In the midst of a charged, high-intensity Championship Series, the NBL is in as healthy a position as it's ever been.
The audience metrics are positive, the quality of talent on the floor continues to grow, all while the league's newest franchise has achieved unprecedented success.
In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN, NBL CEO David Stevenson discussed the rise of the Tasmania JackJumpers, potential expansion, the criticism of league owner Larry Kestelman having ownership in multiple teams, player retention, and officiating.
JACKJUMPERS 'MOST SUCCESSFUL EXPANSION CLUB IN ANY SPORT'
One of the big stories, not just within the NBL over the past few years, but in Australia sport, has been the inception and meteoric rise of the JackJumpers.
The JackJumpers entered the NBL ahead of the 2021-22 campaign and, in their three years of existence, have qualified for three finals and advanced to two Championship Series. The franchise's success can be attributed to the immediate direction it chose to go in from a roster perspective - prioritising culture over perceived talent - its proactivity to engage with an eager fanbase, and the establishment of a passionate figurehead in head coach Scott Roth, who developed a 'Defend the Island' mantra.
"I don't think there's any doubt at all that the Tasmania JackJumpers are the most successful expansion club, in any sport, in Australia's history," NBL CEO, David Stevenson, told ESPN in a wide-ranging interview.
"You think of all of the other sports; no other team has made the finals every year, and obviously two Championship Series. They've sold out every single game for three years... [and] captured the heart and soul of the whole state. It goes so much to the connection Scott [Roth] has, as the coach, at setting a great tone for the players, who've embraced the community spirit. I think the executive team have done a wonderful job there.
"They've just found a way to represent the state in every element, and really get some connection in through the heart... I think everyone around the league is taking notice about what they've done."
Since entering the league, the JackJumpers have developed a strong and unique connection with their community; it's the key element that's led to their success, particularly at home, where they've sold out every game at MyState Bank Arena.
"I think it always comes down to listening first, before you speak," Stevenson said.
"If you spend enough time with the people in the community, you understand what's important to them. Whether that's the basketball community or the broader community, and then you tap into: what's that element? The whole 'defend the island', of what Scott came up with, and that the club has embraced, really took so much about the way in which Tasmanians view their state, and that representation of the JackJumpers has really materialised that.
"That's not the story that's going to work for every other city, or every other team, but really tapping into understanding what that community thinks and feels about their sports and their basketball; but, more broadly, their community. I think that's a recipe for success."
IS THE GOLD COAST NEXT UP?
The overwhelming talk among the NBL community is that expansion into the Gold Coast is the league's next plan of attack. The 2023 NBL Blitz was held on the Gold Coast - a largely successful event - and talks between league and officials in the state have been ongoing for some time.
The NBL had a team - the Blaze - in the Gold Coast back in 2007, but it dissolved in 2012. Despite that, the sentiment is that the league has a desire to re-engage with the city and seem close to, and are confident the outcome will be different.
"There's a couple of elements that we always think about," Stevenson said.
"One is the connection to fans, and what problem are we trying to solve, or what opportunity are we trying to realise. If you think about, when we had the Blaze there, there were a thousand people playing basketball in the Gold Coast region. Today, there's ten thousand. So, you've already got a good connection point for those participants, to think about little Mary who's playing under-9s on a Saturday morning, that there's a pathway that she can then go and see great, elite level basketball. How do you find a way to connect in with that community, but also to not be arrogant and think you've got all the answers, that you can come in and place the same model.
"I keep coming back to: ask more questions. Learn and listen first, before you come up with a plan. If you do that consultation, then I generally think you find some great insights and some nuggets that help shape the direction and positioning of that team."
The NBL's sentiment is clear on expansion, that any potential team would need demonstrated fan support, strong corporate support, and significant government support: "Unless you've got those three boxes ticked, then we don't want to expand just for the sake of it," Stevenson said.
"We're getting pretty close on a couple of those cities," he continued, when asked about the Gold Coast and Darwin. "Clearly the Blitz was a good success.
"It's getting close, but we're not going to rush it. We want to make sure every new team that comes in is going to be successful from the start. Our sport has had a history of teams coming in and leaving pretty quickly. Not under our watch is that going to happen."
GET USED TO LARRY KESTELMAN OWNING TEAMS
A point of displeasure among a number of owners of NBL teams, as well as a segment of fans, is the ownership stake the league's owner Larry Kestelman has in multiple franchises.
Many point to a potential conflict of interest, on and off the court; a sentiment which has yet to be demonstrated, but is optically less than ideal.
Stevenson says the expectation is that Kestelman will continue to have an ownership stake in new teams that join the league, with the intent on starting the franchises up in a sustainable way before selling them off.
"Our league position is pretty clear: that we don't want to hold onto teams, or have Larry hold onto teams for a long period of time," Stevenson said.
"We think that, in the best interest of those teams, in some ways, we start them up and we get that success and then we put them up for sale and we transact and obviously other owners come in. There's certain reasons for each of them. They're a little unique, based on all of those three, but it's not our long-term view or Larry's long-term view to hold onto teams."
Asked whether every new expansion team will be at least in part owned by Kestelman, Stevenson said: "As a general rule, yes. There's always going to be unique situations that we'll look at, but that's absolutely the long-term plan."
BACK TO 48-MINUTE GAMES? COULD A SCHEDULE CHANGE WORK?
It was the 2009-10 NBL season when the league decided to move from 48-minute games down to 40 minutes. There was an element of aligning with the rest of the world - except, of course, for the NBA - as well as creating a product that was more conducive to a two-hour television time slot.
Returning to 48-minute games is something players, coaches, and administrators around the league are increasingly favouring; the primary benefit they see is the development of players, who would ostensibly get more of an opportunity in longer games.
Another hopeful change that's becoming increasingly popular around the NBL and its stakeholders, is the idea of moving the league schedule forward, with the hopes of accommodating higher quality imports. A season that starts and ends earlier than the current system would allow players a better opportunity to sign with teams at the end of each NBL campaign.
Stevenson said there were no plans, as of now, to shift to 48-minute games, but indicated the NBL continues to proactively look at the most effective way for the schedule to operate.
"We've put a lot of thought into it, and I think you make a really compelling case for why we'd look at it," Stevenson said.
"There's lot of advantages that we see when we've got some clear space. Obviously, in an Australian context, you've got pretty strong winter codes in AFL and NRL, and they're really the shoulder products to our season. So, do you start earlier during the finals of those competitions but finish before the start? Or start after the finals and finish before the start of those seasons? It's a bit of a trade-off.
"The other complexity that makes it hard to finish earlier, is also the availability of venues, and particularly in places like Melbourne and Perth, where they've got tennis commitments. That may mean, if you finished earlier, that you've got teams that work and have an incredible season, and have home-court advantage, and then not have the ability to play their finals on their home court.
"They're some things we're constantly looking at, because we certainly know the core growth of fans is pretty strong for every game that we have. We do get impacted by what other content is on; particularly at high-level sport. We're often looking at our schedule; it's often the 27-sided Rubik's cube that we try and work through, but that evaluation of the season length and the timing is something we're looking at and spending a lot of time for next season on."
ATTRACTING AND RETAINING EXPENSIVE TALENT
One of the biggest stories of the 2024 NBL off-season is Xavier Cooks agreeing to a three-year deal with the Sydney Kings; a contract, sources tell ESPN, that is the largest in NBL history.
The signing raises the question of teams being forced to compete with rising player salaries around the world, and the potential role the NBL could play in facilitating keeping top-level talent in the league.
"It's one we wrestle with a bit," Stevenson said.
"Because we are in a global sport, and we're a global marketplace... We don't just look at it through the narrow lens of compensation - we've got to look at the whole package - and so a big part of what we try and do is: yes, we're constantly looking at ways to remunerate and reward those players, but also, how do we build and develop up the rest of the environment to make sure the players can be at their best?"
The sell of Australia and its cities has always been one of the NBL's advantages when it comes to recruitment, as well as the growing track record of graduating players, either to the NBA or higher-level teams across the world.
The issue of player remuneration, and how teams can continue to afford the best talent in a global market that's becoming increasingly competitive, is one Stevenson says the NBL is attacking head on, with initiatives in place to facilitate those sorts of signings. The league, for example, played a role in recruiting seven-time NBA All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge to the Cairns Taipans earlier in the season, sources said, before the deal eventually broke down. The NBL, with a similar initiative, attempted to place Dwight Howard in the league this season, sources said.
"We have a range of mechanisms that help encourage, and attract, and retain those players," Stevenson said.
"They're already in place, and we obviously work closely with clubs on that. We're also understanding of the fact that not every player at their point in their journey is going to see the NBL as their destination. The vast majority do, and I think, as a general rule, we certainly attract more than we lose, but we've got to absolutely not take that for granted, and make sure that we continue to create the best environment. When we talk about being one of the best leagues in the world, we've got to make sure we act in that way."
ADDRESSING CRITICISM OF NBL OFFICIATING AND PLANS TO 'IMPROVE' TRIBUNAL PROCESS
Officiating in the NBL has long been a source of criticism from players, coaches, executives, and fans, with a focus on the consistency of calls from game to game, as well as how officious the referees can be at times.
The league average of fouls per game, as well as free throw attempts, was among the most in the 40-minute era, with many then questioning how that translates to how consumable the product is.
Notwithstanding some of those concerns from around the league, Stevenson endorsed the performance of the officials over the 2023-24 season.
"I feel really proud and great with the level of on-court officiating," Stevenson said.
"Are they perfect, absolutely not. But, are they doing a really great job? I absolutely agree and I'll support them all the way.
"They have an incredible diligence around analysis, both in game and after game. As soon as they finish a game, they get a video cut from Scott Butler and the team that analyses every decision, every non-decision, every questionable decision. They use that to improve and get better. I really think of the NBL's officiating team in the same way you think about the on-court NBL team, because it's a high performance environment; lots of feedback, lots of subjectivity, neither of them are perfect, but I think they're doing a great job and we're always trying to find ways for them to get better.
"We're driving hard at how we can get better. What's the better talent programs we can identify, how can we develop them better, how do we support them? But, most importantly, how do we have great dialogue between the players, coaches, and referees, and that's really important for me.
"There's definitely pockets of people that don't like our refereeing. We're not shying away from that. They've been both privately and publicly pretty direct in their points of view, and we listen. In some ways, they've got some merit. Importantly, what we always try to do, is take it back to fact-based. The analysis that the team does, in looking at those decisions, and looking at that success rate, generally says that they get a hell of a lot more right than wrong... it really is a pretty broad spectrum on that feedback. But, again, we're certainly not resting on our laurels; we've got a lot of ways we want to get better in refereeing and officiating, and we're really passionate about supporting them."
Another criticism came with the inconsistencies and lack of transparency of the NBL's tribunal process, which includes its Game Review Panel (GRP). The reaction was loud when, in the semifinals, the JackJumpers' Marcus Lee received a two-game suspension - reduced to one-game with an early guilty plea - for an act many saw as just a hard foul, while the South East Melbourne Phoenix's Gary Browne had two separate incidences of punching a player, yet received no suspension.
Stevenson confirmed that the league is looking at improving how tribunals operate, as well as opening the door for media to be involved in overseeing the process.
"I don't think we can sit here and tell all the fans, all the players, and the clubs, that the way the Game Review Panel and tribunal process has been perfect," Stevenson said.
"We think that there are ways to improve that, and we'll jump into a little bit more detail at the end of the year, as we do with all elements of our competition, is to do a review into it, and we've already identified some areas we think could be tweaked to improve that. I also think we can do a better job in educating people around some of those penalties, and what we're standing for. The comparison of those two is really good. Things like concussion, that's pretty important for us, that we'll always have a really important priority to protect the head. To educate people that contact on the head is going to be treated quite differently than contact on the body. I think we can do a better job at bringing our fans, and clubs and players, on the journey with that.
"Any way we can get the media more involved is absolutely going to be an important priority for us. Whether it is involved in Game Review Panel, tribunal... they're all the things we're contemplating at the moment. As a general rule, what you'll see from me as a leader is a more transparent and open process. I think that allows the media to tell their stories."