Kriss.... You are a corkhead! The NBA is the premier league in the world! Take 90% of the fellas in the NNA and bring them into the NBL and you have an instant ass kicker! Eg. Kevin Brooks: Denver Nuggets and others, bench warmer of 5 seasons, comes to NBL wins a championship by completely dominating all positions on the court. NBA is a much better spectical to watch and is a much more uptempo game.
What 6'11" dude in the NBL could go score 20pts, grab 12 boards, dish 5 assists and shoot at over 50% night in and out for 82games in a season, (not including playoffs) Easily?? Not 1!!! Far higher caliber. Next time you are gonna make such daft comments about NBA compared to NBL....... Don't!

Geez, Jbags are you alright? You really took out a fair bit of frustration on that poor kid... Is there anything I can do?

Well why not compare ????

Ok yes the NBA has the highest quality and payed players, but along with that comes alot of negatives in my book when you compare it to the NBL.
With the NBA you get alot of overpayed egos, and some, not all like the great MJ of course, act like egomaniac tossers who seem to care more about money than the game.
The NBA game that made news the other night when some really ugly violence broke out I think is partly a result of some ugly fan and player behaviour which I am proud to say would be an unlikely event in the NBL.
I also think that there are to many Aussie basketballers or fans that blindly follow everything NBA this and NBA that and SELLOUT on our local product.There is one thing the NBA will NEVER have in Aus and that is local relevence to your town. How in the hell do I identify with the Denver Nuggets ???...maybe if I had some distant relative living there ???...not even..whereas the 36ers are from MY town and proud as hell who they represent.
Ok yeah, I appreciate the NBA and great players from it, but a number of aussies need to start focusing more on our local game and stop being so obsessed with the bloody NBA ??
I know all you NBA lovers are going to say it's a far better league etc etc...but...if we continue to keep pouring money into buying PBT that has more NBA than NBL then our League won't increase to a much higher standard.
We all need to show we want the NBL, if we want it to explode, and not just say that it's not pumpimg now so I'll think I'll follow the NBA more ??

However,we should show interest in the NBA WHEN some Aussies are playing but unless we support the NBL more we won't increase the money going into the NBL and the standard to propel some great players forward to the NBA.

But hell for me the ultimate would one day have a league that is very high standard and the Aussie players going to the NBA won't be as much of a big deal as it once was.

So are we caught in a catch 22 ??...some Aussies complain the NBL is not good enough...so their money goes to buying an NBA merchandise instead of NBL, they watch NBA on espn instead of going to an NBL match live ??

And we wonder why the NBL isn't doing as well as it could ??...I know there are more factors but this is definately one of them.

I think that the NBA is admired for its position in the media (far beyond what the NBL achieves locally) and the identities in the league (the big name rookies, star match-ups, etc), more than for the style of play.

At the height of the NBL, the NBA greats were household names because of basketball card crazes, FTA coverage of NBA games and highlight shows (NBA Action). I'm not sure that the NBL can be truly successful without some level of coverage of the NBA in Australia.

How many Australians can you name that are playing at US colleges right now? There is very little publicity of that type of thing, and I don't believe that helps when college graduates return to the NBL - i.e., Quick, Kendall, etc.

Re the fight and it not happeneing here.....just a few years back at the Powerhouse Matt Nielsen made it a few steps up the stairs to chase a fan that threw a stres ball type give away at him.

He would have gone further but in the best play of his career Heal grabbed him and held him back.

There are over 70 internationals playing in the NBA. Australia doesn't have one player. That is zero! It is difficult to believe that anything in the NBL is better then the NBA. When you really think about it we are not doing all that well are we?

Well said Brockman!!!
Admitted that the Pacers V Pistons games was a disaster.
I did not intend for it to come across as me saying that the NBL was a crap league. I wanted to make it clear that the NBA is a far superior league to the NBL and that we cannot possibly compete. We do need FTA TV. I don't have FOXTEL and if I am going to a mates place to watch basketball it will be to see the NBA.

I don't buy or wear NBA jersys and stuff like that but if they are marketing the product into Australia and it is selling well, good on them!

NBL and ABA rock! I go there as often as I can, But the NBA is a higher level and I prefer to watch it if I get a chance!

Bags is a lover of the sport!

So J-Bags?
You dumb-ass
You should read the post again cos I said a better style to watch! I agree the athletes are better but their scores are lower/shootin % lower and the only thing they got over us is athleticism.

Watch your mouth before you go off at me KID!

(Gee Kriss back off he wasn't that bad was he?!)

You say that it is far superiour League etc...which is true...and that we don't come close to competing...well...perhaps also true..BUT..how are we ever going to get close if we, and yes the media too, don't start putting the NBL as our priority.

How do you think European players are doing so well and the Argentinians became world champions ??...the Euroleages have improved a great deal over the last 10 years to create a higher standard that was able to produce players at the top of their game internationaly.

There is no reason why YOU the consumer can make that choice before you decide to buy an NBA or NBL merchandise etc.., have some foresight in thinking that ok..it's not the best yet,(think of it like when you are at the supermarket and you should buy Australian made not the imported product) but it will be great in the future. Also what it means to Australian basketball if all you are doing is making the NBA your priority and not the other way around.If this mentality continues, and we don't have faith in the future of what the NBL could be, and support it more, then it would be a shame for the game here.

Jay wrote

There are over 70 internationals playing in the NBA. Australia doesn't have one player. That is zero! It is difficult to believe that anything in the NBL is better then the NBA. When you really think about it we are not doing all that well are we?

Well the NBL needs more local support as in attending matches and support from consumers etc, so don't have the mentality "oh it's crap , think I'll follow the NBA instead"
better to think ", what potential, the NBL has, just in this season, signed Philips as major sponsor, Virgin and now Nike. It's not the best it's been but I can see it's improving and will be happening in future.(apart from our own club ticketing,marketing issues that need to be sorted etc which are not the NBL's fault)

i understand what you are saying but i believe a big influence is the American culture that people are copying. I know people that have NBA singlets but have never touched a ball in their life. They have them because at one time it was fashionable.

How many people have Air Jordans and do not play ball?

What i am saying is that just beacuase more NBA merchandise is bought does not necessarily mean people are following the NBA.

This brings me to my next point.

You can not readily buy NBL gear even if you wanted to. The shop at the dome is one place and i have read on here that there is a shop at TTP selling sixers gear. Wow 2 places in the entire state where i can buy merchandise....hell i can not even get it off the sixers own web site.

I can though walk in to almost every sports store and buy an NBA related item.

The talent in Oz is good enough to play in the NBA. Bogut and Schensher will be there in the next 2 years.

Indiana need players so Nielsen may get a call soon to fill the bench.

A lot of the International players have been signed after performances in the Olymoics or world champs. We were not at the last worlds and the talent that was left on the bench at Athens is as good as NBA quality....but did not get the exposure.

If the coach of the Pistons was talking up Pero Cameron can you imagine what he would think if he got to see Brett or JR properly.

Ok , true the NBL needs to made more available to the general public, more Aus sporting stores need to start stocking NBL merchandise.(the 36rs admin it seems have alot to answer for this, and isaac's idea of a rundle mall booth/store could be the perfect opportunity to sell tickets and merchandise.)

I am not not living back home in Adelaide....yet(plan on moving back within 6 months), and haven't been home for a while, so I'm a little out of touch with the local scene, but plan on going to some live NBL games when I visit for a holiday in Jan.

And yes, would love to see Neilson, Bogut in the NBA , then I would take an interest in it again, but I will always, and as should any Aussie, put the NBL first.

If the 36rs admin wake up to the fact that Basketball is not just about the game but marketing and making the merchandise more avaivable they could make more money for the club and not charge so much for tickets.

I'm sure they will because it's an opportunity to make money the club needs.

Sorry kriss hope I didn't make you Cross (hahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa) with my earlier comments, but you are still a corkhead.
last 5 games nbl:
179.6 per game divided by 2 = 89.8pp team

Todays first five games off NBA.com:
202.8 per game divided by 2 = 101.4pp team.

Didn't bother to check the FG% cos I don't really care. Pinical of BAsketball! END!

NBL is a good league and there are very tallented players that should (agreed) be in the NBA. Thus it would only prove to make more people watch the NBA! therefore leaving us in the same situation as we are in currently, just with more punks walking around with NBA jersys with aussie names on them.

Regarding the marketing comment. This isn't just about marketing merchandise, it is about culture. Take Football as an example. How many people wear an AFL gurnsey to the bay on a sunday? None! End of that argument.

Why is it that I rock up to every ABA game in the year to watch my Tigers boyz? I don't know. MAybe cos I can get drunk and abuse the opposition and I love cracking a drink open at every oppertunity? Yes!

Why do I only go to the NBL when I get free tickets? or cheap tickets? Cos I'm a tight ass? Maybe! Who knows! But as a basketball fan I am just not excited to go down to the dome! I don't know, i'm just am not as thrilled to be there!

Something needs to be done!

J bags he called you a kid! Do you care?
"No! I just wanna Jump! Jump!!

Ha!
It's all good J Bags Im just messin' with ya.
Good on ya for replying to the barb though

The NBL need to use the NBA as a marketing tool. Basketball is basketball, If you get kids watching or playing ball NBA or NBL eventually that will turn into ticket sales. More Junior development at school level would help. I remember Mark Davis coming to our school in year 3 and I have been playing and watching ever since. I know me and my little mates nagged for weeks to go to a game after that experience.
I love bball and basically im gonna watch it as much as possible. basically for the NBL it all comes down to bums on seats and if you are charging $24 a ticket most casual fans will head to the footy, cricket, cafe or movies ect.
They should discount the last 1000 tickets at the door and sell the place out each game. once people experience I have no doubt they will consider season tickets. Selling tickets at that price will bring in numbers those will then buy drinks, food merchandise ect all money for the club.
I agree NBA is a better quality but you dont get the same atmosphere on espn as you do going to the games especially when its packed (thinking back a number of seasons).

With the merchandise Im gonna buy the NBA gear as I like it and it looks good. I have season tickets to the sixers but there is no way im gonna spend $70 for a adelaide singlet plus another 30 for the numbers. The singlets are nice but ugly to wear casually. champion definately got their sponsorship $$ with that deal. champion everywhere. The polo's look good.

All those true bball fans support both NBA & NBL there is plenty to go around.

Hey J just on those stats you gave me, how many teams are avg over 100pts?
I reckon the NBA is still in trouble cos the scoring has been on a decline since '92.
Most NBA teams now know that Americans aint as polished as say Euros.
Ive been to an nba game j and it aint all it cracked up to be.
Well check those stats you gave me maybe at the end of the month though instead of 5-6 games and well see.
P.S. No Kriss Cross J-Bag, I aint no punk kid.

I thought the whole point to this thread was that one person stated they enjoyed the NBL style better than NBA. The quality of the players did not seem to be the issue.

For my two cents, if Sydney were playing Melbourne on one channel and Indiana playing Charlotte on another channel, and I had the choice I would watch the NBA game (and then flick over during the timeouts to get a score).

I just enjoy watching NBA more than NBL. Particularly during finals.

I have no idea about team point averages, but it was just a bit of a comparison. I;m agreeing with Peggy above. I just prefer to watch the NBA, nuf said.

NBL will never and can;t possibly be at a level close to Europe and the NBA! We just don't have the recources.

J bags ain't a kid either, and thats why he is so insightfull and loved!

Someone made the comment that the NBA is the pinacle of Basketball...mmm well to me the Olympics are, so it depends on your perspective.

Good Point Ozzie, I don't reckon they'll go any better in Beijing.

The Euro's will kill them with their teamwork

NBA= Plastic basketball
Great athletes and spectacle but should come in a wrapper.
82 regular season games means each game counts for jack.
Havn't you noticed they only bother with defence in the last quater.
If NBA was really that high quality BASKETBALL the USA wouldn't stink up every olympics.

NBL= Lacks Professionalism
It can't be compared to Euro or American basketball, we simply don't have the population to compete.
I don't know what the 6'ers tops are like this year but, you couldn't pay me to wear a PURA MILK top.
Uniforms have improved slightly but people buy NBA tops because they look good and aren't plastered with sponsors.

I would however wear one of the old WEST END 36'ers tops or better still a COOPERS 36'ers top.
I know they aint a sponsor.Should be.

NCAA= Real Basketball
Better tactical games/coaches
You're only a senior once so the games actualy mean something to the players.

Ask any American basketball fan

Free ticket to an NBA final game.
or
Free ticket to NCAA Final Four game.

you can keep your passionless twenty game finals series.

Ive seen this massive 6"10' black dude have a great final game, but foul out with abou 5-10 minutes to go. This guy knew how much his team needed his size and they would probably lose because of his absence.

An NBA player would get dressed and start thinking about dinner after the match.

This guy went down the end of the bench and un-ashamedly cried like a baby. Because he gave everthing he could on the court and they still lost.
That's the pinacle of basketball,
not highest standard but most passion.

Nbl is no where near as good NBa
Nba has all the greatest player. If you got the best players in NBL V NBA the nba would destroy them.

I agree with montezumas revenge, i'd rather watch a college game over NBA any day, the final four is just awsome, but the regular season is much better than NBA aswell.

NBA 4 SURE! I RARELY WATCH A NBL GAME! NBL PLAYERS TEND TO SHOOT THE BALL INSTEAD OF DRIVING U DONT C SPECTACULAR MOVES DUNKS IN CONTRAST 2 THE NBA PLAYERS! I'D RATHER WATCH THE NBA GAMES! MORE EXCITING!

About the crowd violence, didnt Grant Kruger get into the stands and punch a fan about 10 years ago? The NBA is good to watch, as long as ESPN dont put the same teams on every time. Im all for watching andrew bogut but did they need to put the bucks games on every freakin week.

And about the college arguement, its all well and good to say your only a senior once and that guy got upset, but dont you think an NBA player in game 7 of a finals series would do the same. You make them out to not care about their teams when really they must, otherwise they wouldnt play basketball.

The major problem with the NBL merchandise is that most people seem to think that its somehow uncool to wear a sixers top. Ive seen one, mayb two around the place in the last year. its a shame yes, but thats how things are. Ive also noticed that there arent as many true "die hard" NBL fans as NBA fans, and essentially these are the people that buy the merchandise. I just dont think much can be done in that department to help the NBL.

I cant believe people are arguing which eague is better....its obviously the NBA

Hell.......bring the current Atlanta Hawks or Toronto or Charlotte Bobcats roster out here for one season and they will demolish any side in the NBL on any given night

The most worrying part about our league compared to the NBA is that Chris Andersen would probably win our slam dunk contest.