National Basketball League (Australia)

The National Basketball League is Australia's top-level professional basketball competition.

Related Topics:
Australia - Basketball

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It was formed in 1978, playing a winter season (April-September). In 1998 the competition was shifted to a summer competition between October and April, mainly to avoid competing directly against Australia's various football codes.

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There are currently eleven teams in the league, with teams in all capital cities (except Canberra, Hobart and Darwin), regional centres Cairns, Newcastle, Townsville and Wollongong, as well as New Zealand.

Related Topics:
Canberra - Hobart - Darwin - Cairns - Newcastle - Townsville - Wollongong - New Zealand

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The league's best years were in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it has struggled recently and many of the teams have shifted to smaller venues to cut costs. A number of teams have folded or ceased to compete at the NBL level. Despite these issues, at the start of the 2004/05 season the league struck a new television deal with Fox Sports in Australia and a multi-year naming-rights sponsorship deal with electronics manufacturer Philips. There are future plans to expand into South East Asia with a possible Singaporean team being considered.

Related Topics:
Fox Sports - Philips - South East Asia - Singaporean

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Most teams have historically featured at least one and sometimes two American imports; teams are limited to having two non-Australian players on the roster at any one time. Some of these players have moved to Australia permanently and become Australian citizens; a few have even played for the Australian national team (under a rule that allowed one naturalized player to compete for a national team).

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