THE 2023/24 National Basketball League (NBL) season was one of the most entertaining in recent memory, with all teams performing at a high level and making a genuine run at some postseason action along the way.

All 10 teams were in the hunt for a spot in the finals and play-in until the penultimate round, demonstrating the impressive quality of the competition.

Given the season has concluded, Rookie Me Central will be dissecting each team’s campaign, and the key pieces that shaped it.

Next up are the Adelaide 36ers, who showed glimpses of promises throughout the fixture but ended up finishing in ninth place.

Adelaide 36ers

2023/24 record: 12 wins, 16 losses
Ladder position: 9th

How it happened

The Adelaide 36ers came into the season with high hopes, but got off to a sluggish start and did not look among the contending sides at the midway point of the fixture. Their poor record resulted in a coaching change, and that, along with the addition of Dejan Vasiljevic injected some life into the team, and they took some big scalps in the weeks that followed. In fact, the 36ers were a mathematical chance of making the play-in right up until the last round, and although they fell short of that goal, it was still an impressive turnaround.

Most Valuable Player – Isaac Humphries

Although Vasiljevic was seriously impressive after joining the team, Humphries’ form was reflective of the team’s as a whole. Once the coaching change was made, Humphries took his game to another level, becoming the form big man of the competition over a two-month stretch. Having already been a big name in the competition, he showed why the 36ers fought to recruit him over the off-season and put up 15.3 points (a career-high), 6.7 rebounds, one assist, 0.8 steals and 1.3 blocks er game on 57 per cent shooting from the field in an emphatic campaign.

The coach – CJ Bruton/Scott Ninnis

One of the bigger stories of the season was Adelaide’s decision to remove Bruton as coach after two seasons at the helm. At the time of his departure, the 36ers were 4-9 on the season, and were fresh off a massive 35-point loss. Ninnis was an assistant and subsequently named interim coach following the move, and led the team to an 8-7 record following that time. He utilised his stars and took down some of the best teams in the competition. He was rewarded with a contract extension in recent weeks and will lead the side once again.

Where to?

The 36ers secured their head coach after the season wrapped and did the same with Vasiljevic and Humphries in the weeks that followed. Those two players are huge signings for the team, and will be the marquee duo for the organisation in the coming seasons. From an import standpoint, Trey Kell III had some impressive performances under Ninnis, but the team may look for another option either at point guard or on the wings. The pieces are there for Adelaide, and if it adds a couple more and keeps the momentum going from the back half of the fixture, success may just be around the corner.