# 1980 NBL Finals

The 1980 NBL Finals was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball League's 1980 season, which began in February. The finals began on 14 June. The tournament concluded with the minor premiers St Kilda Saints defeating the second-seeded West Adelaide Bearcats in the NBL Grand Final on 15 June. Rocky Smith was named NBL Grand Final MVP.

## Format

The NBL finals series in 1980 consisted of two semifinal games, and one championship-deciding grand final. The finals were contested between the top four teams of the regular season, with the finals weekend hosted at the neutral Dowling Street Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania.

## Qualification

| Team | Finals appearance | Previous appearance | Previous best performance |
| St Kilda Saints | 2nd | 1979 | Champions (1979) |
| West Adelaide Bearcats | 1st | - | - |
| Brisbane Bullets | 1st | - | - |
| Nunawading Spectres | 1st | - | - |

## Ladder

| Pos | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte | 1980 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | St. Kilda Saints$^1$ | 22 | 17 | 5 | 77.27% | 4–1 | L1 | 9–2 | 8–3 | 2109 | 1886 | 111.82% |
| 2 | West Adelaide Bearcats$^1$ | 22 | 17 | 5 | 77.27% | 4–1 | W3 | 10–1 | 7–4 | 1941 | 1773 | 109.48% |
| 3 | Brisbane Bullets | 22 | 15 | 7 | 68.18% | 5–0 | W5 | 9–2 | 6–5 | 1928 | 1780 | 108.31% |
| 4 | Nunawading Spectres | 22 | 14 | 8 | 63.64% | 2–3 | W2 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 1660 | 1580 | 105.06% |
| 5 | Illawarra Hawks$^2$ | 22 | 13 | 9 | 59.09% | 2–3 | L3 | 5–6 | 8–3 | 1798 | 1790 | 100.45% |
| 6 | Newcastle Falcons$^2$ | 22 | 13 | 9 | 59.09% | 5–0 | W5 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 1828 | 1794 | 101.90% |
| 7 | Canberra Cannons | 22 | 11 | 11 | 50.00% | 0–5 | L5 | 8–3 | 3–8 | 1661 | 1631 | 101.84% |
| 8 | Launceston Casino City | 22 | 9 | 13 | 40.91% | 3–2 | W1 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 1863 | 1889 | 98.62% |
| 9 | Coburg Giants$^3$ | 22 | 7 | 15 | 31.82% | 1-4 | L2 | 5–6 | 2–9 | 1727 | 1740 | 99.25% |
| 10 | City of Sydney Astronauts$^3$ | 22 | 7 | 15 | 31.82% | 1–4 | W1 | 5–6 | 2–9 | 1717 | 1908 | 89.99% |
| 11 | West Torrens Eagles | 22 | 6 | 16 | 27.27% | 1–4 | L2 | 6–5 | 0–11 | 1707 | 1940 | 87.99% |
| 12 | Bankstown Bruins | 22 | 3 | 19 | 13.64% | 0–5 | L13 | 2–9 | 1–10 | 1721 | 1949 | 88.30% |
Updated to match(es) played on 8 June 1980. Source: NBL.com.au

## Playoff bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 1 | St. Kilda Saints | 101 | | | |
| 4 | Nunawading Spectres | 77 | | | |
| 4 | Nunawading Spectres | 77 | 1 | St. Kilda Saints | 113 |
| | | | 2 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 88 |
| 2 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 101 | 2 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 88 |
| 3 | Brisbane Bullets | 94 | | | |

## Semifinals

| Date | Home | Score | Away | Box Score |
| 14/06/1980 | St. Kilda Saints | 101–77 | Nunawading Spectres | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |
| 14/06/1980 | West Adelaide Bearcats | 101–94 | Brisbane Bullets | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |

## Grand Final

| Date | Home | Score | Away | Box Score |
| 15/06/1980 | St. Kilda Saints | 113–88 | West Adelaide Bearcats | {{{venue}}} | {{{crowd}}} | boxscore |