North Melbourne Giants
# North Melbourne Giants

The North Melbourne Giants, previously known as the Coburg Giants, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne. The Giants competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 1980 and 1998, and played their home games at The Glass House.

The Coburg Giants entered the league in its second season (1980) and would change their name to the North Melbourne Giants in 1987. Under its new name, the Giants had much success, winning two championships, only to dissolve in 1998 to ultimately become a domestic association.

## Honour roll

| NBL Championships: | 2 (1989, 1994) |
| - | - |
| NBL finals appearances: | 7 (1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995) |
| NBL Grand Final appearances: | 4 (1988, 1989, 1994, 1995) |
| NBL Most Valuable Player: | Ray Borner (1985), Scott Fisher (1989, 1992) |
| NBL Grand Final MVP: | Scott Fisher (1989), Paul Rees (1994) |
| All-NBL First Team: | Ray Borner (1985), Jim Foster (1986), Tim Dillon (1988), Scott Fisher (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992), Darryl McDonald (1994, 1995, 1996) |
| NBL Coach of the Year: | Bruce Palmer (1988), Brett Brown (1994) |
| NBL Rookie of the Year: | David Smith (1998) |
| NBL Most Improved Player: | None |
| NBL Best Defensive Player: | None |
| NBL Best Sixth Man: | None |
| NBL Good Hands Award: | Darryl McDonald (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997) |

## 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 |
| Season | Tier | League | Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win % | Post-season | Head coach |
| Coburg Giants ||||||||||
| 1980 | 1 | NBL | 9th | 22 | 7 | 15 | .318 | Did not qualify | Ray Tomlinson |
| 1981 | 1 | NBL | 10th | 22 | 7 | 15 | .318 | Did not qualify | Ray Tomlinson |
| 1982 | 1 | NBL | 4th | 26 | 18 | 8 | .692 | Lost semifinal (West Adelaide) 74–94 | Bruce Palmer |
| 1983 | 1 | NBL | 3rd | 22 | 13 | 9 | .591 | Qualified round robin 2–1 Lost semifinal (Canberra) 75–80 | Ray Tomlinson |
| 1984 | 1 | NBL | 2nd | 24 | 18 | 6 | .750 | Lost preliminary final (Brisbane) 104–105 Won qualifying final (Newcastle) 132–109 Lost semifinal (Canberra) 107–108 | Owen Hughan |
| 1985 | 1 | NBL | 5th | 26 | 18 | 8 | .692 | Lost elimination final (Canberra) 87–110 | Owen Hughan |
| 1986 | 1 | NBL | 8th | 26 | 14 | 12 | .538 | Did not qualify | Les Riddle |
| North Melbourne Giants ||||||||||
| 1987 | 1 | NBL | 6th | 26 | 15 | 11 | .577 | Lost elimination final (Illawarra) 97–105 | Bruce Palmer |
| 1988 | 1 | NBL | 2nd | 24 | 18 | 6 | .750 | Won semifinals (Perth) 2–1 Lost NBL finals (Canberra) 1–2 | Bruce Palmer |
| 1989 | 1 | NBL | 2nd | 24 | 17 | 7 | .708 | Won semifinals (Perth) 2–1 Won NBL finals (Canberra) 2–0 | Bruce Palmer |
| 1990 | 1 | NBL | 1st | 26 | 20 | 6 | .769 | Lost semifinals (Perth) 1–2 | Bruce Palmer |
| 1991 | 1 | NBL | 6th | 26 | 16 | 10 | .615 | Won elimination finals (Geelong) 2–1 Lost semifinals (Eastside) 0–2 | Bruce Palmer |
| 1992 | 1 | NBL | 4th | 24 | 14 | 10 | .583 | Won quarterfinals (Illawarra) 2–0 Lost semifinals (S.E. Melbourne) 0–2 | Bruce Palmer |
| 1993 | 1 | NBL | 8th | 26 | 13 | 13 | .500 | Lost quarterfinals (Perth) 1–2 | Brett Brown |
| 1994 | 1 | NBL | 2nd | 26 | 19 | 7 | .731 | Won quarterfinals (Sydney) 2–1 Won semifinals (S.E. Melbourne) 2–0 Won NBL finals (Adelaide) 2–0 | Brett Brown |
| 1995 | 1 | NBL | 3rd | 26 | 18 | 8 | .643 | Won quarterfinals (Brisbane) 2–0 Won semifinals (S.E. Melbourne) 2–1 Lost NBL finals (Perth) 1–2 | Brett Brown |
| 1996 | 1 | NBL | 7th | 26 | 15 | 11 | .577 | Lost quarterfinals (S.E. Melbourne) 0–2 | Brett Brown |
| 1997 | 1 | NBL | 3rd | 30 | 18 | 12 | .600 | Won elimination finals (Canberra) 2–1 Lost semifinals (Melbourne) 0–2 | Brett Brown |
| 1998 | 1 | NBL | 10th | 30 | 9 | 21 | .300 | Did not qualify | Brett Brown |
| Regular season record | Regular season record | Regular season record | Regular season record | 482 | 287 | 195 | .595 | 1 regular season champions | 1 regular season champions | 1 regular season champions |
| Finals record | Finals record | Finals record | Finals record | 58 | 29 | 29 | .500 | 2 NBL championships | 2 NBL championships | 2 NBL championships |

As of the end of the 1998 season

*Note: In 1983 and 1984, the NBL was split into Eastern and Western divisions during the regular season.

Source: North Melbourne Giants Year by Year

