The sad demise of the NBL
Roar Pro
By Jason Cave, 11 Dec 2008 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- Basketball, Cairns Taipans, NBL, Sydney Swifts
The news that the Cairns Taipans has gone into voluntary administration meant that another nail has gone into the coffin of the National Basketball League.
If you said 20 years ago, that the NBL would be in deep trouble, people would think you were crazy.
Yet, that is exactly what has happened.
With the Sydney Swifts saved by an 11th hour intervention, plus the troubles facing the Taipans, the NBL is in its death throes.
The root of the blame must be laid at the NBL administration.
In the late ’80s and early ’90s, basketball was riding the crest of a wave. The NBL didn’t realise that once you’ve reached the pinnacle, you’re heading for a fall.
The NBL took their eye off the ball and didn’t do a long term plan to keep basketball vibrant in this country. And with the success of the Hyundai A-League, basketball in this country is in trouble.
If it wasn’t for the intervention of Basketball Australia, the sport would be largely forgotten.
The next twelve to eighteen months is crucial, not just for Basketball Australia, but for the sport of basketball in general.
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Worlds Biggest said | December 11th 2008 @ 9:37am | Report comment
Just a correction with the Sydney Mens hoops team, it is the Spirit., The Swifts are in a lot stronger position than there basketball brothers. There is another question, how many people in Sydney know what the Mens Basketball team nick name ?. Sums it all up. I agree the NBL needed a long term contingency plan which they didn’t have. The NBL was booming in the late 80′s / early 90′s and this caught the NBL by surprise. They assumed this successful period would just roll on and weren’t prepared for the storm clouds ahead. The have had to disolve teams from Gold Coast, Hobart & Newcastle a couple of times over and more recently the Bullets and then the Kings and Razorbacks merging into the ” Spirit “. I think the NBL needs to shut down for a year or two and start all over again with support from the Government. This can be a very good product, Australia is a very strong Basketball Nation all across all levels of the game. Junior participation numbers are huge.
ren said | December 11th 2008 @ 1:46pm | Report comment
Yet thereare three or so clubs have have existed continuously and seemingly without trouble. What have Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne done so well that they are still going strong? other than winning championships, which isn’t really a good reason when you consider the success of Brisbane and the Kings