BIO: Steve Davis was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Frankston basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Steve Davis made his NBL debut with the Frankston Bears on 10/2/1983. He scored one point in his first NBL game.

Davis went on to average 4.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in his first NBL season as Frankston finished with a record of 6-16 record.

COBURG GIANTS
1985
Davis wasn’t re-signed by Frankston for the 1984 season. Instead, he continued to develop his game in the Victorian state league. In 1985 was given another opportunity to play in the national league with the Coburg Giants. Davis averaged 8 points and 5.7 rebounds as the Giants finished with a record of 18-8, good enough for a fifth place finish during the regular season.

NUNAWADING SPECTRES
1986
In 1986, Davis averaged 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds and helped guide the Spectres to a ninth-place finish in the regular season with a 12-14 record.

PERTH WILDCATS
1987
The Wildcats underwent many changes this season, new owner Bob Williams was focused on turning the Wildcats’ who, at that point, had never had a winning season, into contenders. His first move was to recruit Cal Bruton as player/coach to bring a level of professionalism to the team. This saw Bruton mandate players to wear suits with the team’s’ logo in public as a example. Williams also provided him with a budget and the expectations to ‘build me a team’, which Bruton set to work on immediately.

Additionally, the team moved from the small confines of Perry Lakes Stadium to what was known in those days as the Perth Superdrome (now HBF Stadium) that season—presenting the task of having to fill a 5,000 seat stadium instead of a 800-seat stadium. To make sure that happened, they recruited James Crawford, who was coming off three straight All-NBL First Team seasons playing with the Geelong Supercats and Canberra Cannons and was sure to fill the building.

Let’s just say once the ‘Alabama Slamma’ arrived in WA, finding a extra 4,200 rapid basketball fans in Perth was ‘easy work’. Crawford filled the stands and the stat sheet that season, averaging 33.4 points (shooting 61% from the field), 11.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.9 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game, a season which sits second in all time in player efficiency rating. This season included Crawford’s 57 points against the Tigers, which remains the highest score ever by a Perth Wildcats player.

Bruton also paired Crawford with former Sydney Supersonics import Kendal Pinder, and together, the two would become the league’s best frontcourt tandem. In addition to Crawford’s brilliance, Pinder (23.5 points, 13.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals) led the team in rebounds and Bruton, while juggling the player/coach role, averaged 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals led the team in assists. Mike Ellis, who remained as team captain, averaged 9.4 points, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals, and Davis also contributed 8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists.

In Crawford’s first year with the Wildcats, he earned his fourth (and last) All-NBL First Team selection, as the team finished fourth with a 19–7 record. This saw Perth make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Crawford, who also led the league in field goal percentage, was named to the All-NBL First Team before the team sliced through the Canberra Cannons in the elimination finals and first placed Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals. Perth, after never having made the playoffs, suddenly found themselves in the Grand Final series against the Brisbane Bullets.

the Wildcats were repeatedly referred to as the ‘Cinderella’ story as they entered the season, having finished in third-last position in 1986, only to go on to make the Grand Final. The ‘run, stun and have some fun’ style of play that had been implemented that season had worked wonders until the Grand Final series. The series was a promoter’s dream: East Coast versus West; solid fundamentals versus ‘run and gun’ – future Hall of Fame members on both sides on the floor; and two coaches who couldn’t stand each other (Brian Kerle versus Cal Bruton). The Bullets defeated the Wildcat’s by just one point in front of a sell-out Perth crowd in game one of the three-match series before claiming the Championship in Brisbane in game two a few days later.

1988
After a run that saw the Wildcats reach both the playoffs and the Grand Final for the first time in 1987, Perth retained almost their entire roster and looked to go one step further. Star players James Crawford, Kendal Pinder, Mike Ellis and player/coach Cal Bruton all returned for (what was expected to be) a even better result than 1988.

The team even got stronger on paper by allowing Craig Fitzsimmons to move to Geelong and replacing him with Westside Melbourne star Paul Kuiper and signing up-and-coming talent Scott Fenton to replace the retiring Glenn Ellis.

Crawford (26.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.9 blocks) filled the stat sheet every game, leading the team in points, steals and blocks. Pinder (21.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.0 steals) again led the team in rebounds as Bruton (15.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals) and Ellis (7.8 points, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals) shared the ball handling responsibilities.

Kuiper (15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds) made a immediate impact while 22-year-old Trevor Torrence had a breakout season with his production jumping from 6.2 points in 18 minutes per game to 12.4 points in 27 minutes per game. Additionally, Davis added 3.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.6 assists over the course of the year as well.

As it had always been in previous seasons, Perth was a tough matchup at home (9-3 record) while struggling to win on the road (4-8 record). They finished on 13 wins and 11 losses and in the sixth spot on the ladder, taking the final playoff seed.

Perth came out firing to start the postseason, first eliminating Leroy Loggins and the Brisbane Bullets in the first round and then winning the first game of the semi finals 108-105) against the North Melbourne Giants. The Giants, who featured Scott Fisher and Tim Dillon on the roster, one of the best big man import duos of all time, would prove too much for Perth this season. They returned to Melbourne for the remaining two semi-final games and defeated the Wildcat’s in back-to-back games, ending the Wildcats’ playoff run prematurely.

1989
During the 1989 season, Davis averaged 8.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists and was a part of the Wildcat’s squad, which finished in third place with a record of 16-8.

1990
In 1990, Davis averaged 7 points and 2.9 rebounds and helped guide the Wildcat’s to a fifth place finish in the regular season with a 17-9 record.

1991
In controversial circumstances, Cal Bruton was not retained as coach despite leading the Wildcats to a championship in 1990. He was replaced by Murray Arnold, a former assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. Arnold’s style of game was focused on defence which was a significant change from the high-scoring and entertaining style previously implemented under Bruton. In pursuit of back-to-back championships, the Wildcats strengthened their roster considerably in the off-season with the addition of future WA basketball legend Andrew Vlahov and Peter Hansen, a American who arrived via Venezuela, Spain and the Perry Lakes Hawks.

Arnold’s Wildcats were a highly successful team, as they finished the regular season in first place (22-4). Ricky Grace delivered another amazing year, averaging 22.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Alongside him, veteran James Crawford added 20.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, Hansen averaged 16.2 points, and 9.5 rebounds, second-year talent Andrew Vlahov finished with 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds, and Davis added 2.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

After another successful regular season, Perth entered the finals brimming with confidence. The Wildcats easily accounted for long-term rivals the Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals to then find themselves against the highly-rated Eastside Melbourne Spectres in the Grand Final. The Wildcats had a unique opportunity to win back-to-back titles, a feat only achieved by two other team’s to that point in the history of the NBL. Everything looked on track when the Wildcats were able to defeat the Spectres in game one in Melbourne by 26 points (109–83). After another successful regular season, Perth entered the finals brimming with confidence. The Wildcats easily accounted for long-term rivals the Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals to then find themselves against the highly-rated Eastside Melbourne Spectres in the Grand Final. The Wildcats had a unique opportunity to win back-to-back titles, a feat only achieved by two other team’s to that point in the history of the NBL. Everything looked on track when the Wildcats were able to defeat the Spectres in game one in Melbourne by 26 points (109–83). Perth had hit a fever pitch and delivered another sold-out crowd awaited the Wildcat’s for game two back at home. However, with their backs against the wall, the Spectres performed with a never-say-die attitude and upset the favourites at home by five points (86–81).

With game two being played on a Friday night and game three scheduled for Sunday, The Wildcats had little time to formulate a new strategy. However, in front of a electric Perth crowd, the Wildcats were victorious in the deciding third game by 10 points (90–80) and became the third team in history to win back-to-back NBL Championships. Hansen was named MVP of the Grand Final series after averaging 17.3 points per game over the three games Wildcats for game two back at home. However, with their backs against the wall, the Spectres performed with a never-say-die attitude and upset the favourites at home by five points (86–81). game two was played on a Friday night and game three was scheduled for Sunday, leaving the Wildcat’s little time to formulate a new strategy. However, in front of a electric Perth crowd, the Wildcats were victorious in the deciding third game by 10 points (90–80) and became the third team in history to win back-to-back NBL Championships. Hansen was named MVP of the Grand Final series after averaging 17.3 points per game over the three games.

1992
In 1992, Davis averaged 2.6 points and 2 rebounds, and helped guide the Wildcat’s to a seventh-place finish during the regular season with a 12-12 record.

1993
In 1993, Davis averaged 2 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.3 assists as the Wildcats finished with a record of 21-5 and in first place during the regular season.

Steve Davis played ten seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Frankston Bears, Coburg Giants, Nunawading Spectres and Perth Wildcats. He averaged 5.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 256 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (815 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.