# Canberra Cannons

The Canberra Cannons are a defunct professional men's basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After this venture also folded the team was relocated to Singapore and played as the Singapore Slingers for the 2006–07 season.
The Cannons were runners-up in the inaugural 1979 competition and then won three championships in 1983, 1984 and 1988. They were also runners-up in 1989.

## History

The Cannons were one of the original ten NBL clubs, competing in the league's very first season in 1979. They reached the championship game with a 13–5 record, but fell at the final hurdle, losing to the St Kilda Saints 94–93 in the final.
Canberra failed to make the playoffs over the next few seasons, but in 1983 they won their first NBL championship, downing the defending champions the West Adelaide Bearcats 75–73 in the Grand Final. Adelaide born Guard Phil Smyth joined the team in 1983 and led the NBL in steals and assists as well as being selected at Point guard in the All-NBL Team.
In 1983, the Cannons' trio of Wade Kirchmeyer, Dave Nelson and Garry Ball were dubbed the "Bruise Brothers". Following the league's import reduction from three to two, Kirchmeyer was not re-signed for 1984.
The Cannons repeated as champions in 1984, this time beating the Brisbane Bullets 84–82 in the big game. Smyth again had a big season, being named to the All-NBL Team.
Canberra made the playoffs for the next three seasons but would fall to the Bullets in the semi-finals each time. Championship glory eluded the Cannons until 1988, when swept the minor premiers the Adelaide 36ers in the semi-finals then beat the North Melbourne Giants 2–1 in a best-of-three championship series. Smyth again was named to the All-NBL Team after leading the league in three-point percentage, free-throw percentage and steals, and was also named Best Defensive Player. Smyth also won the Grand Final MVP after averaging 23.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists over the series. 7'0" (213 cm) import centre Willie Simmons also led the league in blocks, averaging 3.6 per game.
North Melbourne exacted their revenge in 1989, beating the Cannons 2–0 in the championship series. It would prove to be the last time the Cannons played in the NBL Grand Final.
The Cannons failed to make the playoffs again until 1992, when they were eliminated in the first round by the eventual champions, the South East Melbourne Magic. They reached the playoffs in 1996 making the semi-finals before being eliminated by the Melbourne Tigers 2–1. They again made the finals in 1997 but were eliminated in the first round 2-1 by North Melbourne.
Financial problems dogged the club in the late 1990s, and the team finally succumbed to its money woes in December 2002. The club managed to play all its remaining games from the 2002–03 NBL season, but were unable to hold on to their star players, including C. J. Bruton, the son of then-coach Cal Bruton, or any imports. Canberra finished with an 11–19 record, and the team was bought by a consortium that moved the team to Newcastle.
During the 2002 off-season, the Cannons embarked on a short tour of the United States playing various college teams. On one occasion they played against the Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center in Lansing. For that game, the Cannons featured former Michigan State player, NBA legend with the Los Angeles Lakers and one of the most decorated players in basketball history, Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The game, a celebration of Johnson's induction into the Hall of Fame in 2002, saw the Cannons defeat the Spartans (who featured future NBL player Adam Ballinger) 104–85 with Magic contributing 12 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.
In April 2022, NBL owner Larry Kestelman flagged Canberra as a potential 11th team. Kestelman says "Canberra could be next in line for a league license, following the same model as the Tasmania JackJumpers".

## Honour Roll

| NBL Championships: | 3 (1983, 1984, 1988) |
| NBL Finals Appearances: | 11 (1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1996, 1997) |
| NBL Grand Final appearances: | 5 (1979, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989) |
| NBL Most Valuable Players: | None |
| NBL Grand Final MVPs: | Phil Smyth (1988) |
| All-NBL First Team: | Herb McEachin (1980), Cal Stamp (1980), Dave Nelson (1981), Phil Smyth (1983, 1984, 1988, 1989), Robert Rose (1996, 1997) |
| All-NBL Second Team: | Phil Smyth (1985), Emery Atkinson (1989) |
| All-NBL Third Team: | Rodney Monroe (1993) |
| NBL Coach of the Year: | Bob Turner (1985), Brett Flanigan (1996) |
| NBL Rookie of the Year: | Jamie Kennedy (1983), Lachlan Armfield (1992), Damien Ryan (1999) |
| NBL Most Improved Player: | None |
| NBL Best Defensive Player: | Phil Smyth (1983, 1988, 1989) |

## Season by season

| NBL champions | League champions | Runners-up | Finals berth |
| Season | Tier | League | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Post-season | Head coach | Captain |
| Season | Tier | League | Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win % | Post-season | Head coach | Captain |
| Canberra Cannons |||||||||||
| 1979 | 1 | NBL | 2nd | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | Lost NBL final (St. Kilda) 93–94 | Cal Stamp | Ian Ellis |
| 1980 | 1 | NBL | 7th | 22 | 11 | 11 | .500 | Did not qualify | Cal Stamp | Ian Ellis |
| 1981 | 1 | NBL | 7th | 22 | 12 | 10 | .545 | Did not qualify | Patrick Hunt | Ian Ellis |
| 1982 | 1 | NBL | 11th | 26 | 8 | 18 | .308 | Did not qualify | Ian Ellis | Herb McEachin |
| 1983 | 1 | NBL | 2nd | 22 | 16 | 6 | .727 | Qualified round robin 3–0 Won semifinal (Coburg) 80–75 Won NBL final (West Adelaide) 75–73 | Bob Turner | Dave Nelson |
| 1984 | 1 | NBL | 2nd | 23 | 16 | 7 | .696 | Won preliminary final (Geelong) 87–81 Won semifinal (Coburg) 108–107 Won NBL final (Brisbane) 84–82 | Bob Turner | Dave Nelson |
| 1985 | 1 | NBL | 4th | 26 | 19 | 7 | .731 | Won elimination final (Coburg) 110–87 Lost semifinal (Brisbane) 76–93 | Bob Turner | Dave Nelson |
| 1986 | 1 | NBL | 2nd | 26 | 19 | 7 | .731 | Lost semifinal (Brisbane) 100–120 | Bob Turner | Herb McEachin Phil Smyth |
| 1987 | 1 | NBL | 5th | 26 | 17 | 9 | .654 | Lost elimination final (Perth) 96–101 | Jerry Lee | Phil Smyth |
| 1988 | 1 | NBL | 4th | 24 | 16 | 8 | .667 | Won elimination final (Newcastle) 107–92 Won semifinals (Adelaide) 2–0 Won NBL finals (North Melbourne) 2–1 | Jerry Lee | Phil Smyth |
| 1989 | 1 | NBL | 1st | 24 | 18 | 6 | .750 | Won semifinals (Sydney) 2–1 Lost NBL finals (North Melbourne) 0–2 | Steve Breheny | Phil Smyth |
| 1990 | 1 | NBL | 7th | 26 | 16 | 10 | .615 | Did not qualify | Steve Breheny | Phil Smyth |
| 1991 | 1 | NBL | 10th | 26 | 9 | 17 | .346 | Did not qualify | Mel Dalgleish | Phil Smyth |
| 1992 | 1 | NBL | 8th | 24 | 11 | 13 | .458 | Lost quarterfinals (S.E. Melbourne) 0–2 | Barry Barnes | Phil Smyth |
| 1993 | 1 | NBL | 9th | 26 | 12 | 14 | .462 | Did not qualify | Barry Barnes | Simon Cottrell |
| 1994 | 1 | NBL | 11th | 26 | 7 | 19 | .269 | Did not qualify | Barry Barnes | Simon Cottrell Justin Withers |
| 1995 | 1 | NBL | 9th | 26 | 12 | 14 | .462 | Did not qualify | Brett Flanigan | Fred Cofield |
| 1996 | 1 | NBL | 4th | 26 | 16 | 10 | .615 | Won quarterfinals (Sydney) 2–1 Lost semifinals (Melbourne) 1–2 | Brett Flanigan | |
| 1997 | 1 | NBL | 6th | 30 | 15 | 15 | .500 | Lost quarterfinals (North Melbourne) 1–2 | Brett Flanigan | |
| 1998 | 1 | NBL | 7th | 30 | 14 | 16 | .467 | Did not qualify | Brett Flanigan | |
| 1998–99 | 1 | NBL | 11th | 26 | 8 | 18 | .308 | Did not qualify | Brett Flanigan | |
| 1999–2000 | 1 | NBL | 8th | 28 | 11 | 17 | .393 | Did not qualify | Brett Flanigan Cal Bruton | |
| 2000–01 | 1 | NBL | 11th | 28 | 3 | 25 | .107 | Did not qualify | Cal Bruton | |
| 2001–02 | 1 | NBL | 10th | 30 | 12 | 18 | .400 | Did not qualify | Cal Bruton | |
| 2002–03 | 1 | NBL | 8th | 30 | 11 | 19 | .367 | Did not qualify | Cal Bruton Lloyd Klaman | |
| Regular season record | Regular season record | Regular season record | Regular season record | 641 | 322 | 319 | .502 | 1 regular season champions | 1 regular season champions | 1 regular season champions |
| Finals record | Finals record | Finals record | Finals record | 35 | 20 | 15 | .571 | 3 NBL championships | 3 NBL championships | 3 NBL championships |
As of the end of the 2002–03 season
*Note: In 1983 and 1984, the NBL was split into Eastern and Western divisions during the regular season.