Similar story from SMH

NBL boss sees more records for Kings with Bogut effect in full swing
Roy Ward20 December 2018 — 5:35pm
NBL executive director Larry Kestelman believes Sydney Kings crowds could get even bigger following a 32 per cent rise in home attendance this season.

Even before the signing of Australian great Andrew Bogut, the league and the Kings were determined to improve their crowds this season.

Popular attraction: Andrew Bogut has helped bring the crowds to the Kings this season.
Popular attraction: Andrew Bogut has helped bring the crowds to the Kings this season.AAP
So far 102,551 fans have attended home games in the first half of this season out of 350,273 attendance across the league.

Kestelman said it was a relief to see the Kings making big strides with the team entering the second half of the season right in the hunt of the title.

"Our biggest goal for this year was all about Sydney, that was the one market we really needed to have some movement in," Kestelman said on Thursday.

"To see crowds 32 per cent up, relief is a great word to describe it. We are very, very happy and all other markets are stronger as we have grown so much in the last three years, we have more than doubled attendance, so we knew they would be harder to move significantly.

"We are on track to break the all-time record for NBL attendance which I'm very confident we will smash."

Kestelman isn't putting any limitations on how much the Kings could grow their home support due to the size of Qudos Bank Arena and the attraction of seeing Bogut back home starting with the Kings pre-Christmas showdown with reigning champions Melbourne United on Sunday.

"I'm hoping that we will set a new record for attendance in the game against Melbourne so I'm very, very hopeful we can set some new records there," Kestelman said.

"Heading into the second half of the season, fingers crossed their performance keeps up as I would love to see nothing more than Sydney in the grand final - that would be great."

Meanwhile, while the Kings draw in more fans, a former King is moving closer to a move to the NBA.

Last season's NBL rookie of the year Isaac Humphries enjoyed a career-night at the NBA G-League Showcase on Thursday.

Humphries scored 34 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked five shots as his Erie Bay Hawks beat Texas Legends 124-107.

The showcase sees all NBA G-League sides travel to Las Vegas for games in front of scouts and general managers from around the NBA and the world so the 20-year-old could not have picked a better game for a breakout performance.

Humphries, who grew up in Sydney, chose to head overseas following the last NBL season and his move to the US is looking a wise one.

Humphries spent part of the NBA pre-season with the Atlanta Hawks but is eligible to join any NBA side should they want to sign him.

"It's even better when your team gets the win as it's always a weird situation when you play well and your team doesn't win," Humphries said in a G-League video.

"It's important [to play well in front of NBA scouts] but it is more about the team winning than that."

Roy Ward

I think article op refers to is also on news.com.au and Cairns Post. Well hidden behind paywall.

Move over Buddy Franklin and ­Alessandro Del Piero, there is a new King in town.

Andrew Bogut is having an effect not seen in the Harbour City since Franklin and Del Piero changed the sporting landscape forever at the Swans and Sydney FC respectively.

The pair helped put AFL and the A-League on the map in Sydney with surging memberships and attendances.

Now, on the back of former NBA champion Bogut, the Sydney Kings' home attendances have improved a whopping 32 per cent, a franchise high.

Sydney have played five home games for a total crowd of 41,225 and an average of 8245, up from 6245 last season.


Andrew Bogut has helped put the Kings on the map in Sydney. Picture: AAP
This figure surpasses Melbourne United (8226), while it is only behind the league’s benchmark Perth (12,572).

In addition, 102,551 fans have watched Kings games across Australia during the first nine rounds.

The Kings are expecting the franchise’s biggest single-game crowd when they host defending champions Melbourne on Sunday.

The Kings’ best attendance was 11,005 fans against United in the final home game of the 2016-17 season.

Interim CEO Paul Kind said the Kings’ ticketed membership was also 50 per cent bigger than last season.

"By Sunday we will have sold more general tickets than the whole season last year," Kind said.


Andrew Bogut (left) of the kings competes for possession against Tom Jervis of the Wildcats during the Round 8 NBL match between Sydney Kings and Perth Wildcats at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Thursday, December 6, 2018. (AAP Image/Brendan Esposito) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY
“We are on track for a record crowd in excess of 11,000 as long as we keep selling over the next four days.

“We have opened a lot of the top deck already and have good seats still available for fans who want to buy, so we want every basketball fan in Sydney to get to the game and get behind the Kings.”

Attendances elsewhere are also continuing to climb as the NBL enjoys its closest season in its 40-year history.

Average attendances have increased by four per cent, with a total attendance of 350,274 for the first half of the 2018/19 season.

The NBL is on track to break last season’s all-time record attendance.

Perths might be a bit down as a result of the Saturday noon games. NZ, Illawarra and Brisbane seem like they are down or similar to last season (i dont have the stats though)

Adelaide, no idea. They rarely give away their attendance numbers and the stadium is so dark its hard to see the crowd from the broadcasts.

Cairns look to be way up. They've gotten over 4000 to every game so far. Remarkable effort given the Cairns population and their position at the bottom of the table.