was named the recipient of the NBL Coach of the Year Award after helping the Bruins improve from a 2–24 record in 1982 to a 12–10 record in 1983. The team was renamed the West Sydney Westars for the 1986 NBL season. That year, the Westars finished in fifth place with a 15–12 record. Following the 1987 season, the Westars merged with the Sydney Supersonics to become the Sydney Kings.[1]

Waratah League / NBL1 East

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The Bankstown Bruins re-emerged in the early 1990s with the introduction of the Waratah League. In 1993, the men won their first title, before winning two more in 1996 and 1997. The women won a three-peat of championships between 1997 and 1999.[2] Success continued for the club throughout the 2000s and 2010s, with the women winning seven championships between 2003 and 2015,[2] while the men collected their fourth title in 2016.[3]

The Waratah League was rebranded as NBL1 East for the 2022 season.[4] The women's team did not enter the 2022 NBL1 East season.[5] They returned for the 2023 NBL1 East season.[6]

Season by season

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NBL champions League champions Runners-up Finals berth
Season Tier League Regular season Post-season Head coach
Finish Played Wins Losses Win %
Bankstown Bruins
1979 1 NBL 9th 18 3 15 .167 Did not qualify Shaun O'Connell
1980 1 NBL 12th 22 3 19 .136 Did not qualify Steve Fairnham
Shaun O'Connell
1981 1 NBL 11th 22 7 15 .318 Did not qualify Steve Fairnham
1982 1 NBL 14th 26 2 24 .077 Did not qualify Robbie Cadee
1983 1 NBL 5th 22 12 10 .545 Did not qualify Robbie Cadee
1984 1 NBL 7th 24 10 14 .417 Did not qualify Robbie Cadee
1985 1 NBL 12th 26 6 20 .231 Did not qualify Robbie Cadee
Claude William
West Sydney Westars
1986 1 NBL 4th 26 15 11 .577 Lost elimination final (Illawarra) 86–105 Robbie Cadee
1987 1 NBL 11th 26 8 18 .308 Did not qualify Mike Osbourne
Regular season record 212 66 146 .311 0 regular season champions
Finals record 1 0 1 .000 0 NBL championships

As of the end of the 1987 season

*Note: In 1983 and 1984, the NBL was split into Eastern and Western divisions during the regular season.

Source: West Sydney Westars Year by Year

References

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  1. ^ The NBL's defunct franchises: Sydney Astronauts, Launceston Casino City, Singapore Slingers, and more
  2. ^ a b History – Waratah Basketball League
  3. ^ 2016 MOLTEN WARATAH LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
  4. ^ "NBL1 East teams unveiled". NBL1.com.au. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  5. ^ "A difficult decision has been made to withdraw the Women's NBL1 team for the 2022 season..." facebook.com/bankstown.bruins. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Bankstown announce NBL1 women's team". NBL1.com.au. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
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