The rise of Australian & New Zealand Basketball
Basketball in Australia and New Zealand is in the midst of a boom with record crowds, quality arenas across the two countries, and of course, world-class players.
The Australian NBL, which includes the NZ Breakers, set a new regular season attendance record during the past season, with several teams moving to larger stadiums to cope with the demand.
The Sydney Kings in recent years moved from the now-demolished Sydney Entertainment Centre to the 18,000-capacity Qudos Bank Arena. The Adelaide 36ers moved upsized to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre last season, as did the Brisbane Bullets, to the new Nissan Arena. The Breakers now play the majority of their home games at NZ’s largest venue – Spark Arena.
The two countries have produced some world-class basketball players, many of whom have achieved international acclaim. Betting on NBA superstars such as Luc Longley, Sean Marks and Steven Adams will have paid off for many punters, with the stars from down under helping to secure multiple championships for their respective teams. As online gambling NZ booms right now, there are plenty of New Zealand comparison websites out there, that can help you determine who will be the best bet for next season.
NBA Firsts
The first ever Australian basketball player to make it in the world’s greatest basketball league, the NBA, was Lucien “Luc” Longley. Longley played 10 NBA seasons throughout his career and represented four different teams, most notably as the starting center for the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have taken home six Championship titles over the years, with Longley as part of the winning team for three of those. Longley has also represented his country at three separate Olympic Games.
Sean Marks was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1998, making him the first man of New Zealand origin to enter the NBA. Marks went on to achieve recognition with the San Antonio Spurs, where he won the 2005 NBA Championship as a player. After retiring in 2011, Marks continued to work with the Spurs and during his first season as assistant coach, the team won the Championship once more.
Andrew Bogut
Andrew Bogut has enjoyed a strong basketball career spanning more than a decade and a half, both in his home country of Australia and as an NBA player in the United States. Bogut was initially signed by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005 and became an NBA Champion in 2015 while playing for the Golden State Warriors. Bogut recently returned to the Warriors following a transitional period in which he played for several more NBA teams before transferring back to Australia to play with the Sydney Kings in the NBL. The Golden State Warriors have an illustrious track record, with no less than six NBA Championship wins, 11 Conference titles and seven Division titles under their belts. Andrew Bogut has played an integral role in several of these victories, as well as helping the Warriors set the NBA record for most wins in a single season, with 73 wins throughout the 2015 – 2016 season.
Kirk Penney
New Zealand’s Kirk Penney has enjoyed an international basketball career, which has included stints with Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers between 2003 and 2005, making him only the second player ever from New Zealand to make the NBA. Penney’s professional life has taken him to Spain, Israel, Germany, Turkey and Lithuania as well as the US and New Zealand, Career highlights have included being three-times NBL scoring champion, Israeli League Champion, Baltic League All-Star and NBL Champion.
Patty Mills
Patrick “Patty” Mills of Australia is an NBA Champion who is currently a player for the San Antonio Spurs. His post-college career began in 2009 with the Portland Trail Blazers. Mills has achieved no less than four gold medals at the FIBA Oceania Championships and is only the third indigenous Australian basketball player ever to be chosen to represent his country. The San Antonio Spurs have won five Championships, six Conference titles and 22 Division titles, with Patty Mills on the team for no less than eight of these victories. Patty is no doubt one of Australia's favourite players with fans and as such, is popular with online betting, for which you can find various superbettingsites right here to place your very own bet on basketball today.
Steven Adams
Steven Adams became an NBL Champion after just one season with the Wellington Saints in his home country of New Zealand before moving to the US. Initially a college basketball player for Pittsburgh, Adams was drafted into the NBA in 2013, where he has played for Oklahoma City Thunder ever since. Oklahoma City Thunder last won the Championship in 1979, but since that time have also taken home four Conference titles and 11 Division titles, with Steven Adams on the team for the last three Division victories.
Australian Basketball Records
The highest scoring average in a season in the Australian NBL goes to Andrew Gaze, with 44.1 over 20 games. Paul Stanley holds the best career scoring average with 32.6 over 69 games. Andrew Gaze is recognised again as the player with the most individual points scored throughout their career with 18,908.
New Zealand Basketball Records
The (New Zealand) National Basketball League (NBL) has been the pre-eminent men’s basketball league in New Zealand since 1982. The Wellington Saints currently hold the record for the most NBL Championship victories, having won the league 11 times in total. This includes a perfect 20-0 season ending in 2019. Prior to 2017, the Auckland Stars had been the benchmark for NBL performance.
The Australians and New Zealanders already have a strong record in terms of international basketball. With so many young stars currently moving through the ranks in both countries, it seems only a matter of time before another international superstar enters the global arena.
On the domestic front, the NBL is set to expand once again, with the league to introduce a new franchise based in Hobart, Tasmania. The team will play out of an upgraded Derwent Entertainment Centre, which is set to take Australia’s professional basketball league to even more fans across the country.
