Most recent season or competition: 2024 NBL1 season | |
Sport | Basketball |
---|---|
Founded | 2019 |
First season | 2019 |
General Manager | Dean Anglin |
No. of teams | 20 (South Conference) 12 (North Conference) 10 (Central Conference) 14 (West Conference) 16 (East Conference) |
Country | Australia |
Continent | FIBA Oceania (Oceania) |
Most recent champion(s) | M: Knox Raiders (2nd title) W: Waverley Falcons (1st title) |
Most titles | M: Knox Raiders (2 titles) W:Multiple (1 title) |
Sponsor(s) | Mitsubishi |
Level on pyramid | 2 |
Related competitions | NBL |
Official website | NBL1.com.au |
The NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball league in Australia run by the National Basketball League (NBL). The league consists of five conference: NBL1 South, NBL1 North, NBL1 Central, NBL1 West and NBL1 East, with each consisting of both men's and women's competitions. Each conference is run by their respective state governing body, with the league including 72 clubs from across every state and territory.
The NBL1 in 2019 was a single league and consisted of one conference. That conference would go on to become the South Conference in 2020 after the inclusion of the former Queensland Basketball League (QBL) and South Australian Premier League saw them become the new North and Central conferences. The league grew to four conferences in 2021 with the inclusion of the former WA State Basketball League (SBL) and then five conferences in 2022 with the inclusion of the former NSW Waratah League.
In October 2018, following the demise of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL), Basketball Victoria announced a new senior elite league to take the reins as Australia's pre-eminent semi-professional basketball league. All Victorian-based SEABL teams joined the new league, while Eltham Wildcats, Knox Raiders, Ringwood Hawks and Waverley Falcons also joined the league from the Big V. [1] The North-West Tasmania Thunder men and Launceston Tornadoes women also kept their place, as did Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence teams. [1] In February 2019, the league was named NBL1 after Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL). [2] [3]
After a successful first season in 2019, the NBL expanded the NBL1 in 2020 by introducing Basketball Victoria's inaugural 2019 league and teams as the new South Conference and partnering with Basketball Queensland and Basketball South Australia to make the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) and South Australian Premier League the new North and Central conferences. [4] [5] [6] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled for all three conferences. [7]
In 2021, the league expanded to four conferences after partnering with Basketball Western Australia to make the State Basketball League (SBL) the new West Conference. [8] The inaugural NBL1 National Finals was set to take place in 2021, comprising the champions of the four conferences. [9] [10] However, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] The South Conference later cancelled the remaining weeks of its season due to ongoing complications with the pandemic. [12]
In 2022, the league expanded to five conferences after partnering with Basketball New South Wales to make the Waratah League the new East Conference. [13] Additionally, a club from Darwin, Northern Territory, the Darwin Salties, joined the North Conference in 2022 which saw the NBL1 become the first Australian sport league to have clubs based in and playing out of every state and territory in Australia. [14] The NBL1 National Finals took place for the first time in 2022. [15] [16]
Founded in 2019, the South Conference was the only NBL1 conference during its inaugural season and predominantly consisted of teams from the defunct South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). The South Conference currently has 20 clubs spread across Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
In 2020, the North Conference joined the league, becoming the second conference introduced following NBL1's merger with the former Queensland Basketball League (QBL). The North Conference currently consists of 12 clubs, all based in Queensland.
In 2020, the Central Conference joined the league, becoming the third conference introduced following NBL1's merger with the former South Australian Premier League. The Central Conference currently consists of 10 clubs, all of which are based in South Australia.
In 2021, the West Conference joined the league, becoming the fourth conference introduced following NBL1's merger with the former Western Australian State Basketball League (SBL). The West Conference currently consists of 14 clubs, all of which are based in Western Australia.
In 2022, the East Conference joined the league, becoming the fifth conference introduced following NBL1's merger with the former New South Wales Waratah League. The East Conference currently consists of 16 clubs, with 14 based in New South Wales and two based in the Australian Capital Territory.
Spread across the five conferences, a total of 72 clubs compete in the league.
Team | Men's | Women's | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Titles | Winning Seasons | Titles | Winning Seasons | |
Rockingham Flames | 1 | 2022 | 0 | |
Warwick Senators | 0 | 1 | 2022 | |
Knox Raiders | 2 | 2023, 2024 | 0 | |
Bendigo Braves | 0 | 1 | 2023 | |
Waverley Falcons | 0 | 1 | 2024 |
The Australian Basketball Association (ABA) was a semi-professional basketball competition in Australia. The competition had five leagues under its banner during the 2000s operating as conferences: South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL), Queensland Basketball League (QBL), Central Australian Basketball League, Big V and Waratah League. The ABA's roots can be traced back as far as 1965 and operated under many different names and structures until 2008.
The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The league was closely linked with the Australian Basketball Association (ABA) and over the years, the SEABL boasted teams from Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.
The Canberra Gunners are an Australian basketball team based in Canberra. The Gunners compete in the Men's NBL1 East and play their home games at Belconnen Stadium. The team is affiliated with Basketball ACT, the governing body for basketball in the Australian Capital Territory. Their sister team, the Canberra Nationals, play in the Women's NBL1 East.
NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to bring NBL1 to Queensland. NBL1 replaced the former QBL to create more professional pathways and opportunities for males and females playing basketball in Queensland. As a result, the QBL became the north conference of NBL1. In 2022, the league expanded into the Northern Territory with the addition of a club from Darwin.
Adam Matthew Gibson is an Australian former professional basketball player who played 16 years in the National Basketball League (NBL). He made his NBL debut in 2005 and went on to play for five NBL franchises. He is a two-time NBL champion, having won his first in 2007, with the Brisbane Bullets and his second in 2009, with the South Dragons. He is also a five-time All-NBL Team member and was crowned the NBL Best Defensive Player in 2009.
Kelly Louise Wilson is an Australian professional basketball player.
Jason Robert Cadee is an Australian professional basketball player for the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He debuted in the NBL in 2010 and won the NBL Best Sixth Man Award in 2020.
Anthony Fisher is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played the majority of his career in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) and Queensland Basketball League (QBL), playing for the Ballarat Miners (2011–2015) and Cairns Marlins. He was a member of the Marlins' championship-winning team in 2016. He also had stints in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Perth Wildcats and Cairns Taipans. After four years as a development player and extended squad member of the Taipans, he earned a full-time contract with the club in 2019.
Nunawading Spectres is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Melbourne East Basketball Association (MEBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the City of Whitehorse. The Spectres play their home games at Nunawading Basketball Centre.
Shaun Bruce is an Australian professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL). He began his NBL career in 2012 as a development player with the Cairns Taipans, before earning a full-time roster spot in 2013. In 2016, he moved south to join the Brisbane Bullets. After half a season with the Adelaide 36ers in 2019, he joined the Kings.
Matthew Dylan Kenyon is an Australian professional basketball player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He debuted in the NBL in 2016 and played two seasons for the Brisbane Bullets before playing a season in the NBA G League. He returned to the NBL in 2021 with the Tasmania JackJumpers.
Anthony Petrie is an Australian basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 2007 and 2018. He is currently the head coach of the Gold Coast Rollers in the NBL1 North.
Nathan Adam Sobey is an Australian professional basketball player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He is also contracted with the Ipswich Force of the NBL1 North. He played college basketball for the Wyoming Cowboys before debuting in the NBL in 2014 for the Cairns Taipans. He was a member of the Australian Boomers team that won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Atem Kuol Atem Bol is a South Sudanese basketball player for the Ipswich Force of the NBL1 North.
Chelsie Alexa Schweers is an American former basketball player. She played college basketball for Christopher Newport before playing professionally for ten years.
Obiri Yeboah Kyei is an Australian-British professional basketball player for the Sydney Comets of NBL1 East. He played college basketball for NCAA Division II schools Metro State and Eckerd College.
Will Scott Magnay is an Australian professional basketball player for the Tasmania JackJumpers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played one season of college basketball for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
NBL1 South is a semi-professional basketball league in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2019, Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create NBL1. NBL1 South was the lone conference in 2019, with North, Central, West and East joining over the proceeding three years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBL1 South did not have a season in 2020 and only half a season in 2021.
The 2020 NBL1 season was due to be the second season of the NBL1 and the first to consist of multiple conferences and National participation.