2024–25 Perth Wildcats season

2024–25 Perth Wildcats season
2024–25 Perth Wildcats season
Head coach	John Rillie
Captain	Jesse Wagstaff
Arena	Perth Arena
NBL results
Record	17–11 (60.7%)
Ladder	3rd
Finals finish	TBD
	Stats at NBL.com.au
	All statistics correct as of 2 February 2025.
	← 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.

2024–25 Perth Wildcats roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.
G	0	Webster, Tai	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	89 kg (196 lb)
G	1	Russo-Nance, Dontae (DP)	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	90 kg (198 lb)
G/F	3	Windler, Dylan (I)	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	89 kg (196 lb)
F	5	Doolittle, Kristian (I)	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	105 kg (231 lb)
F/C	8	Almansa, Izan (NS)	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	104 kg (229 lb)
G/F	10	Henshall, Ben	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	90 kg (198 lb)
G	11	Cotton, Bryce (I)	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	76 kg (168 lb)
F	13	Harris, Hyrum	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)	110 kg (243 lb)
G	17	Harris, Michael	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	85 kg (187 lb)
F	22	Gerovich, Thomas (DP)	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
F	24	Wagstaff, Jesse (C)	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	103 kg (227 lb)
F/C	25	Pinder, Keanu	2.10 m (6 ft 11 in)	103 kg (227 lb)
F	33	Withers, Todd (NRP)	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	98 kg (216 lb)
F	35	Okwera, David	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	90 kg (198 lb)
G	40	Pepper, Elijah	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	91 kg (201 lb)

Head coach

John Rillie

Assistant coach(es)

Keegan Crawford
Gerard Martin
Aaron Young

Strength & conditioning coach(es)

Josh Cavanagh

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Development player
(I) Import player
(SRP) Special restricted player
(NS) Next Star player
Injured

Roster

Updated: 31 January 2025

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 v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PCT	Last 5	Streak	Home	Away	PF	PA	PP
1	Illawarra Hawks	27	18	9	66.67%	3–2	W1	9–4	9–5	2750	2488	110.53%
2	Melbourne United	28	18	10	64.29%	4–1	W3	8–6	10–4	2668	2559	104.26%

3	Perth Wildcats	28	17	11	60.71%	3–2	W2	9–5	8–6	2791	2707	103.10%
4	S.E. Melbourne Phoenix	28	16	12	57.14%	3–2	W1	10–4	6–8	2694	2553	105.52%
5	Sydney Kings	28	16	12	57.14%	3–2	L2	7–7	9–5	2555	2462	103.78%
6	Adelaide 36ers	28	13	15	46.43%	3–2	L2	9–6	4–9	2632	2684	98.06%

7	Tasmania JackJumpers	28	12	16	42.86%	0–5	L6	8–5	4–11	2345	2470	94.94%
8	Brisbane Bullets	28	12	16	42.86%	2–3	W1	6–8	6–8	2590	2738	94.59%
9	New Zealand Breakers	28	10	18	35.71%	2–3	W1	6–8	4–10	2403	2554	94.09%
10	Cairns Taipans	27	7	20	25.93%	3–2	L1	3–11	4–9	2378	2591	91.78%

Updated to match(es) played on 1 February 2025. 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 ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Team ╲ Round
Adelaide 36ers	8	8	6	5	5	4	4	4	4	6	9	8	8	8	8	7	7	6	6
Brisbane Bullets	6	10	9	9	7	8	7	8	7	9	8	7	5	7	7	8	8	8	8
Cairns Taipans	10	7	4	6	6	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
Illawarra Hawks	1	1	2	2	1	1	2	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Melbourne United	2	3	5	3	4	2	3	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	3	2	2
New Zealand Breakers	5	2	1	1	2	3	1	2	2	3	5	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Perth Wildcats	4	5	8	7	8	6	6	6	6	5	4	4	6	5	4	3	4	5	3
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix	7	9	10	10	10	10	8	7	8	7	6	6	7	6	5	5	5	4	4
Sydney Kings	3	4	3	4	3	5	5	5	5	4	3	3	3	4	3	4	2	3	5
Tasmania JackJumpers	9	6	7	8	9	7	9	9	9	8	7	5	4	3	6	6	6	7	7

Updated to match(es) played on 2 February 2025. Source: NBL.com.au

Game log

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

2024–25 game log
Total: 17–11 (Home: 9–5; Road: 8–6)

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: 5–2 (Home: 2–2; Road: 3–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
21	5 January	@ New Zealand	W 86–96	Bryce Cotton (41)	Dylan Windler (7)	Bryce Cotton (5)	Spark Arena 4,781	12–9
22	12 January	@ Tasmania	W 73–105	Bryce Cotton (32)	Dylan Windler (11)	Bryce Cotton (9)	Derwent Entertainment Centre 4,340	13–9
23	15 January	@ Brisbane	W 85–112	Bryce Cotton (36)	Pinder, Windler (6)	Kristian Doolittle (4)	Brisbane Entertainment Centre 4,491	14–9
24	17 January	Adelaide	W 110–103	Kristian Doolittle (27)	Kristian Doolittle (10)	Bryce Cotton (7)	Perth Arena 13,570	15–9
25	22 January	Melbourne	L 93–99	Kristian Doolittle (33)	Doolittle, Pinder (7)	Bryce Cotton (5)	Perth Arena 12,505	15–10
26	25 January	Cairns	L 116–125 (2OT)	Bryce Cotton (38)	Keanu Pinder (11)	Kristian Doolittle (4)	Perth Arena 13,269	15–11
27	31 January	S.E. Melbourne	W 100–99	Bryce Cotton (29)	Kristian Doolittle (13)	Cotton, Doolittle (6)	Perth Arena 13,156	16–11

February: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
28	2 February	@ Sydney	W 97–104	Bryce Cotton (30)	Keanu Pinder (10)	Bryce Cotton (4)	Sydney SuperDome 14,112	17–11
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:

References

^ "Rillie good news as Wildcats coach re-signs". Wildcats.com.au. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
^ "Doolittle rewarded with new deal". NBL.com.au. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
^ "Sweet 16 in NBL for Wildcats captain Wagstaff". ESPN.com.au. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
^ "'We have a great chance': Tai locked in for NBL25". Wildcats.com.au. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "Perth adds Pepper for NBL25". NBL.com.au. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
^ "Spanish sensation joins Wildcats as Next Star". Wildcats.com.au. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
^ "Thunder Nation, Get Ready to Roar!". facebook.com/northsidewizards. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
^ "Mixed fortunes for Webster brothers". NBL.com.au. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
^ "Jordan Usher, nouvelle recrue burgienne". jlbourg-basket.com (in French). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
^ 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.

External links

Official Website

[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.

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