The 1997 Melboune Tigers - legendary team

Today's legendary team, the 1997 Melbourne Tigers.
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/legendary-teams-C159208

Having to deal with a mid-season return of Mark Bradtke from the NBA, the Melbourne Tigers started the 1997 season in very poor form with a 3–11 mark at the midpoint of the season. Marcus Timmons was brought in on a tip from former assistant coach Brett Brown. From that point, the Tigers did not lose another game until the second game of the Finals against the Magic. The Tigers would go on to defeat the Magic in Game 3 of the Finals to claim their second championship in front of their home-town fans.

The 2002/3 Sydney Kings - legendary team

Our next legendary team was the start of a three-peat dynasty, the 2002/2003 Sydney Kings.
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/
(See pic below, for the Kings you have the choice of the purple or gold tees)

For the 2002/03 season, Shane Heal was joined by talented imports Chris Williams and Kavossy Franklin. The team also welcomed the NBL's all-time leader in coaching victories, Brian Goorjian. The Kings finished on top of the ladder with a 22-8 record and swept the Perth Wildcats in the grand final series to claim their first-ever championship.

With Goorijan able to implement his defensive tactics which were so successful with the Magic and Titans, in addition to finally being able to purchase high quality superstar imports he was unable to attain due to financial constraints on the team in Melbourne, there seemed to be no stopping the Kings ...

The 2007 Brisbane Bullets - legendary team

Following on from the 1985 team yesterday, this morning's feature legendary team is one of the greatest ever assembled, the 2007 Brisbane Bullets.
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/brisbane-2007-A14751173/customize/color/4

Whether you consider them the best NBL team ever (or the best that money could buy), you can’t argue with how great the Brisbane Bullets team was that won the 2006/2007 championship. They were so good their bench players would have likely beaten most rival teams. “G-Unit” as they named themselves featured Adam Gibson, Dillon Boucher, Mark Bradtke (Dusty Rychart was the starter I believe), Mick Hill & Brad Williamson.

The Bullets won the pre-season title and then easily won the minor premiership, claiming an end of season record of 28 wins and only 5 losses. This included an all-time NBL record-breaking 21-game winning streak, marking the Bullets' most successful season since 1979. Brisbane went on to make their first NBL grand final since 1990 and took out the finals series 3-1 over defending champions the Melbourne Tigers to be crowned NBL champions for the third and last time (for now).

The 1985 Brisbane Bullets - legendary team

Announcing the release of our new Legendary Teams tees!

We've been paying tribute to some of the greatest NBL players to grace the league, now its time to honour some of the greatest ever teams. We're starting with the 1985 Brisbane Bullets.
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/brisbane-1985-A14751197/customize/color/17

Having lost the Grand Final in the previous season, the Brisbane Bullets emerged in 1985 as the league's most powerful team under Brian Kerle and again won the minor premiership with a 20-6 record. With the grand final game being held at their home venue (Chandler Arena), the Bullets were hot favourites to defeat the Adelaide 36ers in what was to be the last single game grand final in NBL history. Leading 78-74 going into the last period of play the Bullets then outscored Adelaide 42-21, setting an NBL grand final record for points scored in the final period and easily accounting for the 36ers 120-95 to record their first ever championship win.

For your viewing pleasure:

NBL Hall of Fame vs 1998 Adelaide 36ers

Here are some of the highlights from the NBL Hall of Fame vs 1998 Adelaide 36ers held last weekend. The Hall of Fame team features some of the legends we've immortalised in t-shirts so far:

• Leroy Loggins 
• Cal Bruton 
• Mark Bradtke 
• Andrew Gaze 
• Lanard Copeland
• Steve Carfino

None of them were moving too quickly or playing any defence but Kevin Brooks looks to have been the star of the show.

To represent your favourite NBL legend, check out our range of t-shirts here:
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/

In The Game Tees - $10 off sale on now

Whether you’re Irish or Irish-ish… we’ve got a deal for you! To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (next month), our partners at Spreadshirt are offering $10 off any order of $50 or more. Simply enter the coupon code POTOFGOLD at check out to receive the discount. 

So if you’ve been eyeing off one of our recent Melbourne Tigers or South East Melbourne Magic tees, now is the time to grab yourself a bargain:
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/


•           $10 off orders of $50 or more
•           Coupon code: POTOFGOLD
•           Run time: February 25th – March 4th, 2014 (US EST Time)

Andrew Gaze - Melbourne Tigers

The one, the only ... Andrew Gaze
(pic below, who said he couldn't jump?)

Andrew Gaze is considered the greatest player in the history of the NBL and is a seven time winner of the league's MVP award, which is now named after him.

Gaze began his career in the NBL at age 18, being named Rookie of the year in 1984. He was the top scorer in the league for a total of 14 seasons. Not an outstanding athlete, Gaze's heavy scoring was due to exceptional shooting, including from three-point range. A crowd favourite, one of Gaze's trademark plays for the Tigers was the alley-oop pass to Lanard Copeland. Playing under his father with the Tigers, Gaze played in 612 NBL matches and led the team to two titles (’93 & ’97).

One of Andrew’s best seasons was in 1987 when he averaged 44.1 points (that’s not a typo), 8.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.5 steals & 3.4 triples.

Check out the Andrew Gaze Legends tees here:
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/melbourne-C157175