The following is a collection of trivialities regarding the teams and players on rosters at the start of the 2025–26 NBL season. I believe that this will one of the most even seasons in recent league history with a fantastic diversity of talent across the teams. I hence thought that this would be an appropriate time to write a list of various frivolities. Only players on the main roster are considered so no development players, nominated replacement players or Next Stars have been included.

1. Teams
   1. Teams by number of league most valuable players
   2. Teams by number of league finals most valuable players
   3. Teams by number of league best defensive players
   4. Teams by number of league best sixth man players
   5. Teams by number of league most improved players
   6. Teams coached by a league coach of the year
   7. Teams by players that have NBA experience
   8. Teams by number of rookies on main roster
2. Players
   1. Shortest players
   2. Tallest players
   3. Players by NBA appearances
   4. Imports by NBL experience
   5. Incoming imports by last league played
   6. Players with active podcasts

Teams

Teams by number of league most valuable players

There are only three active league most valuable players still around and they are spread across three teams: Bryce Cotton of the Adelaide 36ers, Jaylen Adams of the Brisbane Bullets and Xavier Cooks of the Sydney Kings.

1. 1 MVP: Adelaide 36ers (B. Cotton) / Brisbane Bullets (J. Adams) / Sydney Kings (X. Cooks)
2. 0 MVPs: Cairns Taipans / Illawarra Hawks / Melbourne United / New Zealand Breakers / Perth Wildcats / South East Melbourne Phoenix / Tasmania JackJumpers

Teams by number of league finals most valuable players

The Sydney Kings’ addition of Matthew Dellavedova to play alongside Cooks means that they have the most finals most valuable players in the league with two. The Adelaide 36ers have Cotton, the Cairns Taipans have Jack McVeigh and Melbourne United have Chris Goulding.

1. 2 Finals MVPs: Sydney Kings (X. Cooks, M. Dellavedova)
2. 1 Finals MVP: Adelaide 36ers (B. Cotton) / Cairns Taipans (J. McVeigh) / Melbourne United (C. Goulding)
3. 0 Finals MVPs: Brisbane Bullets / Illawarra Hawks / New Zealand Breakers / South East Melbourne Phoenix / Tasmania JackJumpers

Teams by number of league best defensive players

The only active league best defensive player is Shea Ili which means that Melbourne United have the sole claim of having the most best defensive players on their roster. The other recent winners of the award are either imports or retired locals.

1. 1 Best Defensive Player: Melbourne United (S. Ili)
2. 0 Best Defensive Players: Adelaide 36ers / Brisbane Bullets / Cairns Taipans / Illawarra Hawks / New Zealand Breakers / Perth Wildcats / South East Melbourne Phoenix / Sydney Kings / Tasmania JackJumpers

Teams by number of league best sixth man players

The Perth Wildcats have two of the league’s best sixth men on their roster: likely starter Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and likely effective assistant coach Jesse Wagstaff. Three teams have one former top reserve on their rosters: Ili of Melbourne United, Reuben Te Rangi of the New Zealand Breakers and Kouat Noi of the Sydney Kings.

1. 2 Best Sixth Men: Perth Wildcats (J. Lual-Acuil Jr., J. Wagstaff)
2. 1 Best Sixth Man: Melbourne United (S. Ili) / New Zealand Breakers (R. Te Rangi) / Sydney Kings (K. Noi)
3. 0 Best Sixth Men: Adelaide 36ers / Brisbane Bullets / Cairns Taipans / Illawarra Hawks / South East Melbourne Phoenix / Tasmania JackJumpers

Teams by number of league most improved players

I was surprised while writing this to see how many of the recent league most improved players stick around; Keanu Pinder (playing in Japan) and Clint Steindl (retired) are the only two recipients of the award who are not still active. The title for this accomplishment is shared by the Illawarra Hawks with Todd Blanchfield and Sam Froling, and the Tasmania JackJumpers with Sean Macdonald and Will Magnay. Other active players are Tyrell Harrison of the Brisbane Bullets, Ili of Melbourne United, Te Rangi of New Zealand Breakers and Nathan Sobey of the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

1. 2 Most Improved Players: Illawarra Hawks (T. Blanchfield, S. Froling) / Tasmania JackJumpers (S. Macdonald, W. Magnay)
2. 1 Most Improved Player: Brisbane Bullets (T. Harrison) / Melbourne United (S. Ili) / New Zealand Breakers (R. Te Rangi) / South East Melbourne Phoenix (N. Sobey)
3. 0 Most Improved Players: Adelaide 36ers / Cairns Taipans / Perth Wildcats / Sydney Kings

Teams coached by a league coach of the year

Half of the teams in the league are coached by a head coach who was once awarded as coach of the year: six-time winner Brian Goorjian of the Sydney Kings, three-time winner Dean Vickerman of Melbourne United, and one-time winners Adam Forde of the Cairns Taipans, Justin Tatum of the Illawarra Hawks and Scott Roth of the Tasmania JackJumpers.

1. Yes: Cairns Taipans (A. Forde) / Illawarra Hawks (J. Tatum) / Melbourne United (D. Vickerman) / Sydney Kings (B. Goorjian) / Tasmania JackJumpers (S. Roth)
2. No: Adelaide 36ers / Brisbane Bullets / New Zealand Breakers / Perth Wildcats / South East Melbourne Phoenix

Teams by players that have NBA experience

Top spot is tied up by two teams who made an array of star-studded signings: the Adelaide 36ers and Brisbane Bullets. The Bullets have fluctuated throughout the season but now sit firmly with four: Alex Ducas, Javon Freeman-Liberty, Dakota Mathias and Terry Taylor. The 36ers had three throughout the season with Cotton, Zylan Cheatham and Isaac Humphries until they added a fourth in Troy Brown Jr. midseason. All eight other teams have at least one former NBA player on their roster.

1. 4 players: Adelaide 36ers (T. Brown, B. Cotton, Z. Cheatham, I. Humphries) / Brisbane Bullets (A. Ducas, J. Freeman-Liberty, D. Mathias, T. Taylor)
2. 2 players: Cairns Taipans (J. McVeigh, A. Schofield) / Illawarra Hawks (J. Bolden, J. McGee) / Melbourne United (M. Doyle, J. Edwards) / Perth Wildcats (D. Duke, D. Windler) / Sydney Kings (X. Cooks, M. Dellavedova) / Tasmania JackJumpers (D. Johnson, W. Magnay)
3. 1 player: New Zealand Breakers (I. Brockington), South East Melbourne Phoenix (W. Iwundu)

Teams by number of rookies on main roster

The Cairns Taipans are known for the ability to develop talent and their reputation continues by having the most rookies on their main roster: two in Reyne Smith and Mawot Mag. The only three other rookies who are on full contracts are Jacob Holt of the Brisbane Bullets, Daniel Foster of the South East Melbourne Phoenix and Kobe Williamson of the Tasmania JackJumpers. My definition of rookies are players who have never played in an NBL game; there are development players who have been elevated to the main roster after making appearances who would fit a different definition.

1. 2 rookies: Cairns Taipans (M. Mag, R. Smith)
2. 1 rookie: Brisbane Bullets (J. Holt) / South East Melbourne Phoenix (D. Foster) / Tasmania JackJumpers (K. Williamson)
3. 0 rookies: Adelaide 36ers / Illawarra Hawks / Melbourne United / Perth Wildcats / Sydney Kings

Players

Shortest players

The competition for shortest player in the league was open after the departure of perennial titleholder, 5’6″ Jordon Crawford, from the Tasmania JackJumpers. The title is now shared by three players who still stand two inches above the national Australian average for men: 5’11” import guards Tyger Campbell of the Tasmania JackJumpers, Kendric Davis of the Sydney Kings and Parker Jackson-Cartwright of the New Zealand Breakers.

1. Tyger Campbell (Tasmania JackJumpers) / Kendric Davis (Sydney Kings) / Parker Jackson-Cartwright (New Zealand Breakers) – 1.80m / 5’11”

Tallest players

The parting of the New Zealand Breakers and 7’6″ Tacko Fall — one of the tallest people to ever live — meant that there was a chance for the other tall players in the league to hold the record. It is ultimately a title shared by five 7’0″ players: Jesse Edwards of Melbourne United, Sam Froling and McGee of the Illawarra Hawks, Harrison of the Brisbane Bullets and Lual-Acuil Jr. of the Perth Wildcats.

1. Jesse Edwards (Melbourne United) / Sam Froling (Illawarra Hawks) / Tyrell Harrison (Brisbane Bullets) / Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (Perth Wildcats) / JaVale McGee (Illawarra Hawks) – 2.13m / 7’0″

Players by NBA appearances

The Illawarra Hawks added a wealth of NBA experience by signing McGee this offseason. His 909 NBA games are the second-most in NBL history — only after the 981 games played by Al Harrington. He is followed by the 479 games of Sydney Kings player Dellavedova, the 356 games of Adelaide’s Troy Brown Jr. and 226 games from Wes Iwundu of the South East Melbourne Phoenix. New Cairns Taipans recruit Admiral Schofield ranks fifth with 131 games and Dylan Windler just scrapes over the triple-figure games mark with 101. Other new additions to the league with NBA appearances are Freeman-Liberty, Ducas and Taylor of the Brisbane Bullets, McLaughlin of the Illawarra Hawks, Edwards of Melbourne United, Mason Jones of the Perth Wildcats, David Johnson of the Tasmania JackJumpers and Izaiah Brockington of the New Zealand Breakers. McVeigh of the Cairns Taipans returns to the league after making 9 NBA appearances last season.

1. JaVale McGee (Illawarra Hawks) – 909 games
2. Matthew Dellavedova (Sydney Kings) – 479 games
3. Troy Brown Jr. (Adelaide 36ers) – 356 games
4. Wes Iwundu (South East Melbourne Phoenix) – 226 games
5. Admiral Schofield (Cairns Taipans) – 131 games
6. Dylan Windler (Perth Wildcats) – 101 games
7. Terry Taylor (Brisbane Bullets) – 98 games
8. David Duke Jr. (Perth Wildcats) – 55 games
9. Jonah Bolden (Illawarra Hawks) / Mason Jones (Perth Wildcats) – 51 games
10. Jaylen Adams (Brisbane Bullets) – 41 games
11. Bryce Cotton (Adelaide 36ers) – 23 games
12. Javon Freeman-Liberty (Brisbane Bullets) – 22 games
13. Alex Ducas (Brisbane Bullets) – 21 games
14. Dakota Mathias (Brisbane Bullets) – 14 games
15. Xavier Cooks (Sydney Kings) / Milton Doyle (Melbourne United) – 10 games
16. Jack McVeigh (Cairns Taipans) – 9 games
17. Zylan Cheatham (Adelaide 36ers) / Isaac Humphries (Adelaide 36ers) – 5 games
18. JaQuori McLaughlin (Illawarra Hawks) – 4 games
19. Jesse Edwards (Melbourne United) / David Johnson (Tasmania JackJumpers) – 2 games
20. Izaiah Brockington (New Zealand Breakers) / Will Magnay (Tasmania JackJumpers) – 1 game

Imports by NBL experience

An oft-repeated concept is that players need time to adjust to their presence in a new league. No group of players experience this greater than the imports who are brought in with the expectation of being able to immediately contribute and face greater repercussions if they fail to assimilate. Of the two players to be cut mid-season during NBL25, the only import was Craig Sword who was in his first season with the Tasmania JackJumpers. There are few greater assets than familiarity and you will find a common theme amongst players with more than 2 seasons of NBL experience: excellence! Five-time MVP Cotton leads the group with 9 seasons, two-time All-NBL Casey Prather is second with 6 seasons and two-time All-NBL Tyler Harvey is third with 5 seasons. Other players with more than 1 season are Adams, Kristian Doolittle, Milton Doyle, Jackson-Cartwright and Marcus Lee. All three Adelaide 36ers imports have NBL experience while the South East Melbourne Phoenix and Tasmania JackJumpers each have three imports who are making their first appearances in the NBL this season.

1. 9 seasons: Bryce Cotton (Adelaide 36ers)
2. 6 seasons: Casey Prather (Brisbane Bullets)
3. 5 seasons: Tyler Harvey (Illawarra Hawks)
4. 3 seasons: Jaylen Adams (Brisbane Bullets), Milton Doyle (Melbourne United), Marcus Lee (Cairns Taipans)
5. 2 seasons: Kristian Doolittle (Perth Wildcats), Parker Jackson-Cartwright (New Zealand Breakers)
6. 1 season: Zylan Cheatham (Adelaide 36ers), Kendric Davis (Sydney Kings), Tim Soares (Sydney Kings), Dylan Windler (Perth Wildcats)
7. 0 seasons: Andrew Andrews (Cairns Taipans), Rob Baker (New Zealand Breakers), Izaiah Brockington (New Zealand Breakers), John Brown (South East Melbourne Phoenix), Troy Brown Jr. (Adelaide 36ers), Tyger Campbell (Tasmania JackJumpers), David Duke Jr. (Perth Wildcats), Jesse Edwards (Melbourne United), Javon Freeman-Liberty (Brisbane Bullets), Bryce Hamilton (Tasmania JackJumpers), Wes Iwundu (South East Melbourne Phoenix), David Johnson (Tasmania JackJumpers), Mason Jones (Perth Wildcats), Hunter Maldonado (South East Melbourne Phoenix), Dakota Mathias (Brisbane Bullets), JaVale McGee (Illawarra Hawks), JaQuori McLaughlin (Illawarra Hawks), Quentin Peterson (Illawarra Hawks), Admiral Schofield (Cairns Taipans), TJ Starks (Tasmania JackJumpers), Terry Taylor (Brisbane Bullets), Tyson Walker (Melbourne United)

Incoming imports by last league played

Scouting efforts went worldwide to find the new crop of import talent. Omitted are players who spent last season in Australia and then went overseas in the offseason. Leading the way with four players is the Basketball Bundesliga of Germany: Rob Baker of the Breakers, Hunter Maldonado of the Phoenix, and JackJumpers teammates Campbell and Bryce Hamilton have been sourced from there. There are two players coming off of NBA contracts: Jones of the Wildcats and Edwards of United. The two players poached from Japan, Cheatham and Tim Soares, have both previously played in the NBL. The most isolated place last played has to go to McLaughlin of the Illawarra Hawks; if not for Tatum’s affiliation on the same team, he would likely never have been located in Indonesia.

1. B.League (Japan): Zylan Cheatham (Adelaide 36ers), Tim Soares (Sydney Kings)
2. Baloncesto Superior Nacional (Puerto Rico): Troy Brown Jr. (Adelaide 36ers), JaVale McGee (Illawarra Hawks)
3. Basketball Bundesliga (Germany): Rob Baker (New Zealand Breakers), Tyger Campbell (Tasmania JackJumpers), Bryce Hamilton (Tasmania JackJumpers), Hunter Maldonado (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
4. Basketball League of Serbia (Serbia): John Brown (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
5. Canadian Elite Basketball League (Canada): Izaiah Brockington (New Zealand Breakers)
6. Chinese Basketball Association (China): Quentin Peterson (Illawarra Hawks)
7. Greek Basketball League (Greece): Wes Iwundu (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
8. Indonesian Basketball League (Indonesia): JaQuori McLaughlin (Illawarra Hawks)
9. Kazakhstan Basketball Championship (Kazakhstan): TJ Starks (Tasmania JackJumpers)
10. Lithuanian Basketball League (Lithuania): Andrew Andrews (Cairns Taipans)
11. LNB Élite (France): Admiral Schofield (Cairns Taipans)
12. National Basketball Association (United States): David Duke Jr. (Perth Wildcats), Jesse Edwards (Melbourne United), Mason Jones (Perth Wildcats)
13. NBA G League (United States): Javon Freeman-Liberty (Brisbane Bullets), David Johnson (Tasmania JackJumpers), Dakota Mathias (Brisbane Bullets), Terry Taylor (Brisbane Bullets), Tyson Walker (Melbourne United)

Players with active podcasts

A truly dark era for independent player broadcasting with seemingly only two players in the entire league actively producing a podcast: ironically, they are both teammates on the Adelaide 36ers. The face of the league, Cotton, is one of the voices of the league; he hosts The EasyDay Show alongside his friend and former NBL player Devondrick Walker. Dejan Vasiljevic is the host of a new radio program, Straight Shooter, on SEN Radio which is being published and billed as a podcast. McVeigh hosted his own podcast, Shooters!, from 2022 to 2024 yet it remains to be seen if he returns to the format. All players mentioned now have Adelaide connections; maybe it really is the city of podcasters. One of the strengths of the NBA is the amount of players actively producing their independent podcast content; the NBL still has much progress to make.

1. Bryce Cotton (The EasyDay Show)
2. Dejan Vasiljevic (Straight Shooter)