# 2023–24 Cairns Taipans season

The 2023–24 Cairns Taipans season was the 25th season of the franchise in the National Basketball League (NBL).

## Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Development |
| PG | Taran Armstrong | Patrick Miller | Alex Mudronja |
| SG | Tahjere McCall | Jonah Antonio | Kian Dennis |
| SF | Bul Kuol | Lat Mayen | Lachlan Anderson |
| PF | Sam Waardenburg | Bobi Klintman | |
| C | Sam Mennenga | Josh Roberts | Akoldah Gak |

## Standings
### Ladder

| Pos | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte | 2023–24 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Melbourne United | 28 | 20 | 8 | 71.43% | 3–2 | W1 | 11–3 | 9–5 | 2615 | 2454 | 106.56% |
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 28 | 17 | 11 | 60.71% | 2–3 | L2 | 10–4 | 7–7 | 2630 | 2563 | 102.61% |
| 3 | Tasmania JackJumpers | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 4–1 | W4 | 8–6 | 8–6 | 2564 | 2378 | 107.82% |
| 4 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 14 | 14 | 50.00% | 3–2 | L1 | 8–6 | 6–8 | 2547 | 2518 | 101.15% |
| 5 | Sydney Kings | 28 | 13 | 15 | 46.43% | 2–3 | W1 | 7–7 | 6–8 | 2672 | 2602 | 102.69% |
| 6 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 13 | 15 | 46.43% | 3–2 | L1 | 8–6 | 5–9 | 2498 | 2480 | 100.73% |
| 7 | Brisbane Bullets | 28 | 13 | 15 | 46.43% | 2–3 | L1 | 8–6 | 5–9 | 2458 | 2534 | 97.00% |
| 8 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 1–4 | W1 | 7–7 | 5–9 | 2506 | 2589 | 96.79% |
| 9 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 3–2 | W1 | 9–5 | 3–11 | 2457 | 2563 | 95.86% |
| 10 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 28 | 10 | 18 | 35.71% | 1–4 | L4 | 7–7 | 3–11 | 2425 | 2691 | 90.12% |
Updated to match(es) played on 18 February 2024. Source: NBL.com.au
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win–loss record, the overall points percentage will determine order of seeding.

### Ladder progression

* Leader and qualification to semifinals
* Qualification to semifinals
* Qualification to play-in games
* Last place
2023–24 NBL season :
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Adelaide 36ers | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
| Cairns Taipans | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Melbourne United | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Perth Wildcats | 6 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 5 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Sydney Kings | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

## Game log
### Pre-season

2023 NBL Blitz game log Total: 1–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–1) :
September: 1–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
17 September
Perth
L 95–102
Lat Mayen (17)
Taran Armstrong (8)
Taran Armstrong (7)
Gold Coast Convention Centre n/a
0–1
2
20 September
S.E. Melbourne
W 100–95
Patrick Miller (21)
Akoldah Gak (7)
Taran Armstrong (5)
Gold Coast Convention Centre n/a
1–1
3
22 September
@ Illawarra
L 108–90
Akoldah Gak (21)
Lat Mayen (9)
Taran Armstrong (7)
Gold Coast Convention Centre n/a
1–2 :

### NBLxNBA games

2023 pre-season game log Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–2) :
October: 0–2 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
10 October
@ Washington
L 82–145
Akoldah Gak (17)
Josh Roberts (10)
Taran Armstrong (8)
Capital One Arena 6,856
0–1
2
15 October
@ Toronto
L 93–134
Patrick Miller (22)
Josh Roberts (9)
Elfrid Payton (7)
Scotiabank Arena 18,141
0–2 :

### Regular season

2023–24 game log Total: 12–16 (Home: 7–7; Road: 5–9) :
September: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
30 September
@ New Zealand
L 98–87
Sam Mennenga (17)
Lat Mayen (6)
Patrick Miller (6)
Spark Arena 6,400
0–1 :
October: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
2
5 October
S.E. Melbourne
W 87–80
Patrick Miller (23)
Sam Waardenburg (14)
Patrick Miller (8)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,906
1–1
3
7 October
@ Brisbane
W 86–89
Patrick Miller (21)
Sam Waardenburg (7)
Kuol, Miller (5)
Nissan Arena 4,023
2–1
4
26 October
@ Illawarra
L 84–83
Patrick Miller (24)
Bobi Klintman (7)
Patrick Miller (7)
Wollongong Entertainment Centre 1,923
2–2
5
28 October
Sydney
W 87–80
Bul Kuol (24)
Bobi Klintman (8)
three players (3)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,587
3–2 :
November: 1–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
6
3 November
@ New Zealand
L 91–81
Kuol, Mayen (18)
Mayen, Mennenga (7)
Mayen, Waardenburg (5)
Christchurch Arena 4,909
3–3
7
5 November
@ S.E. Melbourne
L 91–78
three players (12)
Tahjere McCall (10)
Bul Kuol (4)
John Cain Arena 7,511
3–4
8
11 November
Illawarra
W 81–71
Bul Kuol (19)
Gak, Mayen (8)
Taran Armstrong (4)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,614
4–4
9
16 November
@ Perth
L 88–80
Tahjere McCall (19)
Taran Armstrong (6)
Patrick Miller (6)
Perth Arena 9,976
4–5
10
18 November
Tasmania
L 87–90 (OT)
Patrick Miller (26)
Taran Armstrong (7)
three players (4)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,194
4–6 :
December: 5–5 (Home: 2–4; Road: 3–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
11
1 December
Brisbane
L 79–84
Tahjere McCall (29)
Bul Kuol (6)
Patrick Miller (7)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,007
4–7
12
3 December
@ Melbourne
W 103–115
Patrick Miller (32)
Josh Roberts (5)
Patrick Miller (10)
John Cain Arena 9,384
5–7
13
7 December
Sydney
L 83–86
Patrick Miller (22)
Tahjere McCall (6)
Patrick Miller (7)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,126
5–8
14
9 December
@ Adelaide
W 101–116
Patrick Miller (26)
Sam Waardenburg (9)
Tahjere McCall (15)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 8,954
6–8
15
15 December
New Zealand
L 82–111
Taran Armstrong (15)
Sam Waardenburg (6)
Patrick Miller (5)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,584
6–9
16
17 December
@ Brisbane
W 101–102
Tahjere McCall (25)
Armstrong, Waardenburg (7)
Tahjere McCall (9)
Nissan Arena 4,722
7–9
17
22 December
S.E. Melbourne
W 94–75
Sam Waardenburg (20)
Tahjere McCall (8)
Patrick Miller (9)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,651
8–9
18
26 December
Perth
L 102–105
Bobi Klintman (24)
Sam Mennenga (10)
Patrick Miller (7)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,050
8–10
19
29 December
@ Sydney
L 101–82
Patrick Miller (18)
Sam Waardenburg (8)
McCall, Miller (6)
Sydney SuperDome 12,783
8–11
20
31 December
Melbourne
W 95–78
Patrick Miller (31)
Sam Mennenga (11)
Tahjere McCall (10)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,802
9–11 :
January: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
21
6 January
@ Tasmania
L 103–86
Tahjere McCall (20)
Sam Mennenga (8)
Tahjere McCall (6)
Derwent Entertainment Centre 4,340
9–12
22
13 January
Adelaide
W 111–101 (OT)
Tahjere McCall (30)
Akoldah Gak (14)
Tahjere McCall (9)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,659
10–12
23
18 January
@ Illawarra
W 92–93
Tahjere McCall (28)
Akoldah Gak (11)
Armstrong, McCall (6)
Wollongong Entertainment Centre 3,711
11–12
24
21 January
Brisbane
L 84–102
Bul Kuol (19)
Tahjere McCall (6)
Patrick Miller (5)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,601
11–13
25
27 January
@ Adelaide
L 88–71
Lat Mayen (15)
Lat Mayen (9)
Tahjere McCall (7)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 9,741
11–14 :
February: 1–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
26
1 February
Tasmania
L 86–94
Patrick Miller (31)
Patrick Miller (7)
Taran Armstrong (6)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,645
11–15
27
10 February
@ Perth
L 117–88
Patrick Miller (25)
three players (4)
Patrick Miller (5)
Perth Arena 12,895
11–16
28
16 February
Melbourne
W 97–88
Tahjere McCall (23)
Tahjere McCall (9)
Tahjere McCall (10)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,378
12–16 :
2023–24 season schedule :

## Transactions
### Re-signed

| Player | Date Signed | Contract | Ref. |
| Lat Mayen | 27 March 2023 | 1-year deal | |
| Bul Kuol | 9 June 2023 | 1-year deal | |

### Additions

| Player | Date Signed | Contract | Former team |
| Sam Mennenga | 6 April 2023 | 2-year deal | Davidson Wildcats |
| Akoldah Gak | 10 April 2023 | 2-year deal | Illawarra Hawks |
| Taran Armstrong | 17 May 2023 | 2-year deal | California Baptist Lancers |
| Bobi Klintman | 13 June 2023 | 1-year deal (next star) | Wake Forest |
| Patrick Miller | 16 June 2023 | 1-year deal | Brose Bamberg |
| Lachlan Anderson | 8 July 2023 | 2-year deal (club option) | TFT Skopje |
| Josh Roberts | 4 August 2023 | 1-year deal | Manhattan Jaspers |
| Kian Dennis | 8 August 2023 | 2-year deal (club option) | Southern Districts Spartans |
| Alex Mudronja | 8 August 2023 | 2-year deal (club option) | Illawarra Hawks |

### Subtractions

| Player | Reason left | Date Left | New Team |
| Mirko Đerić | Mutual release | 27 March 2023 | TBC |
| Keanu Pinder | Free agent | 1 April 2023 | Perth Wildcats |
| Shannon Scott | Free agent | 28 April 2023 | Brisbane Bullets |
| Ben Ayre | Club option declined | 2 May 2023 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix |
| D. J. Hogg | Free agent | 26 May 2023 | Sydney Kings |
| Majok Deng | Declined player option | 28 June 2023 | Tasmania JackJumpers |
| Gabe Hadley | Free agent | 18 July 2023 | Brisbane Bullets |

## Awards
### Club awards

* Club MVP: Patrick Miller
* Defensive Player: Tahjere McCall
* Players’ Player: Patrick Miller
* Commitment to Community: Alex Mudronja
* Members’ Choice MVP: Bobi Klintman
* Coaches Award: Lat Mayen