# 2016 NBL Finals

The 2016 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 2015–16 NBL season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Perth Wildcats defeated the New Zealand Breakers in three games (2–1) to claim their seventh NBL championship.

## Format

The 2015–16 National Basketball League Finals were played in February and March 2016 between the top four teams of the regular season, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final and final series, where the higher seed hosts the first and third games.

## Qualification
### Qualified teams

| Team | Date of qualification | Round of qualification | Finals appearance | Previous appearance | Previous best performance |
| Melbourne United | 29 January 2016 | 17 | 22nd | 2014 | Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008) |
| Perth Wildcats | 5 February 2016 | 18 | 30th | 2015 | Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014) |
| Illawarra Hawks | 6 February 2016 | 18 | 19th | 2014 | Champions (2001) |
| New Zealand Breakers | 12 February 2016 | 19 | 7th | 2015 | Champions (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015) |

### Ladder

| Pos | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte | 2015–16 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Melbourne United$^1$ | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 2–3 | L2 | 11–3 | 7–7 | 2384 | 2342 | 101.79% |
| 2 | Perth Wildcats$^1$ | 28 | 18 | 10 | 64.29% | 3–2 | W1 | 12–2 | 6–8 | 2391 | 2266 | 105.52% |
| 3 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 17 | 11 | 60.71% | 3–2 | W2 | 11–3 | 6–8 | 2637 | 2486 | 106.07% |
| 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 5–0 | W5 | 11–3 | 5–9 | 2357 | 2282 | 103.29% |
| 5 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 14 | 14 | 50.00% | 1–4 | L4 | 10–4 | 4–10 | 2495 | 2500 | 99.80% |
| 6 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 2–3 | L2 | 11–3 | 1–13 | 2238 | 2354 | 95.07% |
| 7 | Townsville Crocodiles | 28 | 11 | 17 | 39.29% | 3–2 | W2 | 8–6 | 3–11 | 2271 | 2390 | 95.02% |
| 8 | Sydney Kings | 28 | 6 | 22 | 21.43% | 1–4 | L1 | 5–9 | 1–13 | 2416 | 2569 | 94.04% |
Updated to match(es) played on 14 February 2016. Source: NBL.com.au

### Ladder Progression

* Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
* Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
* Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
2015–16 NBL season vte :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| Adelaide 36ers | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Cairns Taipans | 6 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Melbourne United | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 5 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Perth Wildcats | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sydney Kings | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |

### Seedings

* Melbourne United
* Perth Wildcats
* Illawarra Hawks
* New Zealand Breakers
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.

## Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 1 | Melbourne United | 82 | 78 | X | | | | | |
| 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 91 | 91 | X | | | | | |
| 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 91 | 91 | X | 2 | Perth Wildcats | 82 | 68 | 75 |
| | | | | | 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 76 | 72 | 52 |
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 80 | 87 | 89 | 4 | New Zealand Breakers | 76 | 72 | 52 |
| 3 | Illawarra Hawks | 68 | 104 | 74 | | | | | |

## Semi-finals series
### (1) Melbourne United vs (4) New Zealand Breakers

Regular season series
New Zealand won 3–1 in the regular season series:

### (2) Perth Wildcats vs (3) Illawarra Hawks

Regular season series
Perth won 4-0 in the regular season series:

## Grand Final series
### (2) Perth Wildcats vs (4) New Zealand Breakers

Regular season series
Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 347-327 points differential to New Zealand: