Fan's Guide to NBL Rules and Ignite Cup 2026/27

Under the new rules for NBL27, a player is ejected (automatically disqualified) after any of the following:

• Two Category 1 technical fouls
• Two flagrant fouls
• One Category 1 technical foul and one flagrant foul

Disruptive fouls and Category 2 technical fouls do not count toward automatic ejection.

Source: https://www.nbl.com.au/news/fiba-introduces-new-rules-for-nbl

FIBA has tightened the definition of the act of shooting, citing players trying to manipulate situations to draw fouls:

• Jump shots: the shooting motion starts when the player begins moving their shoulders and the ball upward toward the basket.
• Drives: it starts once the ball is gathered and the player continues the shooting motion toward the basket.
• Passing the ball after contact, or moving it upward away from the basket in certain situations, means the player is no longer considered to be shooting.

Source: https://www.nbl.com.au/news/fiba-introduces-new-rules-for-nbl

From NBL27, under the new FIBA rules announced on 3 September 2026:

• In the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and in overtime, officials can review whether the ball had left a passer's hands when a defensive foul occurred during a throw-in.
• At any stage of the game, officials can review whether a goaltending or basket interference violation occurred after a foul.
• These provisions also apply to a Head Coach's Challenge.

Source: https://www.nbl.com.au/news/fiba-introduces-new-rules-for-nbl

For the 2026-27 season (NBL27) the NBL raised player payments by another 7 per cent. Under the Salary and Contracting Rules:

• Salary cap: $2,167,358.92
• Salary floor: $1,950,642.53, the minimum each team must spend

Source: https://www.nbl.com.au/news/nbl-players-earn-another-pay-boost

The NBL's NBL27 announcement (15 April 2026) lists these figures from the Salary and Contracting Rules:

• Marquee 1: $267,560.09
• Marquee 2: $356,748.34
• Marquee 3: $445,935.03
• Marquee 4: $535,121.73
• Minimum salary: $88,754.76 for 2026-27 (the article's text cites almost $83,000, matching the current minimum of $82,948.37).

Source: https://www.nbl.com.au/news/nbl-players-earn-another-pay-boost

• The Ignite Cup is played over 20 Wednesday night games, starting in Round 3 (30 September 2026) and running through Round 19 (27 January 2027).
• Each of the 10 teams plays two home and two away Ignite Cup games.
• Every Ignite Cup result counts toward both the regular season ladder and a separate Ignite Cup ladder.
• The top four teams on the Ignite Cup ladder advance to the Ignite Cup Finals Series in Canberra.

Source: https://www.nbl.com.au/news/the-hungry-jacks-nbl27-ignite-cup-schedule-tickets-rules-more

• 3 points for winning the game.
• 1 point for winning a quarter (scoring the most points in that quarter).
• 0.5 points to each club if they score the same number of points in a quarter.
• 0 points for scoring the fewest points in a quarter or for losing the game.
• A winning club can earn at most 7 points (4 quarters plus 3 for the win). A losing club can earn at most 3 points, by winning three quarters.
• In overtime, no quarter points are awarded. Only the 3 points for the win apply.

Source: https://www.nbl.com.au/news/the-hungry-jacks-nbl27-ignite-cup-schedule-tickets-rules-more

• The top four teams on the Ignite Cup ladder advance to the Finals Series at AIS Arena in Canberra.
• Semi-finals: Friday 19 February 2027.
• Final: Sunday 21 February 2027.
• Finals games do not count toward the regular season ladder.
• The total prize pool is $550,000, split between teams and players, up from $400,000 last season.

Source: https://www.nbl.com.au/news/the-hungry-jacks-nbl27-ignite-cup-schedule-tickets-rules-more

The NBL's NBL26 finals explainer describes a play-in for the top six teams:

• 1st and 2nd go straight to the Playoffs.
• Seeding Qualifier: 3rd v 4th. The winner advances to a best-of-three Playoff Series against 2nd place.
• Play-In Qualifier: 5th v 6th. The loser of the Seeding Qualifier hosts the winner of this game, and the winner of that game earns a chance to play 1st place in the Playoffs.
• The Championship Series was a best-of-five (Sydney Kings v Adelaide 36ers in NBL26).

This is the NBL26 format. The NBL27 finals format was not in the sources used for this guide.

Source: https://www.nbl.com.au/news/the-nbl26-finals-format-explained