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Jun
Key Dates
Hoops heaven: 165 NBL games games in 155 days
Trey Kell III of the Hawks gives an interview after game five of the NBL Grand Final Series between Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne United at WIN Entertainment Centre, on March 23, 2025, in Wollongong. Photo: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
The 2025-26 NBL schedule has been released with round 1 starting on September 18, 2025
- Listed: All 165 games of the 2025-26 NBL season
- HoopsFest 2026 will include five NBL26 regular season games in 2026
- Former Perth Wildcats star Bryce Cotton returns to his old hometown on December 7, 2025
Write it on the calendar, put it in your diary: Sunday November 9, 2025 is Adelaide 36ers vs Perth Wildcats in Adelaide.
Five-time MVP Bryce Cotton will go up against his former club for the first time in Round 8 of the 2025-26 NBL season and then less than a month later on December 7, 2025 in Round 11, Cotton is back in Perth to play with Wildcats.
Twenty additional games have been incorporated into the NBL draw with the the launch of the In-Season tournament. It means there will be 165 NBL games played in 155 days.
Round 1 of NBL26
The NBL announced the Ignite Cup on Wednesday June 18, 2025.
It's understood the remainder of the NBL schedule took more time as European giants Panathinaikos BC AKTOR and KK Partizan will play the Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers in the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament, held for the first time outside of Europe, between September 18 and 22, 2025, in Melbourne and Sydney.
It means, Adelaide and Sydney will not play in Round 1 of the NBL26 season.
Adding further complications to the schedule was the New Orleans Pelicans exhibition games against the South East Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne United on October 3 and 5, 2025. Both United and the Phoenix get a NBL break from the NBL during that week.
The in-season tournament — Ignite Cup — starts on October 8, 2025.
Ignite Cup Fixtures
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
- New Zealand Breakers vs Illawarra Hawks
- Sydney Kings vs Melbourne United
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
- Tasmania JackJumpers vs Sydney Kings
- Perth Wildcats vs Brisbane Bullets
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
- Cairns Taipans vs Perth Wildcats
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
- Tasmania JackJumpers vs Perth Wildcats
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
- Illawarra Hawks vs Melbourne United
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
- Brisbane Bullets vs New Zealand Breakers
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
- Adelaide 36ers vs Illawarra Hawks
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
- New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
- South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Tasmania JackJumpers
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
- Sydney Kings vs Adelaide 36ers
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
- Adelaide 36ers vs Cairns Taipans
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
- Cairns Taipans vs South East Melbourne Phoenix
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
- Melbourne United vs Cairns Taipans
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
- South East Melbourne Phoenix vs New Zealand Breakers
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
- Brisbane Bullets vs Adelaide 36ers
- Perth Wildcats vs South East Melbourne Phoenix
NBL & WNBL games at HoopsFest 2026
Thursday, January 15, 2026:
- Perth Lynx vs Bendigo Spirit (WNBL)
- Sydney Kings vs Brisbane Bullets (NBL)
Friday, January 16, 2026:
- Geelong United vs Sydney Flames (WNBL)
- Perth Wildcats vs Illawarra Hawks (NBL)
Saturday, January 17, 2026:
- Southside Flyers vs Adelaide Lightning (WNBL)
- Cairns Taipans vs New Zealand Breakers (NBL)
- Melbourne United vs Tasmania JackJumpers (NBL)
Sunday, January 18, 2026:
- Adelaide 36ers vs South East Melbourne Phoenix (NBL)
- Townsville Fire vs Canberra Capitals (WNBL)
Stay tuned, basketball.com.au will publish the NBL26 draw as soon as we have it.
These are the 10 teams competing in NBL26
- Adelaide 36ers — Based in Adelaide, South Australia.
- Brisbane Bullets — Based in Brisbane, Queensland.
- Cairns Taipans — Based in Cairns, Queensland.
- Illawarra Hawks — Based in Wollongong, New South Wales.
- Melbourne United — Based in Melbourne, Victoria.
- New Zealand Breakers — Based in Auckland, New Zealand.
- Perth Wildcats — Based in Perth, Western Australia.
- South East Melbourne Phoenix — Based in Melbourne, Victoria.
- Sydney Kings — Based in Sydney, New South Wales.
- Tasmania JackJumpers — Based in Hobart and Launceston, Tasmania.
