The Perth Wildcats are a basketball team in Australia that competes in the National Basketball League. This team is the singular team in the league that represents the Western Australia state and is based in Perth the state capital. In the league it is a very successful team. Red, Black and White are the teams official colors.

History

The Wildcats made their debut in the 1982 NBL season. During the initial years the Wildcats played at Perry Lakes Stadium and could not create an impression in the league. The name of the team was changed to Perth Wildcats in 1984.

The 1990s season began with a slow start. But in the 1995 season the Wildcats were at the top of the table and finally defeated the North Melbourne Giants in straight games in a series of three games. The Wildcats were also allowed to play against the star NBA team the Houston Rockets in which they lost 116-72 in the first game of the tournament however in the second game they were victorious against Read Madrid by a score of 93-86.

Country Australia Australia
City Perth
Founded 1982
Ground RAC Arena
Nickname Wildcats
Coach John Rillie
Website wildcats.com.au

The Wildcats signed several star players which resulted in their first playoff appearance in 1987 during which the team got a Grand Final berth where they were defeated by the Brisbane Bullets. From the 1987 season the team appeared for 35 consecutive years in the playoffs until missing out in 2021.

In 2002-03 after Andrew Vlahov retired from the league Ricky Grace was made the skipper of the club. In this season the Wildcats reached their seventh Grand Final where they had to face defeat at the hands of Sydney Kings.

The Wildcats returned to the Finals in the 2009-10 under coach Rob Beveridge with Shawn Redhage the star player and they triumphed 2-1 over the Wollongong Hawks to win their fifth title.

Perth lost in the Finals in 2011-12 and 2012-13 under Beveridge, before triumphing following a change of coach with Trevor Gleeson taking over for the 2013-14 season.

Gleeson also led the Wildcats to back-to-back titles in 2015-16 and 2016-17, with Damian Martin and Casey Prather among their stars. In the 2017 Finals, Perth swept the Illawarra Hawks 3-0.

The Wildcats’ era of success continued with Gleeson leading the side to back-to-back titles again in 2018-19 and 2019-20 with Bryce Cotton arriving from the United States to be a key part of their success.

The side’s 35-year playoffs run ended in 2021 under new ownership and a new coach Scott Morrison.

The Wildcats currently play all their home games at RAC Arena in Perth. It has a maximum capacity of 12,500. James Harvey, Matt Burston, Peter Crawford and Paul Rogers were amongst the few famous players of the team.

Major achievements

  • NBL Champions (record 10): 1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020

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