# 2022–23 Perth Wildcats season

The 2022–23 Perth Wildcats season was the 42nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball League (NBL), and their first under the leadership of their new head coach John Rillie.
After having qualified for the NBL finals for the 35 consecutive years preceding 2022, the Wildcats' play-in tournament loss to the Cairns Taipans on 12 February 2023 meant that the Wildcats failed to qualify for the NBL finals for a second consecutive season.

## Roster

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

## Standings
### Ladder

| Pos | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte | 2022–23 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Sydney Kings | 28 | 19 | 9 | 67.86% | 2–3 | L2 | 10–4 | 9–5 | 2679 | 2468 | 108.55% |
| 2 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 5–0 | W5 | 7–7 | 11–3 | 2423 | 2246 | 107.88% |
| 3 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 2–3 | W1 | 8–6 | 10–4 | 2455 | 2376 | 103.32% |
| 4 | Tasmania JackJumpers | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 3–2 | W2 | 7–7 | 9–5 | 2385 | 2305 | 103.47% |
| 5 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 3–2 | L1 | 11–3 | 4–10 | 2553 | 2512 | 101.63% |
| 6 | Perth Wildcats | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 2–3 | W1 | 9–5 | 6–8 | 2580 | 2568 | 100.47% |
| 7 | Melbourne United | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 4–1 | W1 | 8–6 | 7–7 | 2434 | 2424 | 100.41% |
| 8 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 13 | 15 | 46.43% | 2–3 | L1 | 8–6 | 5–9 | 2546 | 2597 | 98.04% |
| 9 | Brisbane Bullets | 28 | 8 | 20 | 28.57% | 2–3 | L3 | 4–10 | 4–10 | 2365 | 2600 | 90.96% |
| 10 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 3 | 25 | 10.71% | 1–4 | L4 | 2–12 | 1–13 | 2261 | 2585 | 87.47% |
Updated to match(es) played on 5 February 2023. 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
2022–23 NBL season :
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Adelaide 36ers | — | — | 7 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Cairns Taipans | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 7 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Melbourne United | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Perth Wildcats | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Sydney Kings | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

## Game log
### Pre-season

2022 pre-season game log Total: 2–0 (home: 2–0; road: 0–0) :
September: 2–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
9 September
Adelaide
W 98–87
Bryce Cotton (20)
Luke Travers (9)
Mitch Norton (6)
Eaton Recreration Centre 300
1–0
2
11 September
Adelaide
W 97–91
Brady Manek (15)
Corey Webster (6)
Bryce Cotton (5)
HBF Arena 500
2–0 :

### NBL Blitz

2022 NBL Blitz game log Total: 2–1 (home: 2–0; road: 0–1) :
September: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
17 September
Cairns
W 98–80
Bryce Cotton (36)
Blanchfield, Travers (7)
Bryce Cotton (4)
Darwin Basketball Facility 916
1–0
2
19 September
S.E. Melbourne
W 87–71
Corey Webster (16)
Brady Manek (9)
Bryce Cotton (5)
Darwin Basketball Facility 838
2–0
3
21 September
@ Melbourne
L 90–63
Thomas, Webster (10)
Bryce Cotton (7)
Luke Travers (4)
Darwin Basketball Facility 917
2–1 :

### Regular season

2022–23 game log Total: 15–13 (home: 9–5; road: 6–8) :
October: 3–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
2 October
Brisbane
W 87–73
Bryce Cotton (23)
Bryce Cotton (12)
Luke Travers (7)
RAC Arena 11,083
1–0
2
8 October
Illawarra
W 77–71
Norton, Travers (14)
Manek, Travers (7)
Cotton, Travers (4)
RAC Arena 10,816
2–0
3
10 October
@ Cairns
W 76–105
Bryce Cotton (24)
Luke Travers (9)
Mitch Norton (9)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,608
3–0
4
14 October
Melbourne
L 81–84
Bryce Cotton (32)
Jesse Wagstaff (8)
Luke Travers (8)
RAC Arena 10,441
3–1
5
22 October
@ Tasmania
L 103–72
Bryce Cotton (14)
Luke Travers (8)
Bryce Cotton (4)
MyState Bank Arena 4,231
3–2
6
28 October
S.E. Melbourne
L 90–91
Bryce Cotton (27)
Blanchfield, Thomas (6)
Bryce Cotton (8)
RAC Arena 11,103
3–3
7
31 October
@ Melbourne
L 94–77
Bryce Cotton (19)
TaShawn Thomas (7)
TaShawn Thomas (5)
John Cain Arena 6,610
3–4 :
November: 2–2 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
8
3 November
Tasmania
L 77–85
Bryce Cotton (26)
Cotton, Majok, Norton, Thomas (5)
Bryce Cotton (6)
RAC Arena 9,805
3–5
9
5 November
@ Adelaide
W 89–94
Brady Manek (25)
TaShawn Thomas (9)
Bryce Cotton (5)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 9,071
4–5
10
17 November
S.E. Melbourne
W 103–96
Bryce Cotton (32)
Jesse Wagstaff (6)
TaShawn Thomas (6)
RAC Arena 9,988
5–5
11
24 November
Adelaide
L 82–96
Bryce Cotton (17)
TaShawn Thomas (6)
Bryce Cotton (5)
RAC Arena 10,329
5–6 :
December: 5–2 (Home: 1–0; Road: 4–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
12
1 December
@ Brisbane
L 106–94 (OT)
Bryce Cotton (30)
Luke Travers (8)
Luke Travers (4)
Nissan Arena 2,427
5–7
13
3 December
@ New Zealand
W 84–92
Corey Webster (26)
Cotton, Manek, Thomas (6)
Bryce Cotton (7)
Spark Arena 4,884
6–7
14
9 December
@ Adelaide
W 90–98
Bryce Cotton (32)
TaShawn Thomas (8)
Bryce Cotton (6)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 5,436
7–7
15
12 December
Melbourne
W 90–89
Bryce Cotton (29)
TaShawn Thomas (7)
Luke Travers (5)
RAC Arena 10,459
8–7
16 December
New Zealand
Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: 10 January)
16
20 December
@ Cairns
W 83–105
Bryce Cotton (24)
TaShawn Thomas (12)
TaShawn Thomas (6)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,752
9–7
17
27 December
@ Brisbane
L 97–93 (OT)
Bryce Cotton (30)
Luke Travers (10)
Bryce Cotton (6)
Nissan Arena 3,737
9–8
18
31 December
@ Illawarra
W 97–107
Corey Webster (25)
Brady Manek (10)
Bryce Cotton (6)
WIN Entertainment Centre 3,776
10–8 :
January: 4–4 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
19
4 January
@ New Zealand
L 97–94
Bryce Cotton (32)
Brady Manek (7)
Bryce Cotton (5)
TSB Stadium 2,200
10–9
20
7 January
@ Sydney
L 108–87
Cotton, C.Webster (22)
TaShawn Thomas (8)
Bryce Cotton (5)
Qudos Bank Arena 11,073
10–10
21
10 January
New Zealand
W 93–90
TaShawn Thomas (23)
TaShawn Thomas (10)
Cotton, Manek, Thomas, C.Webster (3)
RAC Arena 11,668
11–10
22
14 January
Adelaide
W 112–97
Cotton, Manek (23)
Brady Manek (10)
Tai Webster (7)
RAC Arena 13,087
12–10
23
20 January
Sydney
W 111–104
Cotton, Manek (21)
Corey Webster (10)
Bryce Cotton (11)
RAC Arena 13,038
13–10
24
22 January
@ S.E. Melbourne
L 112–91
Bryce Cotton (25)
Cotton, Travers (5)
Luke Travers (5)
State Basketball Centre 3,300
13–11
25
27 January
Illawarra
W 106–86
Bryce Cotton (40)
Cotton, Manek, Travers, C.Webster (7)
Cotton, Wagstaff (4)
RAC Arena 12,251
14–11
26
29 January
@ Tasmania
L 102–94
TaShawn Thomas (19)
TaShawn Thomas (10)
Thomas, Travers, C.Webster (4)
MyState Bank Arena 4,293
14–12 :
February: 1–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
27
3 February
Cairns
L 71–84
Bryce Cotton (28)
Bryce Cotton (13)
Bryce Cotton (7)
RAC Arena 11,668
14–13
28
5 February
Sydney
W 96–84
Corey Webster (26)
Luke Travers (11)
Luke Travers (6)
RAC Arena 12,712
15–13 :
2022–23 season schedule :

### Postseason

2023 finals game log Total: 1–1 (home: 0–0; road: 1–1) :
Play-in qualifier: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
9 February
@ S.E. Melbourne
W 99–106
Bryce Cotton (26)
Luke Travers (9)
TaShawn Thomas (8)
John Cain Arena 5,176
1–0 :
Play-in game: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
2
12 February
@ Cairns
L 91–78
Bryce Cotton (19)
Brady Manek (10)
Bryce Cotton (10)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,020
1–1 :
2022–23 season schedule :

## Transactions
### Re-signed

| Player | Signed |
| Bryce Cotton | 4 May |
| Ollie Hayes-Brown | 17 May |
| Majok Majok | 17 May |
| Kyle Zunic | 24 May |
| Todd Blanchfield | 27 May |
| Jesse Wagstaff | 11 June |

### Additions

| Player | Signed | Former team |
| Corey Webster | 15 June | Franklin Bulls |
| TaShawn Thomas | 26 July | Le Mans |
| Brady Manek | 1 August | North Carolina Tar Heels |
| Michael Harris | 12 August | Mount Gambier Pioneers |
| Jack Andrew | 1 September | Otago Nuggets |
| Tai Webster | 2 January | Petkim Spor |

### Subtractions

| Player | Reason left | New team |
| Jack Purchase | Released | Forestville Eagles |
| Kevin White | Free agent | Illawarra Hawks |
| Matt Hodgson | Free agent | TaiwanBeer HeroBears |
| Corey Shervill | Released | N/A |

## Awards
### Club awards

* Coaches’ Award: Kyle Zunic
* Most Improved Player: Michael Harris
* Best Defensive Player: Luke Travers
* Players’ Player: Bryce Cotton
* Members MVP: Bryce Cotton
* Club MVP: Bryce Cotton