“He was one of the most driven players I’ve ever seen and highly misunderstood. He’d push people to the ground but that was because he was a winner and he’d only accept 100%… he felt you had to dive on the loose balls, you had to get after rebounds and run the floor, that’s who he was” –…
Read MoreSam Young’s signing with the Sydney Kings this week should deliver a strong message that the demerger between the NBL and Basketball Australia has already proven to be the jump start needed to return the league to its former glory. The potential benefits of investing in a higher quality import to help market the NBL…
Read MoreThe “Hyping the Hoopla” team of Dan Boyce and Cairns Taipans NBL.tv commentator Matt Smith (who also has 150 games of NBL experience) welcome new addition Rhys Carter (2009 NBL Championship player) to the Hyping the Hoopla team to discuss the what’s what and the who’s who in Australian Basketball news over the past month. Head…
Read MoreAndrej Lemanis has named his first Australian Boomers squad this week to take on China in the Sino-Australia Challenge. I have written in regards to weak Boomers squads in the past but this takes the cake. Three of the starting five for Adelaide who came dead last in the National League is picked. Daniel Johnson…
Read MoreThe WNBL and NBL are two ‘no-go’ zones for writers when it comes to discussion about free-to-air coverage (all it does is create havoc on your twitter account). I enjoy the havoc, so I welcome this topic with open arms. Last year the NBL announced a landmark agreement where all NBL games will be broadcast…
Read MoreThe NBL All-Star game is back, something fans have been waiting for since 2008. The league’s annual showcase has given us unforgettable performances from the greatest players to ever grace these shores, but in the game which features our league’s brightest stars, which players have shone brightest? To coincide with the return of the NBL’s…
Read MoreDecember 15th is a significant day on the NBA calendar. It is the first day that free agents signed in the offseason can be traded. For the San Antonio Spurs, that means it’s the first day Boris Diaw, Pat Mills and Tim Duncan (unlikely) can be traded. So since they can, should the Spurs look…
Read MoreLiam Quinn discusses what effect David Stern’s plans to make the Olympics an Under-23 competition will really have in his entry to our weekly Article of the Week Cash Giveaways! Written by Liam Quinn Twitter: @LiamQuinn23 As Team USA continues to impose their international dominance on the East London hardwood, talk across “The Pond” continues to revolve around the…
Read MoreThe Australia Men’s basketball team lost a nail biter in their first game of Olympic Competition 75-71 to Brazil, a team which boasts four NBA players in Leandro Barbosa (Indiana), Anderson Varejao (Cleveland), Nene Hilario (Washington) and Tiago Splitter (San Antonio) and has experts predicting them as medal chance. NBA Superstars Kobe Bryant and…
Read MoreWritten by Kevin Pelton During Sunday’s exhibition game between the USA men’s national team and Argentina, NBA TV’s duo of Steve Smith and Larry Smith repeatedly noted that Argentina is ranked third in the world. But what does that mean? FIBA’s rankings are based on performance over a two-Olympic cycle, which means that Argentina’s lofty ranking–behind…
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Former Sydney Kings and Townsville Crocodiles big man Rolan Roberts joins the podcast to reflect on his time in Australia, including joining the Kings mid-season and helping them complete their historic 2005 NBL three-peat. Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Host Dan Boyce chats with Roberts about playing under Brian Goorjian, becoming a key interior presence for Sydney, and being part of the Kings team that became the first in NBL history to win three straight championships. The episode also dives into…
READ MOREAt some point over the next 12 months, the Boomers are going to have to make a decision that Australian basketball has managed to avoid for almost two decades. Who exactly is this team built around now? Since 2010, that answer was simple. It was Patty Mills’ team. Mills has been the primary scorer for the Boomers for nearly two decades and few Australian victories have been recorded without a major scoring performance from Patty. But as the Boomers move toward the 2027 FIBA World…
READ MOREA player arriving in the NBL with NBA experience always creates interest. Fans get excited when their team signs a former NBA player, commentators mention it during broadcasts, and every article about that player usually links their NBL performance back to their NBA résumé. Sometimes, we see a big-time college prospect use the NBL as a springboard to the NBA and never return. Other times, established NBA veterans come to Australia looking for a fresh opportunity. And in many cases, local talent develops in the…
READ MOREOver the years, Aussie Hoopla has taken a deep dive into the full list of players who have competed in both the NBL and the NBA. You can see the full list of NBL players who have played in the NBA here: Names from every decade since the 1980s have featured, including NBL legends like Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Lanard Copeland and Rob Rose, alongside a long list of imports who used the NBL as a stepping stone to the world’s biggest stage. But with…
READ MOREFormer Adelaide 36ers star Julius Hodge joins the podcast to reflect on one of the most dominant short stints in NBL history, his journey from the NBA to Australia, and the impact he made during the 2007/08 season. Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Host Dan Boyce chats with Hodge about his incredible all-around performances, triple-doubles, and what it was like adjusting to the Australian game mid-season. The episode also dives into his time playing in the NBA and overseas, his perspective…
READ MOREBelow is an up-to-date roster for each NBL team and a list of rumours and potential signings derived from discussions with NBL staff and media. Players listed as contracted come from information supplied by the National Basketball League. * = Denotes import player ** = Naturalised Australian DP = a member of the team's development roster SRP = the previously named Asian player exception denoting an Asian player who qualifies as a local in the NBL. MP = Marquee players listed as known Click here…
READ MORECurrent head coach of the Akita Northern Happinets, Mick Downer joins the podcast to discuss the differences between coaching in Japan and the NBL, his stints with Perth, Cairns, Brisbane and Adelaide over the past 25 years, and his time with the Australian Boomers program. Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Host Dan Boyce chats with Downer about what he learnt stepping into the head coaching role in a non-English speaking country, as well as providing updates on NBL talent in Japan…
READ MOREWe wrap up our seven-part deep dive into one of Aussie hoops’ fiercest rivalries — Sydney vs Illawarra — as the modern era turns the heat all the way up and the Freeway Series swings wildly from season to season. Host Dan Boyce picks things up after the Hawks’ rebirth under new ownership and Brian Goorjian — a fresh start that quickly turns into a brutal reality check, including the worst season in franchise history (3–25) — before Illawarra pulls off one of the great…
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