NBL1 National Finals 2023: How the West will be won

A new set of conference champions and two of last year’s inaugural champions will go west to Joondalup in Western Australia to crown a second set of national champions.

Using a similar format to the NBL Blitz, the NBL1 National Finals will see each conference winner and last national’s champions play each other in randomly drawn fixtures this Friday and Saturday, competing for a place in this Sunday’s standalone championship games. Teams will accumulate points over the first two days that determine their final rankings, meaning each moment matters.

Here’s our look at the contenders and the stars to watch.

Women

Bendigo Braves (South)

The Bendigo Braves have had arguably the greatest season we have ever seen by a team in the NBL1, and now will be eager to put the cherry on top at the National Finals.

They went undefeated during the regular season and continued that incredible streak all the way to a thrilling 83-78 win over Waverley in the Grand Final. Amy Atwell was the star of the show in the decider, pouring in 36 points before fouling out with seven minutes to play.

It didn't all go to plan for the Braves, with South MVP Megan McKay getting into early foul trouble, which limited her ability to impact the game. It looked to be a deciding factor before she was able to have a say down the stretch as Bendigo once again found a way to win.