# 2024–25 Cairns Taipans season

The 2024–25 Cairns Taipans season was the 26th season of the franchise in the National Basketball League (NBL).
On 14 February 2025, Adam Forde parted ways as head coach of the Taipans during the off-season.

## 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 | Bench 2 |
| PG | Taran Armstrong | Kyle Adnam | Jackson Makoi |
| SG | Rob Edwards | Jonah Antonio | Kody Stattmann |
| SF | Pedro Bradshaw | Dillon Stith | Alex Higgins-Titsha |
| PF | Sam Waardenburg | Kyrin Galloway | |
| C | Tanner Groves | Akoldah Gak | |

## Standings
### Ladder

| Pos | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte | 2024–25 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Illawarra Hawks | 29 | 20 | 9 | 68.97% | 4–1 | W3 | 10–4 | 10–5 | 2941 | 2645 | 111.19% |
| 2 | Melbourne United | 29 | 19 | 10 | 65.52% | 4–1 | W4 | 9–6 | 10–4 | 2771 | 2652 | 104.49% |
| 3 | Perth Wildcats | 29 | 18 | 11 | 62.07% | 3–2 | W3 | 10–5 | 8–6 | 2903 | 2811 | 103.27% |
| 4 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 29 | 16 | 13 | 55.17% | 2–3 | L1 | 10–4 | 6–9 | 2787 | 2656 | 104.93% |
| 5 | Sydney Kings | 29 | 16 | 13 | 55.17% | 2–3 | L3 | 7–7 | 9–6 | 2630 | 2557 | 102.85% |
| 6 | Adelaide 36ers | 29 | 13 | 16 | 44.83% | 2–3 | L3 | 9–6 | 4–10 | 2736 | 2796 | 97.85% |
| 7 | Tasmania JackJumpers | 29 | 13 | 16 | 44.83% | 1–4 | W1 | 9–5 | 4–11 | 2435 | 2553 | 95.38% |
| 8 | Brisbane Bullets | 29 | 12 | 17 | 41.38% | 2–3 | L1 | 6–8 | 6–9 | 2678 | 2838 | 94.36% |
| 9 | New Zealand Breakers | 29 | 10 | 19 | 34.48% | 1–4 | L1 | 6–9 | 4–10 | 2485 | 2650 | 93.77% |
| 10 | Cairns Taipans | 29 | 8 | 21 | 27.59% | 3–2 | L1 | 4–11 | 4–10 | 2561 | 2769 | 92.49% |
Updated to match(es) played on 8 February 2025. 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
* Last place
2024–25 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 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 6 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Cairns Taipans | 10 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Melbourne United | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Perth Wildcats | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Sydney Kings | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |

## Game log
### Pre-season

2023 NBL Blitz game log Total: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2) :
September: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
7 September
@ Melbourne
L 94–87
Rob Edwards (24)
three players (8)
Pedro Bradshaw (4)
Carrara Indoor Stadium n/a
0–1
2
9 September
Sydney
L 77–99
Tanner Groves (15)
Tanner Groves (11)
Jackson Makoi (6)
Gold Coast Sports Centre n/a
0–2
3
12 September
Perth
L 76–89
Rob Edwards (16)
Tanner Groves (9)
Pedro Bradshaw (4)
Gold Coast Sports Centre n/a
0–3
4
14 September
@ Brisbane
L 85–82
Antonio, Stith (16)
Akoldah Gak (7)
Tad Dufelmeier (5)
Gold Coast Sports Centre n/a
0–4 :

### Regular season

2024–25 game log Total: 8–21 (Home: 4–11; Road: 4–10) :
September: 1–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
21 September
Illawarra
L 75–102
Tanner Groves (17)
Bradshaw, Groves (7)
Tad Dufelmeier (3)
Perth Superdrome 2,878
0–1
2
28 September
Adelaide
W 101–97
Rob Edwards (31)
Sam Waardenburg (11)
Kyle Adnam (5)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,141
1–1 :
October: 2–5 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
4 October
Tasmania
W 90–78
Taran Armstrong (20)
Sam Waardenburg (7)
Armstrong, Edwards (5)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,538
2–1
4
6 October
@ Melbourne
W 88–101
Rob Edwards (23)
Pedro Bradshaw (9)
three players (4)
John Cain Arena 9,766
3–1
5
10 October
Perth
L 87–90
Rob Edwards (24)
Akoldah Gak (10)
Sam Waardenburg (7)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,750
3–2
6
13 October
@ Sydney
L 99–73
Sam Waardenburg (22)
Sam Waardenburg (9)
Kyle Adnam (5)
Sydney SuperDome 11,076
3–3
7
19 October
Illawarra
L 75–87
Pedro Bradshaw (18)
Pedro Bradshaw (14)
Adnam, Waardenburg (4)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,362
3–4
8
25 October
@ Adelaide
L 99–93 (OT)
Rob Edwards (27)
Sam Waardenburg (14)
Jackson Makoi (6)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 9,382
3–5
9
27 October
@ Melbourne
L 106–63
Antonio, Waardenburg (11)
Antonio, Higgins-Titsha (8)
Sam Waardenburg (4)
John Cain Arena 9,210
3–6 :
November: 0–4 (Home: 0–3; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
10
2 November
Brisbane
L 88–92
Rob Edwards (27)
Alex Higgins-Titsha (11)
Galloway, Makoi (4)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,445
3–7
11
10 November
@ S.E. Melbourne
L 97–74
Sam Waardenburg (16)
Armstrong, Gak (7)
Jackson Makoi (7)
John Cain Arena 6,384
3–8
12
16 November
New Zealand
L 69–77
Rob Edwards (33)
Akoldah Gak (8)
Taran Armstrong (7)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,767
3–9
13
29 November
Sydney
L 75–81
Taran Armstrong (28)
Sam Waardenburg (10)
Edwards, Waardenburg (2)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,899
3–10 :
December: 0–6 (Home: 0–3; Road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
14
5 December
@ Tasmania
L 99–90
Taran Armstrong (29)
Sam Waardenburg (7)
Sam Waardenburg (6)
Derwent Entertainment Centre 4,340
3–11
15
7 December
@ S.E. Melbourne
L 99–94
Rob Edwards (24)
Pedro Bradshaw (10)
Sam Waardenburg (5)
John Cain Arena 5,103
3–12
16
14 December
Perth
L 92–128
Taran Armstrong (24)
Rob Edwards (6)
Taran Armstrong (8)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,386
3–13
17
20 December
@ Brisbane
L 107–104
Rob Edwards (27)
Tanner Groves (10)
Taran Armstrong (5)
Brisbane Entertainment Centre 4,599
3–14
18
26 December
Melbourne
L 66–76
Tanner Groves (20)
Groves, Waardenburg (6)
Armstrong, Groves (4)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,428
3–15
19
31 December
New Zealand
L 68–92
Tanner Groves (21)
Tanner Groves (8)
Taran Armstrong (5)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,870
3–16 :
January: 4–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 3–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
20
3 January
@ Illawarra
W 105–108
Armstrong, Edwards (28)
Bradshaw, Groves (9)
three players (3)
Wollongong Entertainment Centre 5,087
4–16
21
12 January
@ Sydney
L 91–87
Rob Edwards (25)
Rob Edwards (7)
Sam Waardenburg (4)
Sydney SuperDome 10,224
4–17
22
14 January
S.E. Melbourne
L 102–113
Sam Waardenburg (22)
Tanner Groves (7)
Taran Armstrong (6)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,779
4–18
23
17 January
@ Brisbane
W 80–111
Rob Edwards (35)
Tanner Groves (8)
Kyle Adnam (6)
Brisbane Entertainment Centre 5,587
5–18
24
19 January
Adelaide
L 75–99
Tanner Groves (23)
Akoldah Gak (10)
Taran Armstrong (5)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,109
5–19
25
23 January
Illawarra
W 100–94
Rob Edwards (22)
Tanner Groves (9)
Pedro Bradshaw (5)
Cairns Convention Centre 3,845
6–19
26
25 January
@ Perth
W 116–125 (2OT)
Rob Edwards (30)
Pedro Bradshaw (13)
Sam Waardenburg (9)
Perth Arena 13,269
7–19 :
February: 1–2 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
27
1 February
@ New Zealand
L 99–92
Bradshaw, Waardenburg (16)
Sam Waardenburg (6)
Taran Armstrong (8)
Spark Arena 5,625
7–20
28
6 February
Brisbane
W 100–88
Taran Armstrong (28)
Taran Armstrong (10)
Taran Armstrong (10)
Cairns Convention Centre 4,145
8–20
29
8 February
@ Tasmania
L 90–83
Tanner Groves (17)
Tanner Groves (8)
Armstrong, Bradshaw (4)
Derwent Entertainment Centre 4,340
8–21 :
2024–25 season schedule :

## Transactions
### Re-signed

| Player | Date Signed | Contract | Ref. |
| Sam Waardenburg | 11 April 2024 | 1-year deal | |
| Jonah Antonio | 3 May 2024 | 1-year deal | |

### Additions

| Player | Date Signed | Contract | Former team |
| Jackson Makoi | 22 April 2024 | 1-year deal | Sydney Kings |
| Kyrin Galloway | 29 April 2024 | 2-year deal | Adelaide 36ers |
| Tanner Groves | 7 May 2024 | 1-year deal | SC Rasta Vechta |
| Rob Edwards | 24 May 2024 | 1-year deal | Delaware Blue Coats |
| Dillon Stith | 2 July 2024 | 2-year (club option) | Casey Cavaliers |
| Alex Higgins-Titsha | 11 July 2024 | 2-year deal (club option) | Inner West Bulls |
| Kody Stattmann | 11 July 2024 | 1-year deal | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix |
| Pedro Bradshaw | 30 July 2024 | 1-year deal | Indiana Mad Ants |
| Kyle Adnam | 7 August 2024 | 2-year deal (club option) | Illawarra Hawks |
| Tad Dufelmeier | 11 September 2024 | 1-year deal (NRP) | Dandenong Rangers |
| Deshon Taylor | 30 October 2024 | 1-year deal (NRP) | Hapoel Haifa |

### Subtractions

| Player | Reason left | Date Left | New Team |
| Tahjere McCall | Parted ways | 25 February 2024 | Hapoel Holon |
| Patrick Miller | Free agent | 12 March 2024 | Lokomotiv Kuban |
| Lat Mayen | Free agent | 16 April 2024 | Adelaide 36ers |
| Bul Kuol | Free agent | 30 April 2024 | Sydney Kings |
| Bobi Klintman | NBA draft | 26 June 2024 | Detroit Pistons |
| Josh Roberts | Free agent | 17 August 2024 | Aris B.C. |

## Awards
### Club awards

* Club MVP:
* Defensive Player:
* Players’ Player:
* Commitment to Community:
* Members’ Choice MVP:
* Coaches Award: