To shake hands or not: NBL playoffs spark debate

We’re only four games into the NBL playoffs and we’ve already seen some moments fans will never forget. Perth’s miraculous second half comeback to keep their season alive, Chris Goulding’s 10 threes and much more.

But it’s what is happening after the playoff games which has sparked debate.

NBL champion and current league expert and commentator, Peter Hooley, last week posted on X he believed teams shouldn’t shake hands until the end of a series – much like the NBA.

“I’ll say it again for the fifth season in a row haha… can we save handshakes for end of a series. You’re gonna see the same team in less than 48 hours. These guys go to war each possession. I know they would be keen to save it for once it’s over,” he said.

The post received feedback from fans, saying it was about sportsmanship and a “good example for the kids and their parents”.

But Hooley disagrees.

“It has nothing to do with sportsmanship. Everyone gets along with each other outside of competition,” he told Basketball.com.au.

“It’s just as simple as knowing you’re facing the same guys over and over until there’s one winner. In the heated battle of a series, they are all focused on getting a win at all costs with their own team.”

Hooley referenced Melbourne United’s heated grand final series with the Adelaide 36ers in 2018 as an example.

“Us and Adelaide couldn’t stand each other in that series. There were little spitfires everywhere from game one because we both would do whatever it took to be a champion,” he said.

“I know I’m seeing those same guys five times in a couple of weeks, we can say ‘great game and well played’ after that.

“There’s always going to be heightened emotion and frustration in a final series, sometimes that spills too far, sometimes it doesn’t.  But you have two teams entrenched in battle at the highest level, who will be in each other’s face for multiple games in succession.

“All they’re focused on is beating the other and when that finally happens, it’s all love and respect.”

To get a wider perspective across the league, Basketball.com.au polled more than 20 coaches and players in the NBL and surprisingly, the votes were split 50-50, with many saying it should remain as it is.

“Each game. I love the different energy guys give determined by the result,” one player said.

“They’ve been shaking hands after every game for 50 years. Why change it now,” a coach said.

But those, who voted for waiting until the end of the series, said they believed it added to the rivalry during the playoffs.

"You play each other multiple times in a week, it feels like it's not really over after a game until the series is over," one player said.

A general manager from an NBL club also believed it should be changed to shake hands at the end of a series.