2024–25 Perth Wildcats season

2024–25 Perth Wildcats season
Head coachAustralia John Rillie
CaptainAustralia Jesse Wagstaff
ArenaPerth Arena
NBL results
Record11–9 (55%)
Ladder5th
Finals finishTBD
Stats at NBL.com.au
All statistics correct as of 28 December 2024.
← 2023–24
2025–26 →

The 2024–25 Perth Wildcats season is the 44th season of the franchise in the National Basketball League (NBL), and their third under the leadership of head coach John Rillie.

On 17 September 2024, Rillie signed a three-year contract extension with the Wildcats to remain as head coach until the end of the 2027–28 season.[1]

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.
G 0 New Zealand Webster, Tai Injured 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 89 kg (196 lb)
G 1 New Zealand Russo-Nance, Dontae (DP) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
G/F 3 United States Windler, Dylan (I) 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 89 kg (196 lb)
F 5 United States Doolittle, Kristian Injured (I) 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 105 kg (231 lb)
F/C 8 Spain Almansa, Izan (NS) 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 104 kg (229 lb)
G/F 10 Australia Henshall, Ben 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
G 11 United States Cotton, Bryce (I) 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 76 kg (168 lb)
F 13 New Zealand Harris, Hyrum 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 110 kg (243 lb)
G 17 Australia Harris, Michael 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 85 kg (187 lb)
F 22 Australia Gerovich, Thomas (DP) 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
F 24 Australia Wagstaff, Jesse (C) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 103 kg (227 lb)
F/C 25 Australia Pinder, Keanu 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 103 kg (227 lb)
F 33 United States Withers, Todd (NRP) 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 98 kg (216 lb)
F 35 Australia Okwera, David 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
G 40 Australia Pepper, Elijah 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 91 kg (201 lb)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Australia Keegan Crawford
  • Australia Gerard Martin
  • New Zealand Aaron Young
Strength & conditioning coach(es)
  • Australia Josh Cavanagh
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • (SRP) Special restricted player
  • (NS) Next Star player
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 19 December 2024

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Inactive
PG Tai Webster Ben Henshall Dontae Russo-Nance
SG Bryce Cotton Elijah Pepper Michael Harris
SF Dylan Windler Hyrum Harris Thomas Gerovich
PF Kristian Doolittle Izan Almansa Jesse Wagstaff Todd Withers
C Keanu Pinder David Okwera

Standings

Ladder

Pos 2024–25 NBL season
Team Pld W L PCT Last 5 Streak Home Away PF PA PP
1 Illawarra Hawks 19 13 6 68.42% 4–1 L1 5–3 8–3 1926 1745 110.37%
2 Melbourne United 21 13 8 61.90% 1–4 W1 7–6 6–2 2003 1892 105.87%
3 Tasmania JackJumpers 19 11 8 57.89% 5–0 W8 7–2 4–6 1591 1583 100.51%
4 Sydney Kings 20 11 9 55.00% 3–2 L2 4–4 7–5 1791 1720 104.13%
5 Perth Wildcats 20 11 9 55.00% 3–2 W1 7–3 4–6 1955 1940 100.77%
6 S.E. Melbourne Phoenix 19 10 9 52.63% 4–1 W3 6–3 4–6 1756 1693 103.72%
7 Brisbane Bullets 19 9 10 47.37% 2–3 L2 5–4 4–6 1810 1833 98.75%
8 Adelaide 36ers 19 8 11 42.11% 2–3 W1 6–5 2–6 1749 1855 94.29%
9 New Zealand Breakers 19 8 11 42.11% 1–4 W1 4–5 4–6 1616 1720 93.95%
10 Cairns Taipans 19 3 16 15.79% 0–5 L15 2–9 1–7 1578 1794 87.96%

Updated to match(es) played on 31 December 2024. 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
2024–25 NBL season
Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920
Adelaide 36ers88655444469888
Brisbane Bullets610997878798757
Cairns Taipans10746691010101010101010
Illawarra Hawks11221123322111
Melbourne United23534231111222
New Zealand Breakers52112312235999
Perth Wildcats45878666654465
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix791010101087876676
Sydney Kings34343555543334
Tasmania JackJumpers96789799987543
Updated to match(es) played on 31 December 2024. Source: NBL.com.au

Game log

Pre-season

Main article: 2024 NBL pre-season
2024 NBL Blitz game log
Total: 3–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 2–0)
September: 3–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 2–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 8 September New Zealand W 108–102 Bryce Cotton (32) Keanu Pinder (8) Hyrum Harris (5) Carrara Indoor Stadium
n/a 		1–0
2 19 September @ Illawarra W 93–98 Ben Henshall (18) Ben Henshall (10) three players (4) Gold Coast Sports Centre
n/a 		2–0
3 21 September @ Cairns W 76–89 Tai Webster (16) Izan Almansa (8) Tai Webster (5) Gold Coast Sports Centre
n/a 		3–0

Regular season

Main article: 2024–25 NBL regular season
2024–25 game log
Total: 11–9 (Home: 7–3; Road: 4–6)
September: 1–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 20 September S.E. Melbourne W 106–98 Keanu Pinder (29) Kristian Doolittle (13) Ben Henshall (7) Perth Arena
11,530 		1–0
2 27 September Sydney L 87–88 Kristian Doolittle (21) Dylan Windler (16) Doolittle, Pepper (3) Perth Arena
11,800 		1–1
October: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
3 4 October Melbourne L 68–97 Doolittle, Henshall (12) Keanu Pinder (10) Bryce Cotton (5) Perth Arena
12,287 		1–2
4 6 October @ Tasmania L 84–79 (OT) Bryce Cotton (24) Keanu Pinder (14) Bryce Cotton (4) Derwent Entertainment Centre
4,340 		1–3
5 10 October @ Cairns W 87–90 Bryce Cotton (35) Kristian Doolittle (11) Kristian Doolittle (4) Cairns Convention Centre
3,750 		2–3
6 19 October @ New Zealand L 89–85 Tai Webster (20) Kristian Doolittle (11) Tai Webster (6) Spark Arena
5,822 		2–4
7 25 October Sydney W 87–84 Keanu Pinder (34) Kristian Doolittle (14) Ben Henshall (8) Perth Arena
11,114 		3–4
November: 4–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
8 1 November Illawarra W 113–105 Ben Henshall (26) Keanu Pinder (6) Kristian Doolittle (7) Perth Arena
10,421 		4–4
9 3 November @ S.E. Melbourne L 100–76 Elijah Pepper (17) Kristian Doolittle (8) Ben Henshall (5) John Cain Arena
8,362 		4–5
10 7 November Tasmania W 88–82 Kristian Doolittle (18) Kristian Doolittle (12) Tai Webster (6) Perth Arena
10,793 		5–5
11 9 November @ Melbourne L 106–97 Kristian Doolittle (21) Keanu Pinder (10) Doolittle, Webster (5) John Cain Arena
7,885 		5–6
12 15 November S.E. Melbourne W 97–84 Bryce Cotton (33) Izan Almansa (9) Kristian Doolittle (5) Perth Arena
11,086 		6–6
13 17 November @ Brisbane L 105–84 Keanu Pinder (27) Dylan Windler (11) Dylan Windler (4) Brisbane Entertainment Centre
6,086 		6–7
14 29 November Brisbane W 117–89 Kristian Doolittle (17) three players (5) Kristian Doolittle (7) Perth Arena
10,937 		7–7
December: 4–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 3–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
15 1 December New Zealand W 123–112 Bryce Cotton (59) Izan Almansa (8) Bryce Cotton (7) Perth Arena
12,505 		8–7
16 6 December Illawarra L 111–121 Bryce Cotton (40) Izan Almansa (9) four players (4) Perth Arena
11,296 		8–8
17 8 December @ Adelaide W 105–115 Bryce Cotton (49) Almansa, Withers (7) Cotton, Henshall (4) Adelaide Entertainment Centre
9,352 		9–8
19 14 December @ Cairns W 92–128 Bryce Cotton (44) Keanu Pinder (10) Bryce Cotton (6) Cairns Convention Centre
4,386 		10–8
19 22 December @ Illawarra L 120–88 Keanu Pinder (16) H.Harris, Windler (4) Ben Henshall (4) Wollongong Entertainment Centre
5,462 		10–9
20 28 December @ Adelaide W 92–116 Dylan Windler (24) Keanu Pinder (10) Bryce Cotton (12) Adelaide Entertainment Centre
9,495 		11–9
January: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
21 5 January @ New Zealand 0–0 Spark Arena
 –
22 12 January @ Tasmania 0–0 Derwent Entertainment Centre
 –
23 15 January @ Brisbane 0–0 Brisbane Entertainment Centre
 –
24 17 January Adelaide 0–0 Perth Arena
 –
25 22 January Melbourne 0–0 Perth Arena
 –
26 25 January Cairns 0–0 Perth Arena
 –
27 31 January S.E. Melbourne 0–0 Perth Arena
 –
February: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
28 2 February @ Sydney 0–0 Sydney SuperDome
 –
29 7 February Adelaide 0–0 Perth Arena
2024–25 season schedule

Transactions

Re-signed

Player Date Signed Contract Ref.
Kristian Doolittle 19 March 2024 1-year deal [2]
Jesse Wagstaff 11 April 2024 1-year deal [3]
Tai Webster 12 April 2024 1-year deal [4]

Additions

Player Date Signed Contract Former team Ref.
Elijah Pepper 19 April 2024 2-year deal (club option) UC Davis Aggies [5]
Izan Almansa 29 June 2024 1-year deal (next star) NBA G League Ignite [6]

Subtractions

Player Reason left Date Left New Team Ref.
Kyle Zunic Free agent 21 March 2024 Keilor Thunder [7]
Corey Webster Option declined 12 April 2024 Auckland Tuatara [8]
Jordan Usher Free agent 13 June 2024 JL Bourg [9]
Alex Sarr NBA draft 26 June 2024 Washington Wizards [10]

Awards

Club awards

  • Club MVP:
  • Coaches’ Award:
  • Most Improved Player:
  • Best Defensive Player:
  • Players’ Player:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Rillie good news as Wildcats coach re-signs". Wildcats.com.au. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Doolittle rewarded with new deal". NBL.com.au. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Sweet 16 in NBL for Wildcats captain Wagstaff". ESPN.com.au. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  4. ^ "'We have a great chance': Tai locked in for NBL25". Wildcats.com.au. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Perth adds Pepper for NBL25". NBL.com.au. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Spanish sensation joins Wildcats as Next Star". Wildcats.com.au. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Thunder Nation, Get Ready to Roar!". facebook.com/northsidewizards. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Mixed fortunes for Webster brothers". NBL.com.au. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Jordan Usher, nouvelle recrue burgienne". jlbourg-basket.com (in French). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  10. ^ Trister, Noah (26 June 2024). "Washington Wizards take French 7-footer Alex Sarr with the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 27 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.