Bankstown Bruins is a NBL1 East club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club fields a team in the Men's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Bankstown Basketball Association (BBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Bruins play their home games at Bankstown Basketball Stadium.
In 1979, a Bankstown Bruins men's team entered the National Basketball League (NBL) for the league's inaugural season. In 1983, Robbie Cadee was named the recipient of the NBL Coach of the Year Award after helping the Bruins improve from a 2–24 record in 1982 to a 12–10 record in 1983. The team was renamed the West Sydney Westars for the 1986 NBL season. That year, the Westars finished in fifth place with a 15–12 record. Following the 1987 season, the Westars merged with the Sydney Supersonics to become the Sydney Kings.[1]
The Bankstown Bruins re-emerged in the early 1990s with the introduction of the Waratah League. In 1993, the men won their first title, before winning two more in 1996 and 1997. The women won a three-peat of championships between 1997 and 1999.[2] Success continued for the club throughout the 2000s and 2010s, with the women winning seven championships between 2003 and 2015,[2] while the men collected their fourth title in 2016.[3]
The Waratah League was rebranded as NBL1 East for the 2022 season.[4] The women's team did not enter the 2022 NBL1 East season.[5] They returned for the 2023 NBL1 East season.[6]
As of the end of the 1987 season
*Note: In 1983 and 1984, the NBL was split into Eastern and Western divisions during the regular season.
Source: West Sydney Westars Year by Year