7 questions: How NBL1 went from idea to global league

• NBL1 was first established in 2019 with the NBL1 South before moving into other states in 2021
• The East, South and Central conferences start this weekend
• NBL and WNBL stars such as Jason Cadee, Sami Whitcomb and more will feature in the NBL1

The sixth edition of the NBL1 competition is about to tip-off and as always, the stars of Australian basketball will shine for local associations across the country.

As we prepare for the start of the season, with the South, East and Central conferences starting this weekend, NBL1 general manager Dean Anglin sat down for an exclusive interview with Basketball.com.au.

Having been the GM for all six seasons of NBL, Anglin discusses everything from the biggest achievements, possible adjustments to the National Finals and more.

Q: What are your thoughts on how far the NBL1 has come in six seasons?

A: I couldn't be more proud of what we've actually been able to achieve between the NBL, the states in partnership and then obviously all of the clubs buying into the concept of NBL1. It comes with some additional work for the clubs because we're putting them on a national stage and putting their clubs up in lights and that doesn't just happen like it was happening back in the old days of state league basketball.

I think what we've achieved is a product that is recognised globally now by players, by agents and a lot of other people. We've been fortunate with some things like Lauren Jackson re-sparking her career for the Albury Wodonga Bandits, which got us some global media. We've been able to push our case pretty hard as a really relevant competition in the market and I'm super proud of what it's turned into.

Q: Is there anything over that time that's surprised you as far as the growth of the league?

A: Not really surprised but I'm really pleased to see the growth and the professionalism of the clubs stepping up. You look at the NBL1 Central competition and going into NBL1, I would suggest there was probably only one or two clubs that had paid employees, paid staff to operate their clubs and now I think it's the other way around. I think there's only one or two that don't have paid staff and you can see that in the East as well.

The professionalism of their teams, although their associations were already established with staff, it's a little bit different. There's not too many things that have surprised me as such but it's just good to see people buy into a concept and have a crack and really see what they can do as a club and what they can take their brand to.

Q: What is it like to have a competition where you've got so many different rules and things across the state? For example, in the NBL1 North they still have the three-game finals series and there's many differing rules in the different conferences?

A: It's probably a real positive for the NBL1.  The participants are only looking at the coaches and players in their conference, the referees and the league management are only looking at their own competition. They don't care about what's happening across the rest of the country.

The only time we come together is for the national finals and the rules of the national finals state that if a player has qualified for their conference finals, they're eligible for the national finals. It ties back to the conference rules and says you come to the nationals based on the structure of your own competition, not based on a set of rules that we've designed for this particular competition.

I think that's part of the uniqueness of NBL1, it is five individual competitions run by five individual organisations collectively working together to grow the sport of basketball

Q: What's the proudest thing when you look at everything that's happened since the NBL1 was established?

A: I think from my point of view, because I look at the thing holistically, it's looking at the growth in the number of WNBL and NBL players playing in NBL1. That number has grown every single year, and to me, that says we've created a platform where the players want to play and they want to be there, so that probably makes me more proud than anything.

Then the other one, which I think is a really unique view that I have, is that I get really excited when an official, so a referee, makes the jump from NBL1 to the NBL. When I know that has happened because we've been able to foster a pathway of collaborative work between the states and the NBL's referee departments and you can see somebody actually go through one level into the next level and get an opportunity to show their quality and get appointed into an NBL game. And I think those guys, they work so hard at their craft but we never really recognise or see it. Those sorts of things, where I can see the pathway from step to step, are probably the proud moments for me.

There's no question that the most electrifying moment of the whole NBL1 history was the NBL1 West Grand Final last year. I sat courtside with goosebumps, it was unbelievable. To see 6,500 people watching a state league grand final in RAC Arena, watching the Basketball WA crew put on a game night that was phenomenal, an unbelievable experience, that was the most exhilarating moment of the six years so far.

Q: Are there any plans to adjust the NBL1 National Finals, so we can have all the stars who play for the clubs during the regular season compete to cap-off the year?

A: It's a tough one, a really tough one, because ultimately the players that are not available for that competition are not playing because they've gone to a league that is higher than the NBL1. So, they've gone and done what is right for them as a player, and for the most part, their professional contract is their NBL or WNBL contract. It's probably not so much the WNBL clash, it's only the NBL clash really, but their professional contract is their NBL contract and we have to be respectful of that fact. We should be thankful of the fact that they're playing NBL1 to maintain their physical fitness, their touch and their feel but also, they play NBL1 because it gives them an opportunity to give back to the sport and give back to grassroots basketball.

You think about the opportunities that young kids get to shake hands with an NBL star on an NBL1 court, they don't get that if they go to an NBL game because they can't get that close to the court. They can literally walk onto the NBL1 court after the game and shake hands with the players and get an autograph and do all that stuff. So yes, there's definitely some negatives to not having those players at the NBL1 finals, and I'd love to have them all there but I don't think there's a simple fix to make it happen.

I try to look at all of the positives that are coming from those players being part of the regular season and part of the competition as a whole before that date, and we try and make the NBL1 finals the best competition it can be. I can tell you though, we surveyed the clubs after the National Finals every single year and we're yet to have a club come back to us and say they wouldn't show up at the national finals the following year if they qualified.

The clubs and the players love the opportunity to play against teams from across the country, regardless of whether or not the best players are there. We would all love the best players to be there, but we work in an environment where we're running a sport that is 24/7, 365 days of the year, and unfortunately contracts sometimes clash, that's just how it works. There's not a huge amount more we can do that we haven't done already to try and create an opportunity for them to play.

I can tell you right now, the 2025 season will be harder than ever. The West final is obviously a week later than it was last year, pushing the national finals a week later than it was last year, the NBL season has been starting earlier and earlier each year, so we're expecting this year that there won't be any NBL players. We won't be just missing three or four, we'll probably be missing all of them for this year's National Finals. That is just reality of what it is, and we've all decided as competition managers to live with it and continue the national finals event and tradition that we started three years ago.

Q: The NBL1 North has always been one of the strongest conferences but this year, with two more clubs in North Gold Coast and Darwin leaving the competition, it has now become just a 14-game season which has led to a lot of high-end talent leaving and signing elsewhere. What are some of the discussions you've had around this or what do you think can be done to address this?

A: At the end of the day, that's not actually up to us, that's up to Basketball Queensland, so ultimately, we try and stay out of it. If the clubs and the conference have made the decision to play that many games or reduce the number of games that they're playing to 14, that's a decision for them. We can't do anything about it from an NBL point of view. We want to see the best NBL1 North product that is possible and that's what the clubs and state believe they have done.

Q: Last question, after such great growth in six seasons, where would you like to see the NBL1 go to moving forward?

A: You know what? That's a really good question and we actually ask that question of the states on an annual basis because there's a really — I guess there's an element of NBL1 right now that makes it really accessible for associations to play in and be part of and for players to get a pathway. If you elevate it too much, maybe we make it too hard for some of the associations to continue to participate in that and I don't know if that's what we want to do. So, it's almost like maintain the status quo and continue to grow the brand.

Maintain the status quo from a competition point of view, continue to grow the brand from an NBL1 point of view, so we can make it a more commercial product and continue to improve the little things like vision, streaming quality, access of highlights and replays and bits and pieces and the delivery component of it to the consumer whilst not trying to play with the basketball part too much.

It's a tough one because you could elevate it and you could push it into the stratosphere. But you might alienate clubs and I don't think we want to do that. We want to try and continue for it to be as strong and as big a competition, or five competitions as it possibly can. It's one that myself and the states talk about annually to try and make sure that we're doing exactly what we want to do moving forward with this brand.

NBL1 TIP-OFF DATES

• South: March 29, 2025
• East: March 29, 2025
• Central: March 29, 2025
• West: April 4, 2025
• North: May 1, 2025