# 1983 NBL Finals

The 1983 NBL Finals was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball League's 1983 season, which began in February. The finals began on 23 June. The tournament concluded with the Canberra Cannons defeating the West Adelaide Bearcats in the NBL Grand Final on 4 July.

## Format

The NBL finals series in 1983 consisted of the divisional finals (which was a round-robin fixture for the top eight teams), two semifinal games, and one championship-deciding grand final. The finals were contested between the top eight teams of the regular season, with the final four weekend split between two Melbourne venues – Burwood Stadium and Kilsyth Stadium.

## Qualification
### Qualified teams

| Team | Division | Finals appearance | Previous appearance | Previous best performance |
| Sydney Supersonics | Eastern | 1st | N/A | N/A |
| Geelong Cats | Western | 2nd | 1982 | Runner-up (1982) |
| West Adelaide Bearcats | Eastern | 4th | 1982 | Champions (1982) |
| Canberra Cannons | Western | 1st | N/A | N/A (1979 Grand Finalist) |
| Nunawading Spectres | Western | 4th | 1982 | Runner-up (1981) |
| Coburg Giants | Eastern | 2nd | 1982 | Semi-finalist (1982) |
| Newcastle Falcons | Eastern | 1st | N/A | N/A |
| St Kilda Saints | Western | 2nd | 1980 | Champions (1980) |

### Ladder

Eastern Division
| Pos | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Sydney Supersonics | 22 | 19 | 3 | 86.36% | 4–1 | W2 | 11–0 | 8–3 | 1956 | 1710 | 114.39% |
| 2 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 22 | 17 | 5 | 77.27% | 4–1 | W4 | 10–1 | 7–4 | 2180 | 1972 | 110.55% |
| 3 | Coburg Giants$^1$ | 22 | 13 | 9 | 59.09% | 1–4 | L1 | 9–2 | 4–7 | 1976 | 1920 | 102.92% |
| 4 | Newcastle Falcons$^1$ | 22 | 13 | 9 | 59.09% | 3–2 | L1 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 2143 | 2076 | 103.23% |
| 5 | Brisbane Bullets | 22 | 10 | 12 | 45.45% | 4–1 | W3 | 6–5 | 4–7 | 1734 | 1763 | 98.36% |
| 6 | Frankston Bears | 22 | 6 | 16 | 27.27% | 0–5 | L6 | 3–8 | 3–8 | 1809 | 1863 | 97.10% |
| 7 | Illawarra Hawks | 22 | 4 | 18 | 18.18% | 3–2 | L1 | 3–8 | 1–10 | 1929 | 2128 | 90.65% |
| 8 | Devonport Warriors | 22 | 2 | 20 | 09.09% | 1–4 | W1 | 1–10 | 1–10 | 1674 | 2068 | 80.95% |
Western Division
| Pos | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte | 1983 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Geelong Cats | 22 | 18 | 4 | 81.82% | 5–0 | W6 | 9–2 | 9–2 | 1953 | 1736 | 112.50% |
| 2 | Canberra Cannons | 22 | 16 | 6 | 72.73% | 4–1 | W1 | 9–2 | 7–4 | 2049 | 1777 | 115.31% |
| 3 | Nunawading Spectres | 22 | 15 | 7 | 68.18% | 3–2 | W1 | 9–2 | 6–5 | 1964 | 1760 | 111.59% |
| 4 | St. Kilda Saints$^2$ | 22 | 12 | 10 | 54.55% | 2–3 | W1 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 1971 | 1942 | 101.49% |
| 5 | Bankstown Bruins$^2$ | 22 | 12 | 10 | 54.55% | 3–2 | L1 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 1737 | 1728 | 100.52% |
| 6 | Adelaide 36ers | 22 | 11 | 11 | 50.00% | 2–3 | L1 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 2002 | 2047 | 97.80% |
| 7 | Westate Wildcats | 22 | 6 | 16 | 27.27% | 0–5 | L5 | 5–6 | 1–10 | 1929 | 2171 | 88.85% |
| 8 | Hobart Devils | 22 | 2 | 20 | 09.09% | 0–5 | L10 | 2–9 | 0–11 | 1757 | 2102 | 83.59% |
Updated to match(es) played on 18 June 1983. 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 results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.

### Divisional Finals

| Date | Home | Score | Away | Box Score |
| 23/06/1983 | Coburg Giants | 79–80 | Sydney Supersonics | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 24/06/1983 | St. Kilda Saints | 94–95 | Geelong Cats | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 24/06/1983 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 93–86 | Newcastle Falcons | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 24/06/1983 | Canberra Cannons | 89–81 | Nunawading Spectres | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 25/06/1983 | Geelong Cats | 81–86 | Canberra Cannons | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 25/06/1983 | Nunawading Spectres | 109–75 | St. Kilda Saints | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 25/06/1983 | Newcastle Falcons | 87–101 | Coburg Giants | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 25/06/1983 | Sydney Supersonics | 78–91 | West Adelaide Bearcats | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 26/06/1983 | Nunawading Spectres | 107–74 | Geelong Cats | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 26/06/1983 | Sydney Supersonics | 101–94 | Newcastle Falcons | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 26/06/1983 | Canberra Cannons | 104–85 | St. Kilda Saints | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 26/06/1983 | Coburg Giants | 105–104 | West Adelaide Bearcats | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |

### Round Robin (East)

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 3 | 2 | 1 | 288 | 269 | +19 | Qualification to semifinals |
| 2 | Coburg Giants | 3 | 2 | 1 | 285 | 271 | +14 | Qualification to semifinals |
| 3 | Sydney Supersonics | 3 | 2 | 1 | 259 | 264 | −5 | |
| 4 | Newcastle Falcons | 3 | 0 | 3 | 267 | 295 | −28 | |

### Round Robin (West)

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Canberra Cannons | 3 | 3 | 0 | 279 | 247 | +32 | Qualification to semifinals |
| 2 | Nunawading Spectres | 3 | 2 | 1 | 297 | 238 | +59 | Qualification to semifinals |
| 3 | Geelong Cats | 3 | 1 | 2 | 250 | 287 | −37 | |
| 4 | St. Kilda Saints | 3 | 0 | 3 | 254 | 308 | −54 | |

### Results

| Team | Record | Points differential | Semi-finals seed |
| Sydney Supersonics | 2–1 | -5 | N/A |
| Geelong Cats | 1–2 | -37 | N/A |
| West Adelaide Bearcats | 2–1 | +19 | #3 |
| Canberra Cannons | 3–0 | +32 | #1 |
| Nunawading Spectres | 2–1 | +59 | #2 |
| Coburg Giants | 2–1 | +14 | #4 |
| Newcastle Falcons | 0–3 | -28 | N/A |
| St. Kilda Saints | 0–3 | -54 | N/A |

## Playoff bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 1 | Canberra Cannons | 80 | | | |
| 4 | Coburg Giants | 75 | | | |
| 4 | Coburg Giants | 75 | 1 | Canberra Cannons | 75 |
| | | | 2 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 73 |
| 2 | Nunawading Spectres | 77 | 2 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 73 |
| 3 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 84 | | | |

### Semifinals

| Date | Home | Score | Away | Box Score |
| 1/07/1983 | Nunawading Spectres | 77–84 | West Adelaide Bearcats | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 1/07/1983 | Canberra Cannons | 80–75 | Coburg Giants | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |

### Grand Final

| Date | Home | Score | Away | Box Score |
| 4/07/1983 | Canberra Cannons | 75–73 | West Adelaide Bearcats | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |