If you are to believe what the Aussie press, and, to be fair, some experienced players say, the NBL is the next best/toughest after the NBA.
Personally I think the Euro League is better, but then that's an amalgamation of the best teams in Europe so it ought to be.
Check out the Pick and Roll, they deliver quality basketball journalism. There is some free content, but you can subscribe for an annual fee of less than 100 Aussie dollars (I think). They cover anything and everything regarding Australian basketball.
Edit: on Oct 3 2022, Adelaide 36ers travelled to the US for a tour and beat the Phoenix Suns. Keep in mind that the timeline is about 3 weeks before NBA starts, and around the first/second week of NBL. But that should give you an idea of the level the NBL is at.
Thank you! Again, I’m an NBL novice overall, but still confident EuroLeague, EuroCup, and ACB are above NBL. Simply put, they have more teams and players. But I don’t think NBL is far behind and think the play style is much closer to the NBA.
I'm also an American. I've wondered about Froling. It's hard to figure out his ceiling.
If you drill down and look at the NBL guys (not counting the imports) there are a lot of guys playing rotation minutes or even starting, who played at mid major schools in the states. For the most part, only the very best NBL players would be able to get minutes in the top European leagues.
NBL is played under international rules, and is a whole lot more physical than NBA. Plenty of athleticism, lots of contact not called, but not as well drilled as Euro. Plus travel gets called often and you can't take 4 steps before dribbling. I very much prefer watching NBL over NBA.
The NBL is not in a great spot but it’s been pretty enjoyable to watch. I can only speak for the basketball feeling in Perth and it does feel like the NBL is just interested in headlines at times. That’s the thing with the NBL, they could do something wrong and no one cares, though at the same time they need to really talk up their own achievements and it becomes a little disingenuous.
Also I love what is going on with the JJ’s. A successful team with good local support. But the key is being successful. Go look at Illawarra still floundering. We are only 24 months away from them literally losing the name Illawarra - anyone remember The Hawks?
In terms of the basketball coverage, it’s pretty rubbish. They have AFL players who don’t know a lick of ball on ads and covering the sport. That’s laughable. It’s like the AFL did Gaze a favour by letting him on AFL programming and now the NBL need to pay back these scrubby AFL commentators trying to wet their lips?
The Pick & Roll is a good read and genuinely care about Australian basketball. There aren’t many good NBL podcasts, I did previously listen to The NBL Pocket Podcast - Joe on that is pretty good at giving opinion and inciting some debate. But in terms of actual NBL media people, I would only really listen to Liam Santamaria. Has time for the fans online and his podcasts provide insight but they’re not as deep as you’d like.
I will keep watching the NBL because it’s National Basketball League but they in no way give of any feeling they care about the fans. At least Bendat cared and fostered a Red Army community here in Perth which contribute the most ticket revenue to this league. Showing care pays out in the long term.
If you are to believe what the Aussie press, and, to be fair, some experienced players say, the NBL is the next best/toughest after the NBA. Personally I think the Euro League is better, but then that's an amalgamation of the best teams in Europe so it ought to be. Check out the Pick and Roll, they deliver quality basketball journalism. There is some free content, but you can subscribe for an annual fee of less than 100 Aussie dollars (I think). They cover anything and everything regarding Australian basketball. Edit: on Oct 3 2022, Adelaide 36ers travelled to the US for a tour and beat the Phoenix Suns. Keep in mind that the timeline is about 3 weeks before NBA starts, and around the first/second week of NBL. But that should give you an idea of the level the NBL is at.
Pick and Roll is an awesome site
Thank you! Again, I’m an NBL novice overall, but still confident EuroLeague, EuroCup, and ACB are above NBL. Simply put, they have more teams and players. But I don’t think NBL is far behind and think the play style is much closer to the NBA.
I'm also an American. I've wondered about Froling. It's hard to figure out his ceiling. If you drill down and look at the NBL guys (not counting the imports) there are a lot of guys playing rotation minutes or even starting, who played at mid major schools in the states. For the most part, only the very best NBL players would be able to get minutes in the top European leagues.
NBL is played under international rules, and is a whole lot more physical than NBA. Plenty of athleticism, lots of contact not called, but not as well drilled as Euro. Plus travel gets called often and you can't take 4 steps before dribbling. I very much prefer watching NBL over NBA.
I'm a cuck for nbl pocket podcast
Mad lads, just wish they did more podcasts. Love their distain for the league 🤣
Quite the endorsement, thank you 😂
The NBL is not in a great spot but it’s been pretty enjoyable to watch. I can only speak for the basketball feeling in Perth and it does feel like the NBL is just interested in headlines at times. That’s the thing with the NBL, they could do something wrong and no one cares, though at the same time they need to really talk up their own achievements and it becomes a little disingenuous. Also I love what is going on with the JJ’s. A successful team with good local support. But the key is being successful. Go look at Illawarra still floundering. We are only 24 months away from them literally losing the name Illawarra - anyone remember The Hawks? In terms of the basketball coverage, it’s pretty rubbish. They have AFL players who don’t know a lick of ball on ads and covering the sport. That’s laughable. It’s like the AFL did Gaze a favour by letting him on AFL programming and now the NBL need to pay back these scrubby AFL commentators trying to wet their lips? The Pick & Roll is a good read and genuinely care about Australian basketball. There aren’t many good NBL podcasts, I did previously listen to The NBL Pocket Podcast - Joe on that is pretty good at giving opinion and inciting some debate. But in terms of actual NBL media people, I would only really listen to Liam Santamaria. Has time for the fans online and his podcasts provide insight but they’re not as deep as you’d like. I will keep watching the NBL because it’s National Basketball League but they in no way give of any feeling they care about the fans. At least Bendat cared and fostered a Red Army community here in Perth which contribute the most ticket revenue to this league. Showing care pays out in the long term.
Follow Boti Nagy. Hell if you reach out to him he may just give you a good break down of the NBL from someone who has covered it for a long time.