Victoria is expected to be the named as the NBL’s answer to the NBA bubble as they prepare to launch this years season on January 15th.
The current plan is to play games in home venues throughout Australia where possible. Still, the reality of COVID-19 means a hub is going to be a necessary contingency plan under any model for the coming season.
The hub would include games being played out of Rod Laver Arena and Melbourne Arena or The State Basketball Centre in Knox if there is a clash with the Australian Open tennis.
The current plan includes regional basketball hotbeds like Bendigo and Ballarat, which have hosted NBL games in the past, almost certainly hosting NBL games as well.
Talks are continuing between the NBL and the Victorian, New South Wales and South Australian governments regarding their abilities to potentially host a hub while NZ Breakers owner Matt Walsh has conceded it looks like they will have to play the first ten weeks of the season in Australia.
Although a plan for an NBL hub is a necessity to start the season, the NBL re-starting does not include playing games within a hub unless health issues cause the league to do so mid-season.
Team owners have stressed than if the league sticks to starting the season on January 15 then teams will need to have six weeks’ notice to prepare.
The league plans to unveil a “draft” draft draw in mid-November and teams in areas with low numbers of coronavirus will begin pre-season games in mid to late November. Kicking off with the Adelaide 36ers facing the Brisbane Bullets in Adelaide on November 13th.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
