2025–26 Perth Wildcats season

2025–26 Perth Wildcats season
Head coach John Rillie
Captain Jesse Wagstaff
ArenaPerth Arena
NBL results
Record21–12 (63.6%)
Ladder4th
Finals finishSemifinalist
(lost to Kings 0–2)
Stats at NBL.com.au
Ignite Cup results
Record3–1 (75%)
Ladder3rd
Ignite Cup finishDid not qualify
All statistics correct as of 14 March 2026.

The 2025–26 Perth Wildcats season was the 45th season of the franchise in the National Basketball League (NBL), and their fourth under the leadership of head coach John Rillie.

Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Perth Wildcats roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
C 0 Lual-Acuil, Jo 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 103 kg (227 lb)
G 1 Russo-Nance, Dontae 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
F 2 Mayen, Lat 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 92 kg (203 lb)
G/F 3 Windler, Dylan  (I) 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 85 kg (187 lb)
F 5 Doolittle, Kristian (I) 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 105 kg (231 lb)
G 8 Dech, Sunday 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 92 kg (203 lb)
G 9 Rillie, Jaron  (DP) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 84 kg (185 lb)
G/F 10 Henshall, Ben 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
G 12 Duke Jr., David (I) 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 93 kg (205 lb)
F 13 Kouakou-Heugue, Noa (NS) 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 95 kg (209 lb)
F 22 Gerovich, Thomas (DP) 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
F 24 Wagstaff, Jesse (C) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 103 kg (227 lb)
F 25 Huefner, Cameron (DP) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 104 kg (229 lb)
F 35 Okwera, David 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
G 40 Pepper, Elijah 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 91 kg (201 lb)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Keegan Crawford
  • Ben Peterson
  • Aaron Young
Strength & conditioning coach(es)
  • Josh Cavanagh
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • (SRP) Special restricted player
  • (NS) Next Star player
  • Injured
Updated: 14 March 2026

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Development Injured
PG Ben Henshall Dontae Russo-Nance
SG Elijah Pepper Sunday Dech Jaron Rillie (DP)
SF David Duke Jr. (I) Lat Mayen Cameron Huefner (DP) Dylan Windler (I)
PF Kristian Doolittle (I) Jesse Wagstaff Noa Kouakou-Heugue (NS) Thomas Gerovich (DP)
C Jo Lual-Acuil David Okwera

Standings

Ladder

Pos 2025–26 NBL season
Team Pld W L PCT Last 5 Streak Home Away PF PA PP
1 Sydney Kings 33 24 9 72.73% 5–0 W11 13–4 11–5 3276 2879 113.79%
2 Adelaide 36ers 33 23 10 69.70% 2–3 L1 12–5 11–5 3042 2890 105.26%
3 S.E. Melbourne Phoenix 33 22 11 66.67% 3–2 L1 11–5 11–6 3324 3061 108.59%
4 Perth Wildcats 33 21 12 63.64% 4–1 W1 10–7 11–5 2996 2840 105.49%
5 Melbourne United 33 20 13 60.61% 2–3 W1 11–6 9–7 3041 2905 104.68%
6 Tasmania JackJumpers 33 14 19 42.42% 2–3 L2 6–10 8–9 2873 2884 99.62%
7 New Zealand Breakers 33 13 20 39.39% 2–3 W1 7–9 6–11 3022 3058 98.82%
8 Illawarra Hawks 33 13 20 39.39% 3–2 W2 7–9 6–11 3074 3205 95.91%
9 Cairns Taipans 33 9 24 27.27% 1–4 L2 4–13 5–11 2754 3194 86.22%
10 Brisbane Bullets 33 6 27 18.18% 0–5 L13 2–14 4–13 2710 3196 84.79%

Updated to match(es) played on 20 February 2026. Source: NBL.com.au

The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win–loss record, the overall points percentage will determine order of seeding.

Ladder progression

Leader and qualification to semifinals
Qualification to semifinals
Qualification to play-in
Last place
2025–26 NBL season
Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
Adelaide 36ers—212233322111111111122
Brisbane Bullets37897777889999910101010101010
Cairns Taipans7477810910101010101010109999999
Illawarra Hawks—99810810879888878878888
Melbourne United2121111111223234444555
New Zealand Breakers6101010998997677787787777
Perth Wildcats5643655554455555555444
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix1564322233332422223333
Sydney Kings—856564445544343332211
Tasmania JackJumpers4335446666766666666666
Updated to match(es) played on 20 February 2026. Source: NBL.com.au

Game log

Pre-season

Main article: 2025 NBL pre-season

The 2025 NBL Blitz will run from 27 to 31 August 2025 with games being played at the AIS Arena, Canberra.[1][2]

2025 NBL Blitz game log
Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
August: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 27 August Melbourne W 84–78 Ben Henshall (16) Ben Henshall (7) three players (2) AIS Arena
n/a 		1–0
2 29 August @ Illawarra L 100–92 Dylan Windler (27) Dontae Russo-Nance (8) three players (5) AIS Arena
n/a 		1–1

Regular season

Main article: 2025–26 NBL regular season

The regular season will begin on 18 September 2025.[3] It will consist of 165 games (33 games each) spread across 22 rounds, with the final game being played on 20 February 2026.[4]

2025–26 game log
Total: 21–12 (Home: 10–7; Road: 11–5)
September: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 20 September Tasmania L 72–75 Mason Jones (16) Jo Lual-Acuil (14) Jones, Windler (3) Perth Arena
11,701 		0–1
2 27 September @ New Zealand W 78–89 Jo Lual-Acuil (21) Dylan Windler (15) Doolittle, Henshall (3) Spark Arena
4,047 		1–1
October: 4–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 3–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
3 2 October Illawarra W 92–84 Jo Lual-Acuil (22) Dylan Windler (14) Doolittle, Jones (4) Perth Arena
11,572 		2–1
4 10 October @ Cairns W 77–80 Jo Lual-Acuil (30) Dylan Windler (11) Russo-Nance, Windler (3) Cairns Convention Centre
3,985 		3–1
5 15 October Brisbane L 93–110 Mason Jones (19) Kristian Doolittle (5) Kristian Doolittle (6) Perth Arena
6,110 		3–2
6 19 October @ Sydney L 94–72 Jo Lual-Acuil (17) Kristian Doolittle (10) Lual-Acuil, Rillie (3) Sydney SuperDome
8,032 		3–3
7 22 October @ Cairns W 78–110 Jo Lual-Acuil (24) Kristian Doolittle (8) three players (4) Cairns Convention Centre
3,317 		4–3
8 25 October Illawarra L 84–85 Jo Lual-Acuil (18) Jo Lual-Acuil (12) Kristian Doolittle (5) Perth Arena
12,497 		4–4
9 29 October @ Tasmania W 84–95 Jo Lual-Acuil (23) Dontae Russo-Nance (7) Kristian Doolittle (4) Derwent Entertainment Centre
4,139 		5–4
November: 3–2 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
10 2 November @ S.E. Melbourne L 94–89 Kristian Doolittle (19) Kristian Doolittle (13) Jaron Rillie (7) John Cain Arena
9,386 		5–5
11 9 November @ Adelaide W 87–94 Dylan Windler (18) Dylan Windler (12) Dylan Windler (5) Adelaide Entertainment Centre
10,029 		6–5
12 15 November New Zealand W 88–75 Kristian Doolittle (24) Kristian Doolittle (14) three players (2) Perth Arena
12,350 		7–5
13 21 November Tasmania W 101–95 Kristian Doolittle (30) Jo Lual-Acuil (8) Kristian Doolittle (6) Perth Arena
10,930 		8–5
14 23 November @ Melbourne L 98–87 Kristian Doolittle (20) Kristian Doolittle (11) Kristian Doolittle (6) John Cain Arena
9,212 		8–6
December: 3–4 (Home: 1–3; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
15 4 December Melbourne W 96–84 Jo Lual-Acuil (18) Kristian Doolittle (9) Kristian Doolittle (7) Perth Arena
10,210 		9–6
16 7 December Adelaide L 94–95 Jo Lual-Acuil (19) Kristian Doolittle (11) Kristian Doolittle (6) Perth Arena
13,661 		9–7
17 12 December Sydney L 79–108 Dylan Windler (14) Dylan Windler (8) David Duke Jr. (7) Perth Arena
10,958 		9–8
18 14 December @ Brisbane W 62–86 Ben Henshall (15) Jo Lual-Acuil (9) David Duke Jr. (3) Brisbane Entertainment Centre
5,167 		10–8
19 18 December S.E. Melbourne L 76–77 David Duke Jr. (21) Dylan Windler (11) David Duke Jr. (5) Perth Arena
10,802 		10–9
20 21 December @ Tasmania W 85–94 Kristian Doolittle (30) Kristian Doolittle (6) David Duke Jr. (5) Derwent Entertainment Centre
4,340 		11–9
21 28 December @ Adelaide L 95–84 Kristian Doolittle (18) Kristian Doolittle (6) Ben Henshall (4) Adelaide Entertainment Centre
10,041 		11–10
January: 7–1 (Home: 3–1; Road: 4–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
22 1 January @ Brisbane W 75–95 Jo Lual-Acuil (17) Jo Lual-Acuil (8) David Okwera (4) Brisbane Entertainment Centre
3,984 		12–10
23 4 January @ New Zealand W 91–99 Kristian Doolittle (21) Dylan Windler (10) Henshall, Rillie (4) Spark Arena
5,141 		13–10
24 10 January @ S.E. Melbourne W 97–107 Dylan Windler (27) Kristian Doolittle (12) Doolittle, Rillie (4) State Basketball Centre
3,422 		14–10
25 16 January Illawarra W 92–87 Kristian Doolittle (21) Kristian Doolittle (11) Ben Henshall (7) Perth Arena
12,507 		15–10
26 22 January Cairns W 106–69 Elijah Pepper (25) Jo Lual-Acuil (6) Ben Henshall (7) Perth Arena
11,377 		16–10
27 25 January Melbourne L 73–74 Jo Lual-Acuil (24) Jo Lual-Acuil (11) three players (3) Perth Arena
12,707 		16–11
28 28 January S.E. Melbourne W 101–93 Dylan Windler (23) Dylan Windler (11) Ben Henshall (9) Perth Arena
6,245 		17–11
29 31 January @ Illawarra W 99–106 Kristian Doolittle (26) Ben Henshall (9) Ben Henshall (6) Wollongong Entertainment Centre
4,234 		18–11
February: 3–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
30 6 February Cairns W 98–84 Kristian Doolittle (32) Dylan Windler (11) Ben Henshall (5) Perth Arena
11,161 		19–11
31 13 February Brisbane W 94–75 Kristian Doolittle (28) Jo Lual-Acuil (8) Kristian Doolittle (6) Perth Arena
11,447 		20–11
32 15 February @ Sydney L 102–84 Kristian Doolittle (19) Elijah Pepper (10) Jesse Wagstaff (3) Sydney SuperDome
13,613 		20–12
33 20 February Adelaide W 86–74 Elijah Pepper (22) Jesse Wagstaff (7) Kristian Doolittle (8) Perth Arena
13,574 		21–12
2025–26 season schedule

NBL Ignite Cup

Main article: 2025–26 NBL Ignite Cup

The NBL introduced the new NBL Ignite Cup tournament for the 2025–26 season, with all games except the championship final counting towards the regular-season standings.[5][6]

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PP BP Pts Qualification
1 Adelaide 36ers 4 3 1 390 329 118.5 12 21 Ignite Cup final
2 New Zealand Breakers 4 3 1 441 385 114.5 11 20
3 Perth Wildcats 4 3 1 399 365 109.3 9.5 18.5
4 Melbourne United 4 2 2 390 359 108.6 9.5 15.5
5 Tasmania JackJumpers 4 2 2 349 338 103.3 8.5 14.5
6 S.E. Melbourne Phoenix 4 2 2 408 402 101.5 8 14
7 Illawarra Hawks 4 2 2 372 397 93.7 7 13
8 Brisbane Bullets 4 1 3 334 411 81.3 6 9
9 Sydney Kings 4 1 3 350 381 91.9 5 8
10 Cairns Taipans 4 1 3 340 406 83.7 3.5 6.5
Updated to match(es) played on 28 January 2026. Source: Ignitecup.com.au


Postseason

Main article: 2026 NBL Finals
2026 finals game log
Total: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2)
Seeding qualifier: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 4 March @ S.E. Melbourne L 111–94 Kristian Doolittle (22) three players (6) Dylan Windler (7) John Cain Arena
3,891 		0–1
Play-in game: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
2 7 March Melbourne W 95–77 Jo Lual-Acuil (28) Jo Lual-Acuil (12) Doolittle, Henshall (6) Perth Arena
6,731 		1–1
Semifinals: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 11 March @ Sydney L 105–104 Kristian Doolittle (31) Jo Lual-Acuil (12) David Duke Jr. (8) Sydney SuperDome
10,132 		0–1
2 14 March Sydney L 75–89 Ben Henshall (20) Jo Lual-Acuil (14) David Duke Jr. (5) Perth Arena
9,711 		0–2
2026 finals schedule

Transactions

Free agency began on 4 April 2025.[7][8]

Re-signed

Player Date Signed Contract Ref.
Dylan Windler 20 April 2025 2-year deal [9]
David Okwera 24 April 2025 1-year deal [10]

Additions

Player Date Signed Contract Former team Ref.
Cameron Huefner 4 April 2025 3-year deal Sam Houston Bearkats [11]
Sunday Dech 23 April 2025 3-year deal (mutual option) Adelaide 36ers [12]
Lat Mayen 23 April 2025 2-year deal Adelaide 36ers [13]
Jo Lual-Acuil 22 July 2025 2-year deal Al Ittihad Alexandria [14]
Mason Jones 8 September 2025 1-year deal Stockton Kings [15]
David Duke Jr. 24 October 2025 1-year deal San Antonio Spurs [16]

Subtractions

Player Reason left Date Left New Team Ref.
Michael Harris Free agent 7 April 2025 Adelaide 36ers [17]
Bryce Cotton Free agent 22 May 2025 Adelaide 36ers [18]
Mason Jones Released 17 October 2025 n/a [19]

Awards

Club awards

See also

References

  1. ^ "Blitz heads to Canberra". NBL.com.au. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Canberra back on NBL agenda with hosting of Blitz". CanberraTimes.com.au. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  3. ^ Uluc, Olgun (20 June 2025). "Storylines everywhere as NBL releases schedule for 2025-26 season". ESPN Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  4. ^ Jackson, Andrew (20 June 2025). "'Personal' rivalries as 'hurt' US star, five-time MVP face former teams: NBL and WNBL Schedule". Fox Sports. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  5. ^ Uluc, Olgun (7 October 2025). "NBL Ignite Cup: Everything you need to know". ESPN Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  6. ^ Shadlow, Jai (7 October 2025). "'All roads lead to Gold Coast': In-season tournament reveal adds to NBL expansion rumblings". Fox Sports. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Free agency begins April 4". NBL.com.au. 19 March 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  8. ^ "NBL26 Roster Tracker: Every signing, extension and departure". NBL.com.au. 22 June 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  9. ^ "'Unfinished business' for Windler after signing two-year deal". Perth Wildcats. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Perth reveals next move". NBL.com.au. 24 April 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Forward thinking: Wildcats sign emerging talent". NBL.com.au. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Two-time NBL champion returns home to Wildcats". Perth Wildcats. 22 April 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Versatile forward joins Wildcats in latest free-agency addition". Perth Wildcats. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  14. ^ O'Donoghue, Craig (22 July 2025). "Jo Lual-Acuil: Perth Wildcats sign former Melbourne United star on a two-year NBL contract". The West Australian. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  15. ^ Uluc, Olgun (5 September 2025). "Perth Wildcats set to lock in final import". ESPN Australia. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  16. ^ "Ex-NBA guard puts pen to paper with championship contender — NBL Rumour Mill". Fox Sports. 24 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  17. ^ "Harris signs on for NBL26 season". Adelaide36ers.com. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Bryce Cotton signs bombshell multi-year deal with Adelaide 36ers". ESPN Australia. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  19. ^ Uluc, Olgun (17 October 2025). "Perth Wildcats part ways with import Mason Jones". ESPN Australia. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
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