Introduction
7 Best Teams In The WNBL – Australia has a rich history of basketball. The game has been played in the nation since the 20th century, and today it’s one of Australia’s most popular pastimes.
The National Basketball League (WNBL) is one of the world’s oldest professional women’s basketball leagues, and it helps train some of Australia’s best athletes. They go on to play at the Olympics and other international competitions.
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Canberra Capitals
The Canberra Capitals entered the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) in 1986. The Capital’s first thirteen years in the WNBL were inauspicious, making the playoffs just once, in 1992, between the 1986 and 1998/99 seasons.
Since then, the Capitals have won back-to-back WNBL championships on 3 separate occasions: 1999/2000 (defeated Adelaide 67-50), 2000/2001 (defeated Sydney Panthers 82-70), and 2019/2020 (beaten Adelaide Lightning 2-1).
The University of Canberra became the owner of the Canberra Capitals in August 2016; as such, they are now known as UC Canberra or simply UC Caps. Their current coach is former Australian Boomers player Natalie Hurst who has coached them since 2017.
They won their fourth championship title with a series victory over Melbourne United Magic at home on Sunday, 25th March 2019, after an 89–73 win over them at their venue.
The Canberra Capitals have been granted the Keys to the City of Canberra on 3 separate events, in 2000, 2002, and 2007. They will be for all time carved into the roots of the Canberra Community, having their heritage deified with an authority plaque on the ACT Walk of Honor in 2012.
The Capitals asserted their first triumph in the WNBL title in Graf’s debut year in charge in 1999/2000, overcoming Adelaide 67-50, wrapped sprinters up in 2000/2001, brought home their second championship in 2001/2002 additionally under Graf, before becoming consecutive bosses the following year under the direction of previous Australian Opals Head Coach Tom Maher.
Adelaide Lightning
The Adelaide Lightning is a women’s basketball club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The name was decided to mirror the idea of the team and its home city.
In the early days of its existence, South Australia agreed at the end of 1992 to submit a composite unit to the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).
The following season saw an influx of talent from interstate and overseas players, including Opal Rachael Sporn, who would become one of their greatest players.
During this period, Adelaide was dominant on the court with four championships between 1994 and 1998, along with three significant premierships in 1993–94, 1995–96, and 1997–98 seasons, respectively.
Even though they were successful during these years, they could not win back-to-back titles until 2008, when they defeated Sydney Uni Flames 92–82 in front of their fans at The Dome.
Perth Lynx
Perth Lynx is an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The team plays its home games at Bendat Basketball Centre.
The franchise debuted in the WNBL in 1988 as the Perth Breakers, affiliated with their NBL counterpart until 2014. The Lynx have appeared in the WNBL finals every year between 1991 and 2000 except 1997, winning a championship in 1992 under coach Tom Maher.
In April 2015, they purchased their license from Basketball West Ltd; after doing so, they rebranded themselves as the Perth Wildcats to align themselves more closely with their parent club.
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Bendigo Spirit
Bendigo Spirit is one of the three Victorian basketball teams in the Australian Women’s National Basketball League. The WNBL is Australia’s premier women’s basketball competition, featuring two conferences of eight teams each.
Bendigo Spirit was formed in 2007 and joined the competition from the 2007/08 season. Their headquarters are based out of Bendigo Stadium.
Bendigo Spirit has won the WNBL Championship twice (2013 & 2014), which is quite an achievement considering its founding just a few years prior.
Sydney University Flames
The Sydney University Flames are aligned with the University of Sydney and have won four titles in 1993, 1997, 2001, and 2017. The 2016/17 season was a massive success for the Brydens Sydney Uni Flames securing their first WNBL Championship in sixteen years.
In the 2021/2022 WNBL season, the Flames signed Australian basketball legend Shane Heal as head coach. To lead a new era of Flames basketball in the Hoops Capital.
Townsville Fire
Townsville Fire is a professional basketball team based in Townsville, Queensland. The Townsville Fire competes in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) and plays home games at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.
They are the only female professional sporting team of any discipline in the northern half of Australia. Following the 2010/11 season, the Fire was seemingly doomed, folding under the weight of financial pressures before an 11th-hour resurrection.
The Fire reached four straight WNBL Grand Finals between 2012/13 and 2015/16, winning back-to-back championships in 2015 and 2016.
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Melbourne Boomers
The Melbourne Boomers have been a part of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) since 1984. It is Australia’s oldest WNBL club and the longest-running elite-level women’s sports team.
Before the start of the 2016/17 WNBL season, the license to run the Melbourne Boomers changed hands. After 32 years, BTBC transferred the ownership to run the WNBL team to a group of private owners committed to growing women’s basketball in Victoria through professionalizing their operations and increasing community engagement and participation with junior programs at all levels.
The Boomers have won 2 WNBL titles and are also the only club to have competed in every season of WNBL basketball since its inception. The Boomers play home games at the State Basketball Centre, Wantirna, Victoria.
Conclusion
The WNBL is a fast-paced and exciting league proliferating in recent years. With so many talented players to watch, deciding which team you will support can sometimes be challenging. It doesn’t help that there are so many great teams with very similar names.
But if you’re looking for some of the best teams in the competition, keep following up on the WNBL; there will undoubtedly be some exciting action for this season. If you’re keen to watch some great basketball, check out the WNBL live streams.
The league is constantly improving and is a great place to watch some of the world’s best female players. The WNBL may not be as big as other Australian sports, but it still has plenty of action and excitement that any fan can enjoy.
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