Three early trends that are defining the NBL26 season so far

More than a quarter of the NBL season is now in the books. While there's been plenty of volatility across the league, some of the trends that have emerged are here to stay.

As we’ve powered through the first quarter of the NBL season, it’s time to start putting some more stock in what we’ve seen so far. The small sample size of the early rounds is getting big enough to believe, and there’s already plenty to learn about every team in the league. At the same time, there’s still a lot of time for things to change - for teams to get players back from injury, shuffle rosters, or tweak game plans as they search for a winning edge.

We’ve seen teams like Illawarra and South East Melbourne make a late charge up the ladder over the last two years; we’ve also seen plenty of teams lead from start to finish, or stay anchored to the bottom of the table. Nothing is certain, but it’s a good time to look at some of the trends from the first quarter of the season and how they might hold up for the rest of NBL26.