Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Any sporting code in the country needs strong teams in each market to thrive, and the NBL has not had that for almost a decade.
Josh Childress could be the man to help revitalise the league in the biggest city in Australia.
The NBL is currentlythriving in Perth, with the Wildcats averaging around 12,000 people to their home games at the Perth Arena. It’s going strongly in Auckland, with the New Zealand Breakers coming off a championship three-peat and with the club in a strong financial position.
It is going solidly enough in Adelaide and Cairns, while crowds in Wollongong and Townsville are dismal. That means that Perth and Auckland are the only two major cities in Australia or New Zealand where they have teams going strongly on and off the basketball court.
Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane have not had a team make an NBL grand final series since 2009 and none have looked like it in that time, with the Kings having a two-year hiatus, the Bullets having been gone since 2008 and the Tigers, Titans, Dragons, Magic and Giants all no longer exist in Melbourne.
With the NBL desperate for an improved TV deal, to build exposure and crowds, and interest from the general public, tapping into the 11-million population in Australia’s biggest cities is key.
Melbourne United might still. They do have a strong team on paper this season after all. A Brisbane franchise is on track to return for the 2015/16 NBL season, but right now Josh Childress is on target to make the Sydney Kings watchable, marketable and more importantly a championship contender again.
Childress joined the Kings ahead of the 2014/15 season as the best-credentialled NBL import ever. He was still in the prime, 31 years old and having played 391 matches in the NBA, including a stretch with the Atlanta Hawks where he was close to being a genuine star.
He was never afraid to be a trail-blazer and became the first NBA player to leave for Europe voluntarily. Now, despite still being paid for his NBA contract, he has come to Sydney for a whole new experience as well.
It got off to a bad start when he grew frustrated by the physicality of the Perth Wildcats and the lack of calls made by the referees as a result, to hammer Wildcat Jesse Wagstaff after he had copped a heavy screen.
The vision of the incident went viral and brought about what might have been unwanted attention, but it at least had people talking about the NBL, and Childress suddenly became the face of the league. The Kings were being talked about again.
The Kings won NBL championships in 2003, 2004 and 2005, and made grand finals in 2006 and 2008, but they then suffered a firepower-induced exodus from the league for two years before returning for the 2010/11 season.
In the four seasons since, the Kings have largely been irrelevant, only once making the playoffs, but never threatening to make a grand final while drawing average crowds and minimal attention by the Sydney media or public.
However, that all changed when Childress whacked Wagstaff. It had people talking about the league and most importantly, it made them want to watch Childress play.
What they got on Sunday, as the Kings beat the Brock Motum-powered Adelaide 36ers, was a performance for the ages from Childress. He showed that he isn’t in the NBL just for fun or based on reputation, and that he has a lot more to offer than just a circus act.
Childress put in one of the best individual games in NBL history, certainly since the league went to 40-minute games for the 2009/10 season. He finished with 36 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots, while shooting 11-of-18 from the field and 13-of-15 from the foul line.
The Kings came into the season with a team built around Childress. He has support with free-scoring captain Ben Madgen, an improving point guard Kendrick Perry and handy bigs Angus Brandt, Tom Garlett and Josh Duinker, but make no mistake, it is Childress’ team.
And now he could very well make the Sydney Kings an NBL championship threat. If he decides he wants to dominate at both ends of the floor, inside and outside the paint like he did on Sunday, then he has no peer in the league and no one who can stop him.
Since Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were winning championships, it has been the Perth Wildcats and New Zealand Breakers who have dominated the NBL combining to win the last five titles – Perth in 2010 and 2014, and New Zealand in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
However, they have won based on having strong all-round teams with multiple players capable of leading their team to the title.
The result is that the Wildcats and Breakers are the strongest franchises on and off the court.
Now what Childress can do for the Kings is to not only make them a threat to win the 2015 championship, but also make people want to watch Sydney play, whether in person or TV, and bring a new audience back to the NBL. Once they are there, they might very well stay.
Childress has his return encounter with Wagstaff and the Wildcats this Sunday at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and all eyes will be on what happens. Now that is good news for Sydney and the NBL – let’s hope the league can ride on the back of the interest in it.
Matthew
Guest
Having now watched the game, I have some concerns about Perry. I don't know, but I think he decided to be a lot more agressive in the game at the Kingdome. He did seem to get some good plays and then.. burned out? Something happened and he lost his way. Whilst Childress is a good focal point, there are some issues there with the rest of the team. Childress was not on the bench much the whole game and to keep a player like that fit and focused, he needs to be rotated through the bench more.
Haz
Guest
Im a Perth fan, and whilst Im looking forward to the game against the Kings on Sunday, I also agree with you Damo that the game could be a fizzer - especially on the controversy side of things. I really can't see Childress and Wagstaff taking the rivalry any further than what it was as both players have moved on from that and are both professional players that aren't known for being hot heads. Has there been any publicity in Sydney for this game? The potential is there for a nice big turnout and I'm hoping for 7,000. But knowing Sydney they could get anywhere between 3500 and 7500 without any reason. And winning doesn't really matter too much. The Kings got 7,000 in their season opening win and backed it up with 3,800 the next week.
DaniE
Roar Guru
Isaac Burton :D
Damo
Guest
I certainly agree with you Chris, we do need the players to bring the people along. Maybe my frustration is that I personally feel we've seen a continual increase in the quality of players we've attracted but we've failed to capitalise on it in the media and with marketing (Perth aside). Looking forward to Sunday's game, though I fear it could be a fizzer where everyone is too mindful of the previous game and the the players deliberately stay well clear of any controversy!
Chris Pike
Roar Guru
Agree with all of that Damo, appreciate your feedback. However, having a player worth going to watch and to make the team in the biggest market in the country a chance to be successful again, can help make up for some of those other problems just by simply giving people a reason to watch. A lot more needs to be done to make the league successful though, agreed. Thriving in Perth, strong in Auckland and work needed everywhere else.
Damo
Guest
Hi Chris, Appreciate any coverage the NBL gets but I think your article skirts the edges of the real issues here. The NBL has had plenty of high quality imports over the years (admittingly Childress has the best credentials) but it was only able to make the news once something ultra-scandalous happens. The last basketball news story before this was the Boomers 'throwing' their World Cup game to avoid the USA. James Ennis threw an end of year award in the river last year and that barely got a mention. He has now played in 7 of Miami's opening games of the new NBA season. Young Australian players who have a history in teh NBL have been drafted to the NBA this season in record numbers but nobody outside diehard followers knows these things. The point I'm trying to make is that it's not up to the players, imported or local, to make any individual team or the NBL relevant but the resposibility of team owners, managers and the game's decisions makers to make the sport more relevant in Australia again. Recent administration has to be some of the worst in Australian hisotry across all sports and it's the near future in which newish administration brings back Brisbane, looks into Tasmania again and (most importantly) negotiates a new TV rights deal that will determine the long term sustainability of the NBL. The appetite is there. The Wildcats outsold the Austrlaian ODI in Perth last summer and probably will again tonight. The immediate interest in the return of a Brisbane team is very encouraging. There's already a group trying to revive the Melbourne Tigers name by looking into a 2nd Victorian team. It's up to the various administrations to make sure they do it right, not the players.
Johnno
Guest
Could be the best import ever. Up there with Mclain,Overton,Darnell Mee,Loggins,Rob Rose,Copeland,Daryl mcdonald,Ricky Grace,Fisher,JCrawford, and chairman of the boards Mark Davis.
Jim
Guest
Wahoo NBL making a splash in the news. Childress is amazing, get out to the Kings v Perth rematch this sunday at the Kingdome!