Financial difficulty, lack of interest and poor leadership. That are just some of the things wrong with the basketball league in Australia. So just how long will it take for this code to fall flat on its face?
Sydney Kings were formerly one of the competition’s heaviest hitters but in June of 2008 the club was stripped of its licence.
I think the NBA should scrap the league and start over.
You look at the NSL and how that was scrapped for the A league. The idea of running with less teams but more powerful teams worked well.
Basketball should do the same. Find someone with a strong financial backing, start the league with around six teams, and expand as the league gets stronger.
Most importantly, bring in a player everyone knows. Dwight York was the one for the A league. Imagine bringing in someone like Michael Jordan for the NBL.
They’ve just got to start off small and over time the league will build a following.
Sam
Guest
I don't believe they should lose the current teams. Infact they should keep them (including the Kings and Bullets). You put in new teams and many fans will turn away. Just have only 8 teams and keep it like that. Basketball I don't think can afford to expand beyond that in this country. Football is different. It was always massively popular. Just suffered from the ethnic issues. Basketball never had this problem. Once they got football right in this country it was always going to take off. Basketball will be on a par with netball I believe once it gets its act together. Very similar sports. I do agree that the idea of Michael Jordan playing NBL is a bit of a joke. I don't know where you got that idea from.
Matt
Guest
This is an awful article, and the author should be ashamed. For one, they are scrapping it, and they are starting again. Who on earth decides to write an article about the NBL without knowing anything that has transpired in the last few months for the sport? "I think the NBA should scrap the league and start over" - at least you had NBL in your title, but do us the courtesy of using the proper names, if you want to come off sounding credible. Then, you hit us with the sweetener - Michael Jordan! For one, he doesn't play anymore. And two, let us never again suggest that Dwight Yorke and Michael Jordan offer the same thing to their respective sports. In general, you should refrain from writing about sports and leagues you have very little knowledge about. It's embarrassing for everyone to have to read that.
Millster
Guest
The reason why I agree is that the 'scrap and start over' strategy allows for legacy issues and structures to be swept away and for the gmae to be 'reset' according to the actual, current level of community interest and support. I think the NBL's day in the sun has passed by some 15-20 years. But I do think that a small, appropriately resourced league to provide a domestic pathway for basketball players, a grounding for our national teams and a feeder to better foreign leagues is probably a worthwhile exercise. Just don't pen me in as someone who will take much notice though...
Michael DiFabrizio
Expert
Looks like someone has been living under a rock. This is already happening. The league IS getting an overhaul. In fact, the game's new branding and CEO (and potentially the teams comprising the new NBL) will be announced today at Federation Square.
Clarky
Guest
Wils - excuse my yawn, but the NBL? I can't say I've really ever invested much thought or interest, and even less so in recent years. You talk about new beginnings like the A-League - one big difference there is that football is widely popular, and the most played sport in the country (based on participation numbers). As for basketball, it is a niche-sport at best in our sporting landscape. I didn't lose any sleep over the passing of the Kings, nor would I over the passing of the NBL. The ANZ Netball league is more exciting!