Adelaide’s NBL25 season was like a circus, so what comes next for the 36ers?

From locker room blow-ups to breathtaking basketball, Adelaide’s NBL season had it all. We break down the highs and lows, and look at what must be done to end a 24-year championship drought.

Adelaide’s NBL25 campaign has at times been compared to a circus.

And just like a big top show, the Sixers season had it all. Locker room blow-ups and big personalities clashing intertwined with breathtaking basketball.

Even coach Mike Wells created his own meme-worthy moment when he channelled Italian football legend Gennaro Gattuso’s “sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit” line after the Sixers gave up a 21-point lead and were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday.

“You are making a soup every day – Sometimes the soup tastes like shit and the second half tasted like shit,” Wells said of his club’s horror fade out that he admitted was a “mini-version” of it’s whole season.

Through all the well-publicised turmoil of a season that extended Adelaide’s championship drought to a 24th year, there is hope for long-suffering Sixers fans.

Jason Cadee finished his career at the play-in loss. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

WHAT’S NEXT: BIG CALLS ON THE CARDS

Coach Mike Wells’ retention can provide the 36ers with a base to build upon, but they must nail free agency this off-season.

Import guard Kendric Davis is a priority following his MVP-calibre season, but the American’s camp has quietly made it known he will entertain offers and is attracting significant overseas and local interest – with Sydney among the NBL teams expected to make a play.

As strong as Davis was on the court in NBL25, his at times volatile behaviour behind the scenes had a negative impact in the locker room.

He had a strained relationship with Wells, highlighted by two blow-ups – one at training and the other in the locker room, post-game.

Kendric Davis will be a priority signing. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Montrezl Harrell has hinted at an NBL return. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Has the relationship between coach and player improved enough for the 25-year-old to spend another season under him?

Former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell has indicated he could return for NBL26 after a must-watch maiden NBL season.

Harrell provided a valuable presence in the paint for the 36ers and, despite some temperament issues, he had a number of matchwinning performances and put plenty of eyes on the circus show in the City of Churches.

If Davis moved on, the Sixers could seek a pass-first import floor general and lean into Harrell’s abilities in the pick and roll.

Even if the Sixers were able to bring both back, Jarell Martin looks to have played his last game in an Adelaide jersey, so they will be on the hunt for at least one new import.

With Dejan Vasiljevic and Isaac Humphries locked in, there are some smaller calls to make, too. The club has an option on Nick Marshall they are all but certain to decline – he hardly played in the second half of the season and would be well served to find a new beginning at another club. Lat Mayen has been a handy gadget guy in the frontline for the Sixers and he is a priority role player, while they will also look to retain defensive ace Sunday Dech.

Wells now gets a full pre-season run at it and he was feeling optimistic about his side’s prospects in NBL26 and beyond.

“Matt Weston (GM of Basketball) buys the groceries and I’m supposed to cook it,” Wells said after Sunday’s season-ending loss to the Phoenix.

“We’ll figure out what that group looks like and try and put them in the best position to be successful.”

WHAT WENT WRONG?

LEGEND SACKED, WELLS INTO HOT-SEAT, BIG PERSONALITIES, BIG BLUES

You could say Wells, as a first-year head coach, was up against it from the start.

Stepping into the shoes of Scott Ninnis – a two-time Sixers champion, feted by the basketball community in SA – after he was axed before a ball had been bounced on the season was never going to be easy.

But, as revealed by Code Sports on Sunday, the jungle drums that beat for Wells’ job six weeks ago have been silenced and he will return for a second season at a club that has moved on six coaches in 17 years.

Mike Wells will stay on as coach. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

The Sixers were trending towards a potential top-four berth until the infamous crowd incident at John Cain Arena left imports Harrell (three games) and Davis (two) suspended. A run of seven losses in their next eight games put the Sixers’ season on life support.

The Sixers won six of eight after star big Humphries publicly called out Wells and some hard truths were told in a crisis meeting that got them back on track.

They rode out another off-court incident, where Wells fronted Humphries and slammed the team, only for Davis to clap back.

But, while they limped into the postseason with three straight losses, that word, postseason, is key because they hadn’t made it past the last game of the regular season since 2018.

Sydney had been the Sixers tonic all season and so a road eliminator was a gift they eagerly accepted, bashing the Kings and booking a date with South East Melbourne, who eventually proved too big a mountain to climb.

To put it bluntly, Adelaide imploded in the second-half of Sunday’s elimination play-in game against the Phoenix.

The 36ers looked like world beaters in the first half, holding the Phoenix to a franchise record low 26 points and looking the winner up 19 at the long break.

But they let up in the second half and the Phoenix capitalised to record the biggest comeback in NBL25.

And, of course, there was another blow-up, when Harrell berated Vasiljevic over his defensive effort.

It was, again, a microcosm of the Sixers’ season.

At their best, Adelaide could beat anyone. But, at their worst, they looked like cellar dwellers.

WHAT WENT RIGHT?

Adelaide were must-watch basketball all season. When they fired, the Sixers looked like the NBL’s best team. Ball movement, spacing and elite shooting was a joy to watch.

Davis – who finished second in MVP voting – carried the Sixers on the offensive end.

Fellow marquee man Harrell also delivered – on-and-off – the court as the Sixers consistently packed out the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Vasiljevic searched for consistency, but did have explosive moments – seven treys in a quarter against Cairns, seven against Sydney – while Humphries looked like the best centre in the NBL when he was used.

And hey, they made – and won – a postseason game.

The only way is up, right?

Originally published as Adelaide’s NBL25 season was like a circus, so what comes next for the 36ers?