2015 NBL Finals
# 2015 NBL Finals

The 2015 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 2014–15 NBL season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The New Zealand Breakers defeated the Cairns Taipans in two games (2–0) to claim their fourth NBL championship.

## Format

The 2014–15 National Basketball League Finals will be played in February and March 2015 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| New Zealand Breakers | 25 January 2015 | 16 | 6th | 2013 | Champions (2011, 2012, 2013) |
| Cairns Taipans | 30 January 2015 | 17 | 5th | 2011 | Runners-up (2011) |
| Perth Wildcats | 7 February 2015 | 18 | 29th | 2014 | Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014) |
| Adelaide 36ers | 13 February 2015 | 19 | 23rd | 2014 | Champions (1986, 1998, 1999, 2002) |

### Ladder

| Pos | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte | 2014–15 NBL season vte |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 21 | 7 | 75.00% | 4–1 | W3 | 12–2 | 9–5 | 2275 | 2117 | 107.46% |
| 2 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 19 | 9 | 67.86% | 2–3 | L1 | 10–4 | 9–5 | 2343 | 2275 | 102.99% |
| 3 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 17 | 11 | 60.71% | 5–0 | W10 | 9–5 | 8–6 | 2501 | 2478 | 100.93% |
| 4 | Perth Wildcats | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 3–2 | W1 | 10–4 | 6–8 | 2260 | 2171 | 104.10% |
| 5 | Melbourne United | 28 | 13 | 15 | 46.43% | 2–3 | W2 | 8–6 | 5–9 | 2333 | 2379 | 98.07% |
| 6 | Townsville Crocodiles | 28 | 11 | 17 | 39.29% | 3–2 | L1 | 8–6 | 3–11 | 2343 | 2341 | 100.09% |
| 7 | Sydney Kings | 28 | 9 | 19 | 32.14% | 0–5 | L7 | 5–9 | 4–10 | 2320 | 2408 | 96.35% |
| 8 | Wollongong Hawks | 28 | 6 | 22 | 21.43% | 2–3 | L2 | 4–10 | 2–12 | 2154 | 2360 | 91.27% |

Updated to match(es) played on 22 February 2015. 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.

2014–15 NBL season vte :

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Adelaide 36ers | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Cairns Taipans | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Melbourne United | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Perth Wildcats | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Sydney Kings | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Townsville Crocodiles | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Wollongong Hawks | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |

### Seedings

* Cairns Taipans
* New Zealand Breakers
* Adelaide 36ers
* Perth Wildcats

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 | Cairns Taipans | 71 | 80 | X | | | | | |
| 4 | Perth Wildcats | 64 | 66 | X | | | | | |
| 4 | Perth Wildcats | 64 | 66 | X | 1 | Cairns Taipans | 71 | 81 | X |
| | | | | | 2 | New Zealand Breakers | 86 | 83 | X |
| 2 | New Zealand Breakers | 111 | 94 | X | 2 | New Zealand Breakers | 86 | 83 | X |
| 3 | Adelaide 36ers | 82 | 83 | X | | | | | |

## Semi-finals series

### (1) Cairns Taipans vs (4) Perth Wildcats

Regular season series

Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 303-291 points differential to Cairns:

### (2) New Zealand Breakers vs (3) Adelaide 36ers

Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 356-340 points differential to New Zealand:

## Grand Final series

### (1) Cairns Taipans vs (2) New Zealand Breakers

Regular season series

Cairns won 3–1 in the regular season series:

