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2025–26 Cairns Taipans season

2025–26 Cairns Taipans season
Head coachAustralia Adam Forde
CaptainNew Zealand Sam Waardenburg
ArenaCairns Convention Centre
NBL results
Record9–23 (28.1%)
Ladder9th
Finals finishDid not qualify
Stats at NBL.com.au
Ignite Cup results
Record1–3 (25%)
Ladder10th
Ignite Cup finishDid not qualify
All statistics correct as of 13 February 2026.

The 2025–26 Cairns Taipans season is the 27th season of the franchise in the National Basketball League (NBL), and the fifth season under the leadership of their head coach Adam Forde. After initially parting ways with the Taipans following the 2024–25 season,[1] Forde re-signed as head coach on 13 June 2025.[2]

Roster

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

Cairns Taipans roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
G 0 New Zealand King, Mojave (IRP) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 88 kg (194 lb)
G 1 Australia McVeigh, Lloyd (DP) 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 92 kg (203 lb)
G 2 Australia Smith, Reyne 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 86 kg (190 lb)
F 3 South Sudan Mag, Mawot Injured 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 97 kg (214 lb)
G 4 Australia Adnam, Kyle 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 84 kg (185 lb)
F 5 United States Schofield, Admiral (I) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 109 kg (240 lb)
G 6 Australia Stattmann, Kody 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 91 kg (201 lb)
F 7 Australia Dennis, Kian (IRP) 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
F 9 Australia McVeigh, Jack 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 93 kg (205 lb)
C 10 Australia Richardson, Jed (DP)
F 11 Australia Higgins-Titsha, Alex Injured 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 81 kg (179 lb)
G 12 United States Andrews, Andrew (I) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 91 kg (201 lb)
F 14 Australia Galloway, Kyrin 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 98 kg (216 lb)
F 21 New Zealand Waardenburg, Sam Injured (C) 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 100 kg (220 lb)
C 24 United States Lee, Marcus (I) 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 99 kg (218 lb)
G 38 Australia Barker, Lachlan (NRP) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 86 kg (190 lb)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Australia Angus Henskens
  • Australia Michael Lake
  • Australia Will Lopez
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (I) Import player
  • (IRP) Injury replacement player
  • (NRP) Nominated replacement player
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 12 February 2026

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Development Injured
PG Andrew Andrews (I) Kyle Adnam Lachlan Barker (NRP) Reyne Smith injured
SG Mojave King (IRP) Kody Stattmann Lloyd McVeigh (DP)
SF Admiral Schofield (I) Mawot Mag injured
PF Jack McVeigh Kyrin Galloway Kian Dennis (IRP) Alex Higgins-Titsha injured
C Marcus Lee (I) Jed Richardson (DP) Sam Waardenburg injured

Standings

Ladder

Pos 2025–26 NBL season
Team Pld W L PCT Last 5 Streak Home Away PF PA PP
1 Sydney Kings 32 23 9 71.88% 5–0 W10 13–4 10–5 3159 2802 112.74%
2 Adelaide 36ers 32 23 9 71.88% 3–2 W2 12–5 11–4 2968 2804 105.85%
3 S.E. Melbourne Phoenix 32 22 10 68.75% 3–2 W1 11–5 11–5 3233 2966 109.00%
4 Perth Wildcats 32 20 12 62.50% 4–1 L1 9–7 11–5 2910 2766 105.21%
5 Melbourne United 32 19 13 59.38% 2–3 L1 10–6 9–7 2946 2814 104.69%
6 Tasmania JackJumpers 33 14 19 42.42% 2–3 L2 6–10 8–9 2873 2884 99.62%
7 Illawarra Hawks 33 13 20 39.39% 3–2 W2 7–9 6–11 3074 3205 95.91%
8 New Zealand Breakers 32 12 20 37.50% 2–3 L1 6–9 6–11 2907 2974 97.75%
9 Cairns Taipans 32 9 23 28.13% 2–3 L1 4–13 5–10 2670 3079 86.72%
10 Brisbane Bullets 32 6 26 18.75% 0–5 L12 2–13 4–13 2633 3079 85.51%

Updated to match(es) played on 18 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—21223332211111111112
Brisbane Bullets378977778899999101010101010
Cairns Taipans747781091010101010101010999999
Illawarra Hawks—9981081087988887887888
Melbourne United212111111122323444455
New Zealand Breakers610101099899767778778777
Perth Wildcats564365555445555555544
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix156432223333242222333
Sydney Kings—85656444554434333221
Tasmania JackJumpers433544666676666666666
Updated to match(es) played on 15 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.[3][4]

2025 NBL Blitz game log
Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
August: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 28 August Tasmania L 95–97 (OT) Admiral Schofield (24) Marcus Lee (11) Kody Stattmann (6) AIS Arena
n/a 		0–1
2 31 August @ New Zealand L 94–75 Kody Stattmann (15) Alex Higgins-Titsha (10) Adnam, Waardenburg (4) AIS Arena
n/a 		0–2

Regular season

Main article: 2025–26 NBL regular season

The regular season will begin on 18 September 2025.[5] It will consist of 165 games (33 games each) spread across 22 rounds, with the final game being played on 20 February 2026.[6]

2025–26 game log
Total: 9–23 (Home: 4–13; Road: 5–10)
September: 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 20 September @ S.E. Melbourne L 114–77 Reyne Smith (19) Marcus Lee (12) Kody Stattman (5) John Cain Arena
5,371 		0–1
2 26 September Brisbane W 83–82 McVeigh, Schofield (19) Jack McVeigh (9) Jack McVeigh (9) Cairns Convention Centre
4,052 		1–1
3 28 September @ Sydney W 74–77 Jack McVeigh (24) Jack McVeigh (9) Andrew Andrews (7) Sydney SuperDome
8,536 		2–1
October: 0–7 (Home: 0–5; Road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
4 2 October Adelaide L 79–110 Admiral Schofield (19) Jack McVeigh (8) Andrew Andrews (7) Cairns Convention Centre
4,213 		2–2
5 10 October Perth L 77–80 Andrew Andrews (21) Marcus Lee (12) Jack McVeigh (6) Cairns Convention Centre
3,985 		2–3
6 12 October @ Melbourne L 95–60 Alex Higgins-Titsha (16) Marcus Lee (7) Andrew Andrews (6) John Cain Arena
9,233 		2–4
7 18 October Adelaide L 86–91 Andrew Andrews (23) Galloway, Schofield (9) Andrew Andrews (7) Cairns Convention Centre
4,004 		2–5
8 22 October Perth L 78–110 Admiral Schofield (16) Kyrin Galloway (8) Reyne Smith (5) Cairns Convention Centre
3,317 		2–6
9 24 October Melbourne L 67–94 Andrews, Smith (13) Lee, Mag (10) Andrew Andrews (5) Cairns Convention Centre
3,505 		2–7
10 30 October @ Brisbane L 113–85 Jack McVeigh (23) Marcus Lee (8) Andrew Andrews (10) Brisbane Entertainment Centre
3,684 		2–8
November: 1–4 (Home: 0–3; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
11 1 November @ Tasmania W 69–75 Andrew Andrews (27) four players (6) Andrew Andrews (3) Silverdome
3,255 		3–8
12 7 November Illawarra L 90–107 Mojave King (32) Jack McVeigh (8) Andrews, McVeigh (8) Cairns Convention Centre
4,025 		3–9
13 14 November S.E. Melbourne L 90–101 Jack McVeigh (22) Admiral Schofield (8) Andrew Andrews (10) Cairns Convention Centre
3,567 		3–10
14 16 November @ Adelaide L 105–101 (OT) Jack McVeigh (39) Marcus Lee (9) Andrew Andrews (8) Adelaide Entertainment Centre
9,878 		3–11
15 22 November New Zealand L 96–102 Jack McVeigh (35) Jack McVeigh (7) Andrew Andrews (9) Cairns Convention Centre
3,989 		3–12
December: 1–5 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
16 6 December @ Illawarra W 76–93 Andrew Andrews (27) Kyrin Galloway (14) Andrew Andrews (6) Wollongong Entertainment Centre
3,946 		4–12
17 13 December Tasmania L 68–81 Jack McVeigh (24) Jack McVeigh (8) Andrew Andrews (8) Cairns Convention Centre
3,876 		4–13
18 19 December New Zealand W 99–95 Jack McVeigh (47) Sam Waardenburg (10) Andrew Andrews (9) Cairns Convention Centre
3,749 		5–13
19 21 December @ Sydney L 119–77 Andrews, Stattmann (14) Marcus Lee (6) Andrew Andrews (9) Sydney SuperDome
9,124 		5–14
20 24 December @ Adelaide L 93–73 Sam Waardenburg (19) five players (5) Andrew Andrews (6) Adelaide Entertainment Centre
10,006 		5–15
21 31 December S.E. Melbourne L 96–111 Jack McVeigh (26) Andrew Andrews (7) Andrew Andrews (9) Cairns Convention Centre
4,870 		5–16
January: 3–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
22 3 January @ Illawarra L 96–78 Sam Waardenburg (17) Kyrin Galloway (9) Andrew Andrews (6) Wollongong Entertainment Centre
4,921 		5–17
23 7 January @ Melbourne W 92–93 McVeigh, Waardenburg (20) McVeigh, Waardenburg (9) Andrew Andrews (13) Bendigo Stadium
4,003 		6–17
24 12 January Brisbane W 88–83 Jack McVeigh (25) Jack McVeigh (6) Andrew Andrews (13) Cairns Convention Centre[7]
3,872 		7–17
25 17 January New Zealand L 86–104 King, Schofield (19) Jack McVeigh (8) Jack McVeigh (8) Perth Arena
7,034 		7–18
26 22 January @ Perth L 106–69 Jack McVeigh (34) three players (4) Andrew Andrews (8) Perth Arena
11,377 		7–19
27 24 January @ S.E. Melbourne L 118–91 Jack McVeigh (21) Mojave King (8) Andrew Andrews (11) State Basketball Centre
3,422 		7–20
28 30 January Tasmania W 96–93 (OT) Jack McVeigh (40) Marcus Lee (10) Kyle Adnam (4) Cairns Convention Centre
3,862 		8–20
February: 1–3 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
29 1 February Sydney L 92–106 Lachlan Barker (18) Mojave King (9) Andrew Andrews (10) Cairns Convention Centre
4,002 		8–21
30 6 February @ Perth L 98–84 Andrew Andrews (25) Mojave King (8) Andrew Andrews (7) Perth Arena
11,161 		8–22
31 8 February @ Brisbane W 72–81 Jack McVeigh (22) Mojave King (11) Andrew Andrews (10) Brisbane Entertainment Centre
5,443 		9–22
32 12 February Melbourne L 85–89 Jack McVeigh (25) Andrew Andrews (9) Andrew Andrews (7) Cairns Convention Centre
3,650 		9–23
33 19 February @ New Zealand boxscore Eventfinda Stadium
 –
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.[8][9]

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


Transactions

Free agency began on 4 April 2025.[10][11]

Re-signed

Player Date Signed Contract Ref.
Alex Higgins-Titsha 25 March 2025 1-year deal [12]
Kyrin Galloway 27 March 2025 1-year deal [13]
Sam Waardenburg 29 March 2025 1-year deal [14]
Kyle Adnam 31 March 2025 1-year deal [15]

Additions

Player Date Signed Contract Former team Ref.
Jack McVeigh 5 August 2025 2-year deal (mutual option) Houston Rockets [16]
Admiral Schofield 13 August 2025 1-year deal LDLC ASVEL [17]
Ashton Hagans 13 August 2025 1-year deal Xinjiang Flying Tigers [17]
Reyne Smith 13 August 2025 2-year deal (club option) Louisville [17]
Marcus Lee 13 August 2025 1-year deal Melbourne United [17]
Mawot Mag 13 August 2025 2-year deal (club option) BYU [17]
Andrew Andrews 15 September 2025 1-year deal BC Wolves [18]
Mojave King 29 October 2025 1-year deal (IRP) New Zealand Breakers [19]

Subtractions

Player Reason left Date Left New Team Ref.
Ashton Hagans Mutual release 15 September 2025 TBC [20]

Awards

Club awards

  • Club MVP:
  • Defensive Player:
  • Players’ Player:
  • Commitment to Community:
  • Members’ Choice MVP:
  • Coaches Award:
  • Club Person of the Year:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Forde departs Taipans". NBL Official Website. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  2. ^ Uluc, Olgun (3 June 2025). "Adam Forde to return as Cairns Taipans head coach". ESPN Australia. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  3. ^ "Blitz heads to Canberra". NBL.com.au. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Canberra back on NBL agenda with hosting of Blitz". CanberraTimes.com.au. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  5. ^ Uluc, Olgun (20 June 2025). "Storylines everywhere as NBL releases schedule for 2025-26 season". ESPN Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "NBL confirms rescheduled Taipans-Bullets clash". ESPN Australia. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  8. ^ Uluc, Olgun (7 October 2025). "NBL Ignite Cup: Everything you need to know". ESPN Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Free agency begins April 4". NBL.com.au. 19 March 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  11. ^ "NBL26 Roster Tracker: Every signing, extension and departure". NBL.com.au. 22 June 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Taipans take up AHT's option". Cairns Taipans | Official NBL Website. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  13. ^ "Galloway remains a Taipan". NBL Official Website. 27 March 2025. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Waardenburg committed to Cairns". Cairns Taipans | Official NBL Website. 29 March 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Veteran re-signs in Cairns". NBL Official Website. 31 March 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  16. ^ "McVeigh returns to the NBL, chooses Cairns". Cairns Taipans | Official NBL Website. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Five-headed Snake: Cairns' big signing spree". NBL.com.au. 13 August 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Announcing Andrew Andrews". Cairns Taipans | Official NBL Website. 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  19. ^ "King of the North: Former Next Star joins Taipans". NBL.com.au. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  20. ^ "Club Statement: Ashton Hagans". Cairns Taipans | Official NBL Website. 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
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