NBL smashes all-time Championship Series record

The Hungry Jack’s NBL26 Championship Series will long be talked about as one of the greatest in the competition’s 47-year history.

Not only did the Series go the distance and then some, with overtime needed to separate Sydney and Adelaide in Game 5, but the majority of the fixtures were absolute thrillers.

As part of that, there was countless historic performances including Kendric Davis in Game 3 (first player ever to have 35 points, 14 assists and zero turnovers in an NBL game) and Game 5 (first to have 35 points and 14 dimes in a Championship Series Game 5), and Bryce Cotton’s game-winner in Game 2.

These incredible games didn’t go unnoticed either, with the Series attracting 70,269 fans across the five games at Qudos Bank Arena and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre (including four sell-outs).

This marks the highest-ever total crowd to witness a Championship Series, eclipsing the 67,475 that attended the Sydney and New Zealand games during 2022-23.

One player who was involved in both those Championship Series was NBL23 MVP Xavier Cooks, who had 19 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block on Sunday.

“We don’t win that game without the crowd,” Cooks said in the post-game press conference.

“Down six with 90 seconds to go, we hit a layup and you could feel the energy, the momentum, the shift from there.

“I don’t think people understand the influence a crowd can have on a game, especially on the road when it feels like everyone’s against you.

“We don’t get that done tonight without 18,000 people in the crowd yelling, screaming and creating an incredible atmosphere, so thanks to everybody.”

This caps off a record-breaking season for the NBL which attracted 63 sellouts and had more than one million fans through its doors for the third straight season.

18,589 fans packed into Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday, making it the biggest crowd in history, the second time in the last week surpassing that mark.