| Bankstown Bruins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leagues | NBL1 East |
| Founded | 1979 |
| History | NBL: Bankstown Bruins 1979–1985 West Sydney Westars 1986–1987 Waratah League / NBL1 East: Bankstown Bruins 1991–present |
| Arena | Bankstown Basketball Stadium |
| Capacity | 2,500 |
| Location | Sydney,New South Wales |
| Team colors | Navy blue & white |
| CEO | Christian Gobolos |
| Championships | 4 (1993, 1996, 1997, 2016) (M) 10 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2015) (W) |
| Website | BruinsBasketball.com.au |
Bankstown Bruins is aNBL1 East club based inSydney,New South Wales. The club fields a team in the Men's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Bankstown Basketball Association (BBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Bruins play their home games at Bankstown Basketball Stadium.
In 1979, a Bankstown Bruins men's team entered theNational Basketball League (NBL) for the league'sinaugural season. In1983,Robbie Cadee was named the recipient of theNBL Coach of the Year Award after helping the Bruins improve from a 2–24 record in1982 to a 12–10 record in 1983. The team was renamed the West Sydney Westars for the1986 NBL season. That year, the Westars finished in fifth place with a 15–12 record. Following the1987 season, the Westars merged with theSydney Supersonics to become theSydney Kings.[1]
The Bankstown Bruins re-emerged in the early 1990s with the introduction of theWaratah League. In 1993, the men won their first title, before winning two more in 1996 and 1997. The women won a three-peat of championships between 1997 and 1999.[2] Success continued for the club throughout the 2000s and 2010s, with the women winning six championships between 2003 and 2012.[2] The women won their seventh title in 2015[3] while the men won their fourth title in 2016.[4]
The Waratah League was rebranded asNBL1 East for the 2022 season.[5] The women's team did not enter the 2022 NBL1 East season.[6] They returned for the 2023 NBL1 East season.[7]
| NBL champions | League champions | Runners-up | Finals berth |
| Season | Tier | League | Regular season | Post-season | Head coach | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win % | ||||||
| Bankstown Bruins | ||||||||||
| 1979 | 1 | NBL | 9th | 18 | 3 | 15 | .167 | Did not qualify | Shaun O'Connell | |
| 1980 | 1 | NBL | 12th | 22 | 3 | 19 | .136 | Did not qualify | Steve Fairnham Shaun O'Connell | |
| 1981 | 1 | NBL | 11th | 22 | 7 | 15 | .318 | Did not qualify | Steve Fairnham | |
| 1982 | 1 | NBL | 14th | 26 | 2 | 24 | .077 | Did not qualify | Robbie Cadee | |
| 1983 | 1 | NBL | 5th | 22 | 12 | 10 | .545 | Did not qualify | Robbie Cadee | |
| 1984 | 1 | NBL | 7th | 24 | 10 | 14 | .417 | Did not qualify | Robbie Cadee | |
| 1985 | 1 | NBL | 12th | 26 | 6 | 20 | .231 | Did not qualify | Robbie Cadee Claude William | |
| West Sydney Westars | ||||||||||
| 1986 | 1 | NBL | 4th | 26 | 15 | 11 | .577 | Lost elimination final (Illawarra) 86–105 | Robbie Cadee | |
| 1987 | 1 | NBL | 11th | 26 | 8 | 18 | .308 | Did not qualify | Mike Osbourne | |
| Regular season record | 212 | 66 | 146 | .311 | 0 regular season champions | |||||
| Finals record | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 NBL championships | |||||
As of the end of the1987 season
*Note: In 1983 and 1984, the NBL was split into Eastern and Western divisions during the regular season.
Source:West Sydney Westars Year by Year
| NBL Championships: | None |
| NBL Finals Appearances: | 1 (1986) |
| NBL Grand Final appearances: | None |
| NBL Most Valuable Players: | None |
| NBL Grand Final MVPs: | None |
| All-NBL First Team: | None |
| All-NBL Second Team: | None |
| NBL Coach of the Year: | Robbie Cadee (1983) |
| NBL Rookie of the Year: | None |
| NBL Most Improved Player: | None |
| NBL Best Defensive Player: | None |