1988 NBL season
The 1988 NBL season was the tenth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 13 teams contested the league.
Clubs
Following the merger of the Sydney Supersonics and West Sydney Westars to form the Sydney Kings, the NBL had 13 clubs spread across all Australian states and territories with the exception of the Northern Territory.| Club | Location | Home Venue | Capacity | Founded | Head coach |
| Adelaide 36ers |  Adelaide, South Australia | Apollo Stadium | 3,000 | 1982 |  Gary Fox |
| Brisbane Bullets |  Brisbane, Queensland | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | 13,500 | 1979 |  Brian Kerle |
| Canberra Cannons |  Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | AIS Arena | 5,200 | 1979 | Bob Turner |
| Eastside Melbourne Spectres |  Melbourne, Victoria | Burwood Stadium | 2,000 | 1979 | Brian Goorjian |
| Geelong Supercats | Geelong, Victoria | Geelong Arena | 2,000 | 1982 | Pete Mathieson |
| Hobart Tassie Devils |  Hobart, Tasmania | Kingborough Sports Centre | 1,800 | 1983 | |
| Illawarra Hawks |  Wollongong, New South Wales | Illawarra Basketball Stadium | 2,000 | 1979 | Dave Lindstrom |
| Melbourne Tigers | Melbourne, Victoria | The Glass House | 7,200 | 1931 | Lindsay Gaze |
| Newcastle Falcons | Newcastle, New South Wales | Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium | 2,200 | 1979 | Ken Cole |
| North Melbourne Giants | Melbourne, Victoria | The Glass House | 7,200 | 1980 | Bruce Palmer |
| Perth Wildcats |  Perth, Western Australia | Perth Superdome | 4,500 | 1982 | Cal Bruton |
| Sydney Kings | Sydney, New South Wales | State Sports Centre | 5,006 | 1988 | Claude Williams |
| Westside Melbourne Saints | Melbourne, Victoria | Keilor Stadium | 2,000 | 1979 |
Regular season
The home and away season took place over 22 rounds between 12 February 1988 and 9 July 1988 with Elimination finals taking place on the 14th and 16 July, the Semi Finals taking place between 19 July 1988 and 24 July 1988 and the grand final series on 30 July until 7 August 1988.Ladder
This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.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 results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.
Finals
Elimination Finals
Both matches were single game elimination contests. The team that qualified 3rd at the end of the regular season would host the team that finished 6th, with the team finishing 4th hosting the team placed 5th. The teams that finished the regular season 1st and 2nd had a bye into the semi final stage.| Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue |
| 14 July | Canberra Cannons | 102-92 | Newcastle Falcons | The Palace, Canberra |
| 16 July | Brisbane Bullets | 98-113 | Perth Wildcats | Boondall |
Semi-Finals
Each were played as a best of 3 game series| Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue |
| 19 July | Canberra Cannons | 100-91 | Adelaide 36ers | The Palace |
| 20 July | Perth Wildcats | 108-105 | North Melbourne Giants | Perth Superdrome |
| 22 July | Adelaide 36ers | 95-100 | Canberra Cannons | Apollo Stadium |
| 22 July | North Melbourne Giants | 137-113 | Perth Wildcats | The Glass House |
| 24 July | North Melbourne Giants | 134-111 | Perth Wildcats | The Glass House |
Grand Final
1988 NBL statistics leaders
NBL awards
- Most Valuable Player: Joe Hurst, Hobart Tassie Devils
- Most Valuable Player Grand Final: Phil Smyth, Canberra Cannons
- Rookie of the Year: Shane Heal, Brisbane Bullets
- Coach of the Year: Bruce Palmer, North Melbourne Giants
All NBL Team