| Sydney Flames | |
| Leagues: | WNBL |
| Founded: | 1981 |
| Folded: | --> |
| History: | Bankstown Bruins 1981–1988 Sydney Bruins 1989–1990 Sydney Flames 1991–2000 Sydney Panthers 2000–2002 Sydney Uni Flames 2002–2022 Sydney Flames 2022–present |
| Arena: | Quaycentre and Qudos Bank Arena |
| Location: | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Colors: | Black, Silver and Gold. |
| Manager: | Mitch Fuller |
| Coach: | Guy Molloy |
| Ownership: | Hoops Capital Pty Ltd |
| Championships: | 4 (1993, 1997, 2001, 2017) |
The Sydney Flames are an Australian professional basketball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Flames compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Quaycentre.
The club began as the Bankstown Bruins in the 1981 WIBC season. The Bruins were WNBL runners-up in 1982 with a grand final defeat to St Kilda.[1] [2] They competed as the Bankstown Bruins until 1988, when for the 1989 season they were renamed the Sydney Bruins. In 1991, they were renamed the Sydney Flames. In 2000, they were renamed the Sydney Panthers.
Formerly known as the Sydney Uni Flames, the team rebranded in August 2022 to have a new look, new colours (changing from navy and gold to silver and black) and a new home venue.[3]
The Flames have won four WNBL championships, in 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2017. They have also finished as runners-up a further 10 times.[4]
| Season | Standings | Regular season | Finals | Head coach | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | ||||
| Bankstown Bruins | ||||||
| 1981 | 5th | 6 | 4 | 60.0 | Did Not Quality | Robbie Cadee |
| 1982 | 1st | 10 | 2 | 83.3 | Won Semi-Final (West Adelaide Bearcats, 71-66)Loss Grand Final (St Kilda Saints, 56-62) | Robbie Cadee |
| 1983 | 8th | 5 | 12 | 29.4 | Did Not Quality | Kevin Landon |
| 1984 | 5th | 12 | 6 | 66.6 | Did Not Quality | Steve Farnham |
| 1985 | 8th | 7 | 12 | 36.8 | Did Not Quality | Alan Morris |
| 1986 | 9th | 8 | 16 | 33.3 | Did Not Quality | Rick Bywater |
| 1987 | 8th | 8 | 12 | 40.0 | Did Not Quality | Robbie Cadee |
| 1988 | 3rd | 16 | 6 | 72.7 | Loss Semi-Final (West Adelaide Bearcats, 56-73) | Robbie Cadee |
| Sydney Bruins | ||||||
| 1989 | 5th | 14 | 8 | 63.6 | Did Not Quality | Robbie Cadee |
| 1990 | 7th | 13 | 11 | 54.1 | Did Not Quality | Bernie Slattery |
| Sydney Flames | ||||||
| 1991 | 9th | 10 | 12 | 45.4 | Did Not Quality | Bernie Slattery |
| 1992 | 9th | 7 | 13 | 53.8 | Did Not Quality | Bernie Slattery |
| 1993 | 1st | 17 | 1 | 94.4 | Won Semi-Final (Adelaide, 64-59)Won Grand Final (Perth, 65-64) | Carrie Graf |
| 1994 | 3rd | 14 | 4 | 77.7 | Loss Semi-Final (Perth, 58-62) | Carrie Graf |
| 1995 | 2nd | 16 | 2 | 88.8 | Loss Semi-Final (Adelaide, 63-73) | Carrie Graf |
| 1996 | 1st | 17 | 1 | 94.4 | Won Semi-Final (Adelaide, 57-54)Loss Grand Final (Adelaide, 80-65) | Carrie Graf |
| 1997 | 1st | 18 | 0 | 100 | Loss Semi-Final (Adelaide, 54-58)Won Preliminary Final (Melbourne Tigers, 57-54) Won Grand Final (Adelaide, 61-56) | Bill Tomlinson |
| 1998 | 1st | 10 | 2 | 83.3 | Won (Adelaide, 61-42)Loss (Adelaide, 67-56) | Murray Wardle |
| 1998–99 | 6th | 10 | 11 | 47.6 | Did Not Quality | Murray Wardle |
| 1999–00 | 6th | 10 | 11 | 47.6 | Did Not Quality | Bill Tomlinson |
| Sydney Panthers | ||||||
| 2000–01 | 2nd | 16 | 5 | 76.1 | Loss Semi-Final (Canberra, 56-73) Won Preliminary Final (Dandenong, 78-72) Won Grand Final (Canberra, 69-65) | Karen Dalton |
| 2001–02 | 4th | 13 | 8 | 61.9 | Won Semi-Final (Dandenong, 98-85) Won Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 66-64) Loss Grand Final (Canberra, 69-75) | Karen Dalton |
| Sydney Flames | ||||||
| 2002–03 | 3rd | 14 | 7 | 66.6 | Won Semi-Final (Adelaide, 72-70)Won Preliminary Final (Townsville, 83-78)Loss Grand Final (Canberra, 67-69) | Karen Dalton |
| Sydney Uni Flames | ||||||
| 2003–04 | 2nd | 13 | 8 | 61.9 | Loss Semi-Final (Dandenong, 68-85) Won Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 65-61)Loss Grand Final (Dandenong, 53-63) | Karen Dalton |
| 2004–05 | 3rd | 16 | 5 | 76.1 | Won Semi-Final (Adelaide, 94-93)Won Preliminary Final (Bulleen, 79-71)Loss Grand Final (Dandenong, 47-52) | Karen Dalton |
| 2005–06 | 5th | 13 | 8 | 61.9 | Did Not Quality | Karen Dalton |
| 2006–07 | 1st | 16 | 5 | 76.1 | Won Semi-Final (Canberra, 74-65)Loss Grand Final (Canberra, 59-73) | Karen Dalton |
| 2007–08 | 2nd | 17 | 7 | 70.8 | Won Semi-Final (Adelaide, 90-71) Loss Grand Final (Adelaide, 92-82) | Karen Dalton |
| 2008–09 | 6th | 9 | 13 | 42.8 | Did Not Quality | Karen Dalton |
| 2009–10 | 2nd | 17 | 5 | 77.2 | Loss Semi-Final (Bulleen, 55-72)Loss Preliminary Final (Canberra, 56-61) | Karen Dalton |
| 2010–11 | 6th | 10 | 12 | 45.4 | Did Not Quality | Karen Dalton |
| 2011–12 | 5th | 13 | 9 | 59.0 | Loss Elimination Final (Townsville, 78-85) | Karen Dalton |
| 2012–13 | 7th | 7 | 17 | 29.1 | Did Not Quality | Karen Dalton |
| 2013–14 | 6th | 10 | 14 | 41.6 | Did Not Quality | Karen Dalton |
| 2014–15 | 4th | 11 | 11 | 50.0 | Won Semi-Final (Dandenong, 89-80) Loss Preliminary Final (Bendigo, 77-85) | Shannon Seebohm |
| 2015–16 | 5th | 13 | 11 | 54.1 | Did Not Quality | Shannon Seebohm |
| 2016–17 | 1st | 18 | 6 | 75.0 | Won Semi-Final (Townsville, 2-0) Won Grand Final (Dandenong, 2-0) | Cheryl Chambers |
| 2017–18 | 2nd | 14 | 7 | 66.6 | Loss Semi-Final (Townsville, 0-2) | Cheryl Chambers |
| 2018–19 | 8th | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | Did Not Quality | Cheryl Chambers |
| 2019–20 | 6th | 7 | 14 | 33.3 | Did Not Quality | Katrina Hibbert |
| 2020 | 5th | 5 | 8 | 38.4 | Did Not Quality | Katrina Hibbert |
| 2021–22 | 8th | 4 | 13 | 23.5 | Did Not Quality | Shane Heal |
| Sydney Flames | ||||||
| 2022–23 | 6th | 6 | 15 | 28.5 | Did Not Quality | Shane Heal |
| 2023–24 | Guy Molloy | |||||
| Regular season | 502 | 373 | 57.3 | 7 Minor Premierships | ||
| Finals | 21 | 20 | 51.2 | 4 WNBL Championships | ||
| Sydney Flames head coaches | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Start | End | Seasons | Regular season | Finals | |||||||
| W | L | PCT | G | W | L | PCT | G | |||||
| 1981 | 1982 | 5 | 54 | 32 | 62.7 | 86 | 1 | 2 | 33.3 | 3 | ||
| Kevin Landon | 1983 | 1983 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 29.4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Steve Farnham | 1984 | 1984 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 66.6 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Alan Morris | 1985 | 1985 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 36.8 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Rick Bywater | 1986 | 1986 | 1 | 8 | 16 | 33.3 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 1989 | 5 | 54 | 32 | 62.7 | 86 | 1 | 2 | 33.3 | 3 | ||
| Bernie Slattery | 1990 | 1992 | 3 | 30 | 36 | 45.4 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Carrie Graf | 1993 | 1996 | 4 | 64 | 8 | 88.8 | 72 | 3 | 4 | 42.8 | 7 | |
| Bill Tomlinson | 1997 | 1997 | 2 | 28 | 11 | 71.7 | 39 | 2 | 1 | 66.6 | 3 | |
| Murray Wardle | 1998 | 1999 | 2 | 20 | 13 | 60.6 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 50.0 | 2 | |
| Bill Tomlinson | 1999 | 2000 | 2 | 28 | 11 | 71.7 | 39 | 2 | 1 | 66.6 | 3 | |
| Karen Dalton | 2000 | 2014 | 14 | 185 | 122 | 60.2 | 307 | 11 | 11 | 50.0 | 22 | |
| Shannon Seebohm | 2014 | 2016 | 2 | 24 | 22 | 52.2 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 50.0 | 2 | |
| Cheryl Chambers | 2016 | 2019 | 3 | 34 | 32 | 51.5 | 66 | 4 | 2 | 66.6 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 2023 | 2 | 8 | 22 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Shelley Gorman | 2023 | 2023 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Guy Molloy | 2023 | 1 |