National Basketball League (Australia)

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National Basketball League
Founded1979; 45 years ago (1979)
First season1979
CountryAustralia
(9 teams)
Other club(s) fromNew Zealand
(1 team)
ConfederationFIBA Oceania (Oceania)
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
Domestic cup(s)NBL Cup
Current championsMelbourne United
(2020–21, 6th title)
Most championshipsPerth Wildcats
(10 titles)
CommissionerJeremy Loeliger
PresidentLarry Kestelman
TV partnersAustralia:
New Zealand:
Online:
WebsiteNBL.com.au

The National Basketball League is a basketball competition in Australasia. It's current sponsor is Hungry Jack's, so it is also known as the Hungry Jack's NBL Championship. It is the top-level basketball competition in Australasia. The Singapore Slingers once played in this league, meaning it is the first Australasian sporting league ever to have a team from Asia. The league started in 1979, and its most successful time is during the 1980s and 1990s. However, it started to struggle in the 20th century. At the start of the 2004/05 season the league had a deal with Fox Sports of Australia. On September 18, 2007, the National Basketball League had Hummer as their sponsor. one HD started broadcasting in 2010, the first time a game has been on TV for eight years.

Clubs[change | change source]

Current clubs[change | change source]

Overview of NBL teams
Club Location Arena Capacity Head Coach Titles Founded
Adelaide 36ers South Australia Adelaide Adelaide Entertainment Centre 11,300 Australia Scott Ninnis 4 1982
Brisbane Bullets Queensland Brisbane Nissan Arena 5,000 Australia Justin Schueller 3 1979
Cairns Taipans Queensland Cairns Cairns Convention Centre 5,300 Australia Adam Forde 0 1999
Illawarra Hawks New South Wales Wollongong Wollongong Entertainment Centre 6,000 United States Justin Tatum 1 1979
Melbourne United Victoria (Australia) Melbourne John Cain Arena 10,175 Australia Dean Vickerman 6 1984
New Zealand Breakers New Zealand Auckland Spark Arena 9,740 Israel Mody Maor 4 2003
Perth Wildcats Western Australia Perth Perth Arena 15,500 Australia John Rillie 10 1982
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix Victoria (Australia) Melbourne John Cain Arena 10,175 United States Mike Kelly 0 2018
Sydney Kings New South Wales Sydney Sydney SuperDome 18,200 State of Palestine Mahmoud Abdelfattah 5 1988
Tasmania JackJumpers Tasmania Hobart MyState Bank Arena 4,340 United States Scott Roth 0 2020

Former clubs[change | change source]

See also: List of defunct National Basketball League (Australia) teams
Overview of defunct NBL teams
Club Location Years
Canberra Cannons Australian Capital Territory Canberra 1979–2003
Devonport Warriors Tasmania Devonport 1983–1984
Eastside Spectres Victoria (Australia) Nunawading 1979–1991
Forestville Eagles[1] South Australia Wayville 1980–1981
Frankston Bears Victoria (Australia) Frankston 1983–1984
Geelong Supercats Victoria (Australia) Geelong 1982–1996
Glenelg Tigers South Australia Glenelg 1979
Gold Coast Blaze Queensland Gold Coast 2007–2012
Gold Coast Rollers Queensland Gold Coast 1990–1996
Hobart Devils Tasmania Hobart 1983–1996
Hunter Pirates New South Wales Newcastle 2003–2006
Launceston Casino City Tasmania Launceston 1980–1982
Newcastle Falcons New South Wales Newcastle 1979–1999
North Melbourne Giants Victoria (Australia) North Melbourne 1980–1998
Singapore Slingers Singapore Singapore 2006–2008
South Dragons Victoria (Australia) Melbourne 2006–2009
S.E. Melbourne Magic Victoria (Australia) Melbourne 1992–1998
Southern Melbourne Saints Victoria (Australia) Melbourne 1979–1991
Sydney Supersonics New South Wales Sydney 1979–1987
Townsville Crocodiles[2] Queensland Townsville 1993–2016
Victoria Titans Victoria (Australia) Melbourne 1998–2004
West Adelaide Bearcats South Australia Adelaide 1979–1984
West Sydney Razorbacks New South Wales Western Sydney 1998–2009
West Sydney Westars New South Wales Bankstown 1979–1987

Sponsors[change | change source]

Naming rights[change | change source]

  • 1979 to 1987: none
  • 1988 to 1991: Hungry Jack's
  • 1992 to 2001–02: Mitsubishi[3]
  • 2002–03 to 2003–04: none
  • 2004–05 to 2006–07: Philips[4]
  • 2007–08: Hummer[5]
  • 2008–09 to 2009–10: none
  • 2010–11 to 2012–13: iiNet
  • 2013–14 to 2016–17: none
  • 2017–18 to present: Hungry Jack's[6]

Broadcasting[change | change source]

Since 1995, the league has had a broadcasting deal for paid programming with Fox Sports of Australia. For free TV, they were first sponsored by ABC from 1979 to 1987. Then they were sponsored by Seven Network for three years, and then from Network Ten from 1992 to 1997. From 1998 to 2001, they were again sponsored by ABC. The league did not have free TV for almost a decade, until in 2010 when Network Ten HD started broadcasting. This contract ended in 2015. The current broadcasting rights are owned by SBS.

NBLxNBA[change | change source]

The NBLxNBA is an annual series involving clubs from the NBL and the National Basketball Association (NBA) of the United States. The series started in 2017 for each league's 2017–18 season, and each season includes between three and seven games. The games have previously always been held in the US and Canada, and are normally held during September and early October.

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "After 40 years, Eagles return to the nest and celebrate a milestone in SA basketball history".
  2. ↑ "Townsville Crocodiles withdraw from the NBL". Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  3. ↑ "NBL lines up a new naming-rights sponsor". The Age. 16 July 2003. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "NBL signs naming rights sponsor". www.abc.net.au. 2004-09-08. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  5. ↑ Howell, Stephen (2007-09-19). "New sponsor gives NBL a rev-up". The Age. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  6. ↑ Ward, Roy (2017-10-04). "NBL sign new naming-rights sponsor as season tips off". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
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