Over the course of the 2010-11 NBL season, the league has been constantly improving. The sport has gained more interest from around Australia and New Zealand.
The aim of the league should be to improve drastically over the coming years and to have a league that is one of the best in the world.
The increased national exposure that comes with free-to-air-television broadcasting has had much to do with the revitalisation this season. With the current TV deal with Ten and OneHD extending to five games a week in 2015, now is as good a time as ever to aggressively push the league forward.
In recent months, the NBL have revealed plans for expansion in the coming years, with defunct teams from Brisbane and Newcastle highest on the list for reinstatement.
In a league that is rising drastically from the disastrous lows of the last few years, expansion is a great idea.
The league has set its sights on the re-instatement of the Brisbane Bullets franchise, hoping to get it running for next season (2012-13 looking more likely). Representatives from Newcastle are also pushing to have the Falcons brought back for the 2012-13 season.
Along with this, there is speculation the South Dragons could return in the next few years.
The league should also look to expand further into New Zealand market, with Wellington looking like a perfect landing spot. The league should hope to bring back the Canberra market and also push into Tasmania.
Reinstatement of the Singapore Slingers and expansion into Asia is, however, not a good idea.
This form of expansion would mean too much travelling time for teams and would lead to many issues. The league should be kept as an exclusively an Australian and New Zealand enterprise.
Another positive step forward would be to increase the international player limit (currently at two) and also raise the salary cap (currently at $1 million). With the new TV rights deal and increased attendance, the franchises are earning more money and should be spending it to improve talent.
An increased salary cap and more international spots would make the league more attractive for players from all over the world.
Whilst doing this, the league should push teams to more aggressively hunt talent from the NBA D-League, NCAA and international leagues. There is no doubt that as the talent pool widens, that fans will be more willing to come to games and support the clubs.
The NBL should look to play exhibition games in Asia and perhaps Europe.
Also, bringing in NBA teams to play exhibition games in Australia will lead to greater national interest in basketball and increased ticket sales for NBL teams. Although NBA pre-season games would be the top prize, the league would benefit by showcasing great teams from Europe and Asia in the Australian market.
You can’t tell me that having Allen Iverson and his Turkish team (coincidently containing Aussie big man AJ Ogilvy) or Stephan Marbury and his Chinese team play in Australia wouldn’t be a great idea.
The league, as well as individual teams, must step up marketing around the country and bring more people to the venues. They should hope to market the individual games and more importantly the brand of the club and the league.
Eventually it will come a point where buildings are being sold out and the teams are reaching their income maximums. When the league reaches this point, teams must be ready to expand their market by moving to larger venues.
In the case of the Melbourne Tigers, who reside in a city with over 4 million people, it is absolutely astounding that they play in a stadium that can sit less than 4,000.
By taking a leap of faith and moving to larger venues, I think fans will respond to the improved professionalism and spectacle, and this will result in greater ticket sales.
If the NBL stay the course and continue improving, there is no doubt in my mind that we will have an ever-improving league and one that can mix it with the best of Asia and Europe.
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