NBL27 Round 1 Predictions & Tips

The 2026/27 NBL season gets underway this weekend, with six games across four days as NBL27 tips off.

Round 1 begins with a big Saturday double-header as Melbourne United host the Adelaide 36ers at John Cain Arena before Perth Wildcats take on South East Melbourne Phoenix at RAC Arena.

We'll have full betting previews for four games across the opening round, while our analysis and best bets for Sunday's New Zealand Breakers v Illawarra Hawks and Sydney Kings v Cairns Taipans matchups can be found right here. This page will be updated throughout Round 1 as markets, team news and betting opportunities develop.

NBL27 Round 1 Predictions & Tips

Here's our game-by-game look at the opening round of NBL27. We'll publish separate betting previews for four games, while our Sunday selections and analysis will be available directly on this page.

NBL27 gets underway on Saturday night with a blockbuster at John Cain Arena as Melbourne United host last season's runners-up Adelaide 36ers.

Joe Ingles' return to the NBL adds another layer of interest to the season opener, while Adelaide will be looking to immediately establish themselves as championship contenders again after going close last season.

We'll take a deep look at the matchup, betting markets and our best bets in our full game preview - coming soon!

READ FULL PREVIEW - coming soon! →

Saturday's second game sends South East Melbourne west for a difficult opening assignment against Perth at RAC Arena.

Both sides featured deep into last season and should again have ambitions of challenging at the top end of the standings. It makes this one of the best early tests of where two of NBL27's leading teams sit.

Our full preview will look at the matchup, latest betting odds and the markets we're targeting - coming soon!

READ FULL PREVIEW - coming soon! →

Sunday's action begins across the Tasman as the New Zealand Breakers host Illawarra at Spark Arena.

There are plenty of new combinations to assess in an opening-round matchup like this, so we'll be cautious about reading too much into preseason results. Home court is an obvious advantage for the Breakers, while Illawarra have enough quality to make this a genuine test first-up.

We'll assess the final market, confirmed lineups and any late team news before locking in our bet.

Sydney begin their NBL27 campaign at home against Cairns on Sunday afternoon.

The Kings should start as favourites on their home floor, but that doesn't necessarily mean there will be value in their head-to-head price. The line and player markets could offer more interesting opportunities depending on where bookmakers open the game.

Cairns will be looking to upset expectations early in the season, making this another game where we'd prefer to see the final market before committing to a bet.

Tasmania begin their NBL27 campaign at home on Monday night against a South East Melbourne side playing its second game of the opening round.

The schedule adds an interesting betting angle, with Phoenix travelling to Tasmania after opening their season in Perth on Saturday. By the time this game arrives we'll have already seen South East Melbourne in competitive action, giving us a much better indication of their rotations and early-season form.

We'll have a full match preview, updated odds and our best bets available ahead of Monday night's game.

READ FULL PREVIEW - coming soon! →

Round 1 concludes in Brisbane on Tuesday night as the Bullets host the New Zealand Breakers.

New Zealand will already have played Illawarra on Sunday, giving us our first proper look at the Breakers before they travel to Brisbane. That should provide significantly more useful information than trying to lock in a position several days before the game.

We'll publish our full Brisbane v New Zealand preview following Sunday's action, including the latest odds, matchup analysis and best bets.

READ FULL PREVIEW - coming soon! →

NBL27 Betting Tips

We'll continue updating our NBL27 Round 1 predictions and betting tips as markets move and team news becomes available. The two Sunday quick previews above will be updated with our final selections, while separate match previews will provide more detailed analysis for Saturday, Monday and Tuesday's feature games.

You can find our latest individual game previews, NBL betting analysis and best bets throughout the season in our NBL betting tips section.