Canberra Basketball

Club history

The Canberra Gunners entered the South East Australian Basketball League in 1988 and failed to reach the postseason for their first six campaigns. In 2003, they topped the SEABL East Conference with a 20-6 record and claimed the conference title by beating the Hume City Broncos 90-76 in the final. That same year, the Canberra Cannons disbanded from the NBL, making the Gunners the city’s sole elite men’s basketball side. The Gunners again led the East Conference in 2006 with an 18-8 mark but fell to the Geelong Supercats in the conference final. They returned to that final in 2007, only to lose to Geelong once more. From 2008 through 2018, the Gunners missed the SEABL playoffs every season, including a winless 2018 campaign. The team reached its 30-year anniversary in the league. Before 2004, the ACT Academy of Sport fielded teams in the men’s and women’s Waratah League in New South Wales. In 2005, the Canberra Nationals debuted in that league. The Nationals women competed in the Waratah League each year until 2011, finishing as runners-up in 2005 and 2010 before winning the championship in 2011. A short-lived Canberra Nationals men’s team also played in the Waratah League for four seasons between 2005 and 2008; future NBL player Jesse Wagstaff suited up for them in 2005. In December 2011, the Nationals women were elevated to the SEABL for the 2012 season, becoming Canberra’s first women’s team in that league. They were rebranded as the Canberra Capitals Academy under the Canberra Capitals WNBL banner. In July 2015, the Capitals Academy lost 119-37 to the Nunawading Spectres; the 82-point margin ranked as the third-largest in women’s SEABL history, trailing only Dandenong’s 89-point win over Kilsyth in 1991 and Nunawading’s 87-point win over Illawarra in 1999. Over seven SEABL seasons from 2012 to 2018, the Canberra Capitals Academy missed the playoffs every year. Following the 2018 SEABL season, the competition was dissolved. Basketball ACT opted not to pursue a place in the Victorian-led NBL1 and instead entered the Canberra Gunners into the Waratah League for the 2019 season. The women's team also returned to the Waratah League and was rebranded back to the Canberra Nationals. The Nationals earned a runners-up finish in 2019. The Gunners and Nationals continued in the Waratah League in 2020 but withdrew mid-season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, both teams endured another interrupted Waratah League season, with the league shut down mid-season due to COVID-19 and border restrictions. In October 2021, the Waratah League was rebranded as NBL1 East after becoming the East conference of NBL1. The Gunners and Nationals entered the 2022 NBL1 season. The Gunners won the 2022 NBL1 East championship with a 76-73 grand final victory over the Maitland Mustangs. In 2024, the Gunners returned to the NBL1 East Grand Final, losing 86-67 to the Mustangs. In 2025, the Gunners reached the NBL1 East Grand Final again, defeating the Illawarra Hawks 99-91 to win their second championship. At the 2025 NBL1 National Finals, the Gunners reached the championship game and defeated the Geraldton Buccaneers 86-67 to win the NBL1 National championship. The Gunners returned to the National Finals in 2026 as the defending champions.