It boils down to being a puff piece amounting to "the NBL would like to be the biggest summer sport". Well... duh.

There's some vague talk of wanting international involvement in the league as well and figuring out what that would mean.

And of course the great catch cry, to which we all cringe - "The second best league in the world".

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NBL boss Larry Kestelman has thrown down the gauntlet to cricket and the A-League, declaring basketball can become Australia's No. 1 summer sport.

The Australian competition is surging on the back of record attendances, world-class on-court action, and a genuine link to America’s NBA as a breeding ground for emerging and established players to join the globe’s premier league.

Kestelman believes the NBL possesses all the qualities trump the A League and even bump cricket, Australia’s national sport, from the top of its summer perch.

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NBL owner Larry Kestelman believes basketball can reel in cricket as No. 1 summer sport
NBL owner Larry Kestelman believes basketball can reel in cricket as No. 1 summer sport
"I’ve always wanted to be the No. 1 summer sport, which was my aim when I first took over the league and we won’t stop there," Kestelman said ahead of the 2022/23 NBL season tipping off on October 1.

“You’ve got mature sports like the AFL and the NRL in the winter that are just absolute behemoths and own that space.

“For me, we have a great opportunity to be the No. 1 sport in summer.

“There are other sports that absolutely deserve a place, like cricket with their version of the shorter game and the A League football.

“However, cricket is an all-day game or five hours, and the A League is a great product, but you are talking about something that is hard to compare to the English Premier League.

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“I think the quality of the (A League) product can’t be in the same category as the basketball in this country with where the NBL stands as the second-best league behind the NBA.

“That is no disrespect to them (football) — that is just factual.

“I’m not for one second ever saying we’ll become the NBA, but to have the second-best basketball product in the world is pretty special.

“There is no shortage of competition, but I feel like we as a sport are really well positioned to own that No. 1 mantle in the summer.”

Jaylen Adams lifts the trophy as the Sydney Kings claim the NBL Grand Final series between Sydney Kings and Tasmania Jackjumpers.
Jaylen Adams lifts the trophy as the Sydney Kings claim the NBL Grand Final series between Sydney Kings and Tasmania Jackjumpers.
Kestelman’s vision could be viewed as bold, but he genuinely thinks the NBL can dominate the Australian public’s hearts and minds over summer.

He points out that basketball is hugely popular with the youth.

Basketball is also played indoors in a concert-like environment, played over a two-hour window, which is a perfect entertainment package.

“Then we’ve got former and aspiring NBA players in our league,” he said.

“You can follow their stories here backwards and forwards, which is an important link.”

Kestelman also reaffirmed there is genuine global interest to invest in the NBL as partners.

He insists he “won’t stand in the way” of private equity as the competition’s future, although he concedes it most likely won’t come to fruition for at least another 12 to 24 months.

“But I think the NBL has a bigger future than just in Australia,” he said.

“We want the eyes of the world on the NBL, and for that to happen we’ll need global partners who understand the market better than I do.

“Whether that is Asia, Europe, or America, I’d love to see other people involved in the league.

“For me, it has always been about making the NBL the best version of itself and I certainly won’t do anything to hold that back.

“I think letting people into the family who can do a better job at aspects that I can is just part of the process.”


Kestelman confirmed the NBL is in discussions with Basketball Australia about integrating the Asian market into the Australian league via FIBA, who want to see Asia build a stronger presence on the international stage.

It comes as Boomers coach and former Illawarra Hawks mentor Brian Goorjian, who is now coaching the Bay Area Dragons in the Philippines, announced his desire for the NBL to join forces with Asia in a EuroLeague style international competition.

Kestelman sees merit in Goorjian’s plan to increase the Asian market’s involvement in the NBL.

“That is what we are discussing with FIBA and BA, so it is exhibition games, is it teams coming to play here?,” he said.

“We are definitely starting to lock outside of Australia to make the NBL even more global.

“There has been a huge amount of interest from people to see if they can get involved in the league or teams.

“They can see the growth and potential of what we are building here.

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“In the meantime, we’ll put our heads down and our bums up, continue to work hard.

“The NBL is going from strength to strength, but I feel like we are only just starting to understand what the full potential of the sport and this league is.”"

Nope. Cricket is much bigger. Games with 20,000 people on the reg before COVID

Yeah it's a puff piece. I think it's great to be aspirational and make big claims but I dont see any substance to it. By what metric is the NBL becoming the biggest summer sport in Australia? You'd have to be pretty crafty with your numbers to build that case.

I am a fan of LK and all he's done with the league but these articles really annoy me. He basically comes in, makes some wild, unbacked claims, and then leaves without saying anything of even vague substance. Whats to be excited about in this article? What do we learn? It was a waste of an entire interview as far as I can see.

It's definitely a puff piece but CA really only have 1 shot left with the BBL before it becomes completely irrelevant on the global cricket calendar.
NBL may never trump night cricket but there's real oppurtunity to steal fans, especially families.

Thanks for posting ME

LK could have helped his cause by highlighting the Wildcats have drawn bigger crowds than the Australian cricket team playing in Perth on the same night.

LK's ownership has only done two major mistakes.

1. The rebrand of the Melbourne Tigers. Saying United honour all the past Victorian teams, it’s a joke when it was a rebrand from the Tigers.

2. They hid the Crocodiles underneath the rug with not much work to safe them.

The NBL isn’t the second best league in the world.

The EuroLeague have budgets thousand times bigger then their budgets.

I would rather the league take more action then to keep going with these’s silly non-readable articles.

I could see a midseason Fiba Asia club tournament. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened earlier but with the pandemic the last 2 years it has put all those’s discussions on hold.

Point 1 wasn't then and isn't now a mistake.

Commenting without reading it, but a puff piece can still have a little bit of value if it's somewhere mainstream like The Daily Telegraph.
At least there it puts the name NBL in the eyes & minds of Joe Bloggs even if there is zero substance to it.
Just a reminder with the season approaching that it still exists.

The nbl participating in an Asian "euroleague" style competition has seemed an obvious expansion opportunity for a while - how come it never happens?

There isn't NBL-level competition in Asia at the moment. That's the challenge, find ways to make it a meaningful competition.

News Corp - NBL.....
Why do you think they made them the media partner.
You pay Murdoch lots of money, you get bias.

Second best league in the world - embarassing

Yeah so ummmmm....

LK didn't write the article…

I think they could do something with the blitz...

What if the champion Chinese team comes and plays in the blitz? Or team China itself ? Or other nation…

Maybe g-league ignite? Or a major us college team?

Just thinking out loud here, I just think there's exposure there by inviting international teams…

I think Team China played in the 2017 NBL Blitz Challenge from memory. They didn't do well but it could happen again.

Blitz no. It's a hit and giggle affair with no real meaning apart from pr. Would be unreasonable to think outside teams would want to make the effort to come over and play in crappy games where teams are giving 50%.

Asian teams I doubt would consider touring as they'd all get flogged. (didn't one enter in the Blitz at Brisbane years back when the Bullets returned?)

Something could be done with college teams though. I know a few tour each year, but the NBL could make the effort to invite one powerhouse college each off-season. Promote the bejesus out of it on the socials, have the games shown live on Kayo at least (not that hard). Drums up interest in the league during a traditional dead period, gets people talking, gets bums on seats at local venues. Guarantee games would be at the least reasonably competitive with both teams wanting the W.

More of a pipedream - could have a touring invite team comprised of players on the NBA bubble who are either knocking on the door or on the way out. Get a few recognisable names that the average joe would know. Good pr opp for the NBL, touring players may use it as a showcase for NBA teams or to get an import gig elsewhere.

Even if the NBL could invite teams for their NBL Cup with some Asian teams or G-league teams.

G-League Ignite would be a fun team to watch.

No matter what NBL you've always been my #1, in winter or summer. ♡

NBLTigers,
With EASL and WASL now moving forward, no chance that a FIBA Asia club cup is moving forward will happen.

FIBA Asia run the FIBA Asia Champions Cup for clubs each year but the NBL title holders have never been invited.

2022 FIBA Asia Champions Cup will run in late September/early October right before the NBL season begins yet as always there is no slot for the NBL champions.

There has been speculation Sydney may gain direct entry into the expanded FIBA Confederations Cup next year circumventing the need to be involved and win a FIBA zone continental title to qualify.

Chinese teams came over to play in the Blitz a few years ago and set a new record for biggest losing margin in every game they played.

The original and the best example that comes to mind are Shanghai Sharks scoring only 23 points against the Wildcats up in Broome. It was an absolute demolition job.

Every nbl puff piece like this has vague references to the leagues success. Because it is privately owned the nbl doesn't have the same transparency as other codes.
It's very opaque. Give us the data. Crowds numbers not percentage growth, team profitability, tv ratings then You'll see how popular it really is. LK is a master of spin.
This is what cricket australia puts out see below. Interestingly wbbl is fourth most watched domestic competition in australia. LK and BA are dropping the ball on wnbl and engaging with female fans/participants. The shift to footy and cricket is draining females out of Bball and will continue to impact its ability to grow.
From cricket australia:
Cricket Australia extends its gratitude to the millions of fans across Australia and around the world who ensured that the men's and women’s international and Big Bash seasons were among the most watched on record, despite the many challenges presented by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Records broken as millions tune into the cricket

Cricket Australia extends its gratitude to the millions of fans across Australia and around the world who ensured that the men’s and women’s international and Big Bash seasons were among the most watched on record, despite the many challenges presented by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

With the Women’s National Cricket League, Marsh One-Day Cup and Marsh Sheffield in full swing, and the Qantas Australian men’s T20I tour of New Zealand about to commence, Cricket Australia can reveal substantial growth from across its international and T20 domestic competitions this summer.

Among the audience highlights for the 2020-21 season:

All three formats of men’s international cricket increased year-on-year linear television audiences, while streaming numbers smashed all-time records
The KFC BBL was the most watched on record, with a total audience of 44.82 million across the tournament and increased year-on-year linear television and streaming audiences, confirming the league’s standing as Australia’s most popular domestic sporting competition on TV on a per-match basis;
The remarkable growth of women’s cricket continued with the WBBL establishing itself as Australia’s fourth most-watched sporting league - and No. 1 among female sports – while the Australian women’s national team built on the extraordinary success of its T20 World Cup campaign with recognition as Australia’s most loved sporting team (see below).
Dettol ODIs and T20s

The men’s Dettol ODI series between Australia and India was watched by an average of 357,656 on Foxtel, up 214% on the corresponding series last year,
The inclusion of Kayo and Foxtel GO streaming numbers increased the average audience to 492,000, an increase of 77% from the most recent Australia-India series in 2018/19,
The Dettol T20I series also attracted huge levels of interest from Australian cricket lovers, with an average audience of 403,411 on STV, up 75% on last year and almost 10% up the last time India toured Australia,
The inclusion of Kayo and Foxtel Go streaming numbers increased the average audience for the Dettol T20I series to 558,000, up 77% from 2018/19,
Vodafone Test Series

The highly-anticipated Vodafone Test Series between Australia and India was the highest rating non-Ashes Test season since 2014/15, with an average linear TV audience of 1.14 million, up 4.1% on last year;
The epic four-match Border-Gavaskar series was the highest rating Test series ever on subscription television, with linear STV growing by 25%;
The average audience figures increased to 1.23 million per match with the inclusion of Kayo and Foxtel Now streaming numbers, while an incredible 28 sessions of the 31 sessions played of Test cricket had an average audience over 1 million, the most of any sport in Australia in 2020 when compared to other codes.
Commonwealth Bank Women’s International Series

The all-conquering Australian women’s team continued their extraordinary momentum from the ICC T20 World Cup, with an average linear television audience of 235,563 for the T20I series against New Zealand. The figure ensured the matches against the White Ferns represented the most-watched September series in four years, despite competing with the late-finishing winter sporting codes;
The trajectory of women’s international cricket remains incredibly strong, with television audiences increasing 400% from the 2013-2016 period to 2017-2020;
For the second year in a row, True North Research revealed the Australian Women’s Team was again Australia’s favorite team, scoring the highest Benchmark Emotional Connection Score of any national team.
Rebel WBBL

The rebel WBBL confirmed its standing as the fourth most-watched domestic competition in Australia (behind only the BBL, AFL and NRL). The 202,139 average audience was the sixth consecutive year of more than 200,000 people watching simulcast Rebel WBBL matches on Seven and Foxtel;
The total viewing hours for the competition has doubled since the tournament’s inception, with audiences growing as the schedule has expanded;
A total of 23 international players made it to Australia for the rebel WBBL, highlighting its position as one of the elite female sporting leagues in the world.
KFC BBL

The KFC BBL final between the Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers attracted an average audience of over 1.4 million – the fourth most watched BBL game in the tournament’s history. That represented a 15% increase on the final of BBL|09 across Seven, Foxtel and streaming services including Kayo;
The total audience of 44.82 million across the 61-game tournament was the highest in league history – an increase of 5.9% across all platforms YoY, including linear TV growth of 1.4%;
The total audience of 5.64m across the five-game Finals series was the highest in league history – an increase of 15% on last season;
The average audience per match in KFC BBL|10 was 735,000 per game across all platforms, ensuring the Big Bash League remains the most-watched sporting league in Australia on a per-game basis. The linear TV audience of 675,000 was 9,000 higher than KFC BBL|09, while the streaming platform average of 60,000 per game represented 109% growth YoY.
Crowds

In a season where crowd numbers were severely limited by the pandemic, 858,465 people attended the cricket in 2020/21 summer;
A total of 321,962 attended men’s international matches, and 14% of Test cricket attendees did so for the first time;
More than 520,000 fans attended KFC BBL|10, while the Adelaide Oval, Gabba and Optus stadium all welcomed more than 100,000 fans this season.

Digital

A total of 3.5 million Australian users accessed the cricket.com.au site and app each month during December and January, a 6% increase on the same period last year;
In January alone, Australian users of the CA app engaged in almost 22 million sessions on CA Live, a 30% increase year-on-year;
Views on the cricket.com.au YouTube channel have increased 101% worldwide and 20% in Australia year-on-year, with subscriber numbers soaring 57% to 7.85m;
More than 18,000 pieces of content have been produced this year for 4.6 billion impressions, 1.87 billion video views and 110 million interactions on cricket’s social media channels;
A single piece of WBBL content, Tahlia McGrath's , has been viewed almost 20 million times across all platforms;
CA’s integrated content drove more than 218m off-platform video views.
International broadcast

The Australian and Indian series captivated our Indian audience via the Sony Sports Network, with the cumulative reach for the Test series at a massive 75.8 million viewers.
The total cumulative reach across the Vodafone Test Series, the Dettol ODI Series and the Dettol T20I Series reached more than 110 million viewers in India.
Cricket Australian launched an OTT partnership with LIVENow into Mainland Europe and SE Asia, taking the Summer of Cricket coverage into over 50 countries in an innovative new way, with encouraging interest across a number of markets, with Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore and Hong Kong amongst the standouts.

How is LK dropping the ball on something that has nothing to do with him?

Why are people so unable to comprehend the concept of PR and marketing?

Because anyone who is a tad knowledgeable about sport in australia can see what is happening. Womens sport is providing all the growth. The reason afl has traditionally been so successful is that almost half its supporters are women. Now with the aflw with 18 teams the growth is exploding. Critically junior level basketball has taken a huge hit as girls move towards afl, cricket and to a lesser degree soccer. Why? Culture in basketball is poor in particular towards girls. From abusive coaches, bullying through to lack of meaningful opportunities Bball has dropped the ball. The pathway in afl/cricket now means girls can legitimately look at a career as a professional sportsperson. That's why LK has stuffed up. He and BA need to get their stuff together and create that pathway.
The concept of marketing and PR falls over if you don't support it with facts. It's a fine line between lies and "marketing". If the nbl is going so well promote the raw data on KPI like cricket did.

LK has nothing to do with the WNBL or junior programs.

Forget WNBL and junior programs, LK needs to sort out interest rates first.

All of us who already follow the NBL know it's not the second best league in the world, but continuing to say that it is in MSM helps convince the non followers who we're trying to win over from other sports that it is does no harm.

It's a smart thing to do. Players are regularly going from the NBL to the NBA and holding their own. Aussies are coming back from the NBA to play in the NBL. Why wouldn't the casual fan believe it?

If summers continue to get hotter and hotter you'd think the idea of going and sitting outside for 3 + hours would get less appealing. One of the unacknowledged reasons the NBL's switch to summer is/was a good idea, but unintentional.

The same non-followers who then expect us to medal at every championship because we are (cough) the second-best league in the world, and consider anything less a coaching failure?

Goorjian suggested on a podcast that full Chinese teams would beat NBL teams without issue.

The doe sore for a China attachment means nothing to China. Australia adds no commercial value to that discussion. It adds no commercial value to Asia at all. That path has already been walked down and the door closed.

The only way the NBL can benefit is from a Kai Sotto style player that is here more to generate hype than value to the team as a player.

LK is a spin master. Crowds aren't bigger than what they have been historically. The Bullets used to sell out Boondall now they struggle to sell out a second rate small venue as an example.

TV ratings aren't better than what was achieved in the past.

The NBA to NBL and vice versa isn't new. It was happening in the 80's and 90's.

Basketball in Australia has always been a minor sport, it shits me but that's what it is. Quality imports and a few Australian players make good coin, the rest are on peanuts.

It’s a shame as it’s a wonderful sport. Woman’s basketball will be the next to struggle even more with all the aflw teams around. Afl already takes a lot of mens players, only those professionals that really love the game stay and try and make a career out of it.

"Goorjian suggested on a podcast that full Chinese teams would beat NBL teams without issue."

Have you got a link to that? NBL teams are far superior to CBA teams, who while having a couple of very good imports lack depth of talent and athleticism. They're not even in the same realm as the NBL or good European competitions.

The Boti podcast

He suggests we have never seen a full force Chinese team in Australia with all imports and so on

NBL teams would struggle with Fredette as an example and add in NBA level bigs

The lack of talent amongst Chinese locals has been exposed in both their club and national teams playing sides from Australia and Europe.

Unfortunately, they're not close to that level, and at this point that makes having an Asian club tournament unattractive as it wouldn't be a competitive event.

This team won the CBA last year

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaoning_Flying_Leopards

Not sure they can compete on paper...

I was thinking to invite the Chinese national team…

So how do we get a piece of the Asian champions league money?

Intercontinental champions league.... why have we not heard of this since the days in 1995 Perth Wildcats were drunk against Houston Rockets and beat Real Madrid... surely there is a way to grow this in the same way that soccer has with their version?

Asiabasket coming soon ....

Top 16 teams from

NBL
NZNBL
B league
CBA
KBL
PBA
LBL
IBL
IBSL
Etc


First prize 1 million dollars

why have we not heard of this since the days in 1995 Perth Wildcats were drunk against Houston Rockets and beat Real Madrid

Only as good as you're last season ;-)

You're only as good as your last misplaced apostrophe. ;-)

Soccer has a global unified body , Basketball does not.

Basketball has the USA and China, Soccer does not.

Soccer has notoriously pumped up it self up to be the number one global sport on flimsy figures https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/why-fifa-s-claim-of-one-billion-tv-viewers-was-a-quarter-right-5332287.html

Their stated participation numbers are largely guessed but published as fact.

They have spoken their success into existence much like what LK is doing at present.

Basketball is much more unified globally than a decade ago, the NBA and FIBA now work hand-in-hand.

I am all for talking big but I do like some facts as well. It just seemed to me like they didnt have any particular new plans or anything to say in this article.