
NBL 40th Anniversary team
PS: JC could play either the 4 or 5, however his vertical leap and lack of range made him more suited to the 5 for most of his career.
Davis, from memory, played more as a genuine PF, although IIRC he was often named at centre in "all-star" lineups.
As mentioned, for mine I would and did have both.
If forced to pick one or the other it would be a tough call, and only my 30+ years of loyalty would sway me to vote for JC.
And remember it was a fan vote so that probably saw JC and Bradke edge Davis to the Bench.

Hard to argue with most of that, and David and D-Mac made the bench.
Keep in mind that it was based on fan votes. I'd have Davis ahead of Bradke, and voted that way, but Bradke probably pooled more votes from Melbourne.
Apart from hating on the Cats, really can't fathom how people could question Grace's selection. At his best D-Mac was his equal, and we've seen better PG's since, but Grace's overall career is 2nd to none (for PG.)
Loggins v Rose is the eternal debate, both outstanding and deserve their places, Loggins probably tips it with his longevity.
It's interesting that despite being based purely on aggregate votes, they ended up with a reasonably balanced side.

Goorjian definitely due to wins/ accolades but his teams/ tactics weren't always overly exciting.

Al Green was robbed bigtime

Actually did they name a coach? I didn't see anything.

Your Mum finally told you....


Just to add to the argument for Davis at PF Crawford at C. After Davis arrived in 85 he made the all nbl 1st team 5 times as well as his MVP awards. Crawford made the team only once after Davis arrived and was named as a center.

Are there positions for the team, other than two backcourt and three frontcourt players?No, it was a positionless team. You just picked the best five you wanted, though many naturally approached it wanting to create a viable team. Probably also wasn't hurt by the fact that after Gaze, there were multiple players at a position who had a case.


Luuuc did that. I just argued his point.
When I did my vote I tried to do it by position, if for no other reason than to help me simplify things.
So yeah, I went with JC over Davis at the 4 spot, and for me it was not a simple call, just as Grace over D-Mac was not a simple call at PG, and neither was my pick of Rose over Loggins.
IMO there's plenty of good arguments for any of those to go either way.
And FWIW I never considered Crawford to be a centre. For me, the whole point of picking guys by position is to achnowledge that each spot has different requirements. For me, Bradtke at the 5 was probably the easiest of my 5 picks. And there's no way in the world I could justify Crawford as a better 5 than Bradtke.
That how I see it and everyone else is welcome to their own methodology. That's kind of the point of canvassing the whole country's opinions. It is inherently a subjective thing.

Oops. I just had a look. Sorry mate

At least it's a healthy debate. Shows there's plenty of talent that we've been spoiled with over the years no matter who you support.

It wasn't a dig. I just wanted to back up my reasoning. Crawford is in my 5 is all I'm saying but I couldn't go past Davis at PF.

Luuuc did that. I just argued his point.

All NBL Team 1987
#PlayerTeam
PG Steve Carfino Hobart Devils
SG Andrew Gaze Melbourne Tigers
SF Leroy Loggins Brisbane Bullets
PF Mark Davis Adelaide 36ers
C James Crawford Perth Wildcats
I don't see why people are upset that I have Davis at PF and Crawford at C.

Yes 57. In one game out of his 500+.


I agree but it's interesting to have a look at


That logic makes Al Green a lock.

Your basing your choice in one game then.


sorry to break it to you but JC is not in the all time 5 on the strength of what he did in 1997


Mark Davis made the All Star 5 one time more than JC did so yes clearly Davis was 'always an MVP candidate each year' and Crawford never was. No one is denying Davis was an awesome player Udog. Apart from Gaze this was never going to be an easy call.

Good point. Being brash and loud and being a coach/ in the media means he's been more visible in the public eye I guess?

SHANE HEALS Write up: absolute JOKE!!!
Its like they couldnt think of anything so they said...ummm he made heaps of three's!
Mahers Write up would take a dump on HEals!!!

I voted for Crawford at center. Davis just too good not to get in at PF.
I watched Crawford play. Even before he was at Perth.
Davis was always an MVP candidate each year but suffered a horrible injury in his 8th season which led yo his drop off statistically. He won League MVP and grandfinal MVP in seperate years, Crawford was never an MVP choice but was very good.
My mistake on the 25th anniversary team being a fan vote. I stand by my choice though because Davis was the best I've seen.

"Shouldn't Crawford be considered a center anyway?"
- someone who obviously never even saw him play

Read my previous post about Davis for why he is so unfortunate to not be named in the PF position. The anniversary teams are voted by fans. Not experts. So they are up for debate obviously.

The point guard and center positions would be the hardest to decide I'd say. Gaze, Loggins and Davis would be locks for me.

My votes were Gaze, Loggins, Bradtke, Davis, Maher. Davis-Crawford was a toss-up, but Udog has some good arguments for Davis in that. Maher was a home-town pick - realistically there are 5-10 really good options in the top bracket of guards including DMac, Grace, Rucker, Heal, Maher, Mee, Smyth, Bruton, Bruton Jr - and I figured DMac or Grace would be the favoured options.

Interesting team.
Gaze is basically a lock in and I think you would be hard pressed to find someone of sound mind who would say that was a bad choice.
I would love to see the actual votes per player and I would love to see each team nominate their own 40th Anniversary team.

Also, I did consider Crawford and Grace to be excellent players. All I'm saying is I'd be looking at Crawford in the center position instead of power forward. I also liked McDonalds size, passing and defence over Grace. I'm definitely not knocking either of them.

Davis was averaging 25-28 points and 14-17 rebounds a season over his first 8 years in the league and wasn't just considered the best power forward but was always close to league MVP consideration with Loggins most years. He did win a league and grand final MVP also.
His shoulder dislocation in the 94 finals series where the 36ers knocked off the Tigers with Dave Simmons, Lanard Copeland, Gaze and Bradtke led to a significant change in his dominance after that and probably cost him another title to add to his other three.
Before his injury he was the best rebounder the league had seen and was one of the toughest, strongest defenders, often giving away height to bigger players.
How can you say Crawford was better Luuuc? He was never considered an MVP candidate.
Shouldn't Crawford be considered a center anyway?

^^^ Unfortunately you can't put brains in statues ^^^

If I was trolling I'd pick an Adelaide player over Grace instead of McDonald who I thought was the best point guard I've seen.

Team looks spot-on to me.
I went with Rose over Loggins when I did my 5, but I figured Leroy would likely be the more popular pick due to his longevity in the league.
Davis & D-Mac were great players, but Grace & JC just that little bit greater.
2nd five were
Daryl McDonald
Shane Heal
Rob Rose
Mark Davis
Chris Anstey
Nailed it, IMO.

Yep. Saw them both. McDonald for me.


www.smh.com.au/sport/basketball/andrew-gaze-mark-bradtke-head-nbl-40th-anniversary-team-20180208-p4yzqg
Bradtke, Gaze, Loggins, Crawford, Grace

Sorry udog I meant which players made the team?

Fan voting systems will always screw it up.

Fan vote.

Who made the team?

Do they ever do some kind of peer vote?

where can i find a list of all the NBL and WNBL games that are going to be shown on tv
