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From the brink of bankruptcy to attracting millions of American fans, the NBL's development path can be described as a twist and turn, and today, more and more players use the NBL as a springboard to enter the NBA, which also provides new ideas for Chinese players.
Author | Marco Guo Haoyuan
Edit | Kaga
In September 2021, when Zhou Qi refused the renewal of the Xinjiang team's maximum salary and decided to join the NBL Southeast Melbourne Phoenix, I believe many fans are full of questions, why did Zhou Qi choose such a league and team? Is there a difference between that and playing in the CBA?
After the Asian Cup eight-in-four knockout match between China and Lebanon, Zhou Qi's performance conquered many fans and gave the answer. Although the Chinese team lost to Lebanon 69-72, lost to the opponent for the first time in the history of the Asian Cup, and stopped in the quarterfinals for two consecutive terms, Zhou Qi cut 22 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks, becoming the pillar of the Chinese team. It is Zhou Qi's experience in the NBL for just one season that makes him a real "big devil", and it also makes the Chinese team not lose too ugly when facing Lebanon, which is the first in the Asian Cup.
Zhou Qi, who came to the NBL, was criticized for physical confrontation, coupled with fatal mistakes in the World Cup, similar stems of "Polish center" and "egg cake" were played by domestic fans to fly. However, in this Asian Cup, Zhou Qi's style of play began to become obviously tough, and he scored from the basket many times, coupled with his performance against Lebanon, he completely won back the reputation.
As of the end of last year, Zhou Qi averaged 13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 4.3 blocks per game in the NBL League, of which the first place in the league in blocks, and the second place was Melbourne United's Joe Lua Akuy, averaging only 2.6 per game, which shows that Zhou Qi has given the team a lot of help on the defensive end and showed his talent. More importantly, Zhou Qi really got a promotion from here.
A few months ago, Zhou Qi was invited to participate in a local basketball program, in which Zhou Qi revealed the reason for rejecting the CBA maximum salary renewal and cutting his salary to switch to the Australian League NBL, Zhou Qi himself said: "The level of the NBL is higher than that of the CBA. ”
Today, Zhou Qi has proved with practical actions that what he said is not false. But in fact, the NBL, which is higher than the CBA, has not been a smooth road since its birth in 1979.
The NBL is Australia's second oldest national sporting event, after the Cricket League. In its early decade or so, the NBL spent its golden years. After entering the 1990s, with the rise of other ball games in Australia, basketball leagues quickly fell to the bottom in terms of popularity, media attention, audience numbers and corporate input.
After entering the 21st century, the bad situation in the NBL has not changed, and many teams have gone bankrupt, the most exaggerated of which is the South Dragons, from joining the NBL to bankruptcy, it took only 3 years. In 2007, Australia's first NBA champion Bogut gave advice, hoping that the NBL could maintain a fixed team participation model for 10 years to stabilize the interests of the team and the league.
In 2009, the NBL began reforms, and they decided to resume free-to-air television broadcasts in Australia for the first time in three years, broadcasting 2-3 games a week. In 2013, the NBL broke away from the Australian Basketball Association and officially began to operate its own events. In the 2013-14 season, NBL's attention began to pick up, setting a five-year high.
In 2015, real estate businessman Larry Kesterman bought a 51 percent stake in the NBL and continues to make a difference in the basketball league. When league team Townsville Crocodiles collapsed in 2016, Kesterman publicly stated on the podcast that as long as he was still in the NBL, no team would stage a similar tragedy.
The NBL then welcomed back players who had played in the U.S. and Europe, including Bogut, Brad Newley, and David Anderson. The league has also further lowered the barriers to entry for players, allowing the NBL to recruit players born in parts of Asia and Oceania who will not be considered foreign aides.
The reforms paid off, with the NBL setting a new all-time record in the 2016-17 season. In fact, since Larry Kesterman took control of the NBL, league attendance, TV ratings, website visits, and app downloads have continued to grow. Today, the NBL is considered the world's third-highest-attendance basketball league after the NBA and Europa League.
In 2018, the NBL not only did not have a team bankruptcy, but welcomed a new army, that is, the Southeast Melbourne Phoenix team played by Zhou Qi. In 2019, the NBL welcomed NBA draft hit Player Ramello Ball, and the league has continued to break attendance records since the first round. After signing a broadcast deal with Facebook Watch, more than a million American fans watched Ball's NBL debut against the Brisbane Bullets.
With the addition of Zhou Qi, the NBL has also attracted the attention of a large number of Chinese fans, and the live bar has taken advantage of the situation to win the NBL broadcast rights for the 2021-22 season. In the case of not being able to play in the NBA, the NBL is also becoming a new way for Chinese players to stay abroad.
Previously, the Brisbane Bullets signed a "1+1" contract with Liu Chuanxing of Qingdao, and Shanghai youth player Li Hongquan is also expected to land in the NBL league and join the Tasmanian Jumpers in the new season. There may be three Chinese players in the NBL next season, and fans can continue to see the Chinese derby in the Australian League.
In fact, the NBL not only provides Chinese players with exercise opportunities, but is also one of the great sources of NBA rookies every year.
This year's NBA rookie, France's Osman Dion has been trained in the NBL, he played for the New Zealand Saboteurs last season, averaging 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks per game, although the data and shooting rate are not outstanding, but the template is Batum's forward swinger, or was picked by the New York Knicks with the eleventh pick in the first round. In this year's NBA No. 8 show, Dyson Daniels from the G-League Ignition Team is also from the NBL, and he was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans.
As Zhou Qi said, NBA scouts pay much more attention to the NBL than the CBA. Two of the 2020-21 NBA Rookies of the Year were from the NBL, Lamello Ball of the Hornets and Jeshaun Tate of the Rockets, who also won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. They played for the Illawarra Eagles and Sydney Kings the previous season, respectively, and Jeshaun Tate also led the Sydney Kings to the NBL title and FMVP.
Also the NBA favorite while playing for the NBL is 2021 rookie Josh Gidy, who was picked up by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the sixth pick in the first round. Gidey played for the NBL's Adelaide 36ers before being selected and was one of the players in the NBL's "Rising Star" program. In his rookie season at the NBL, Gidy averaged 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game, and became the youngest player in the league to have a triple-double.
It is worth mentioning that Josh Giedy and Lamelo Ball both broke the record of the youngest triple-double at the time after joining the NBA. On January 10, 2021, the three-goal explosion of 22+12+11 statistics became the youngest Mr. Triple-double at the age of 19 years and 140 days, which was his tenth game for the Hornets. Just a year and a half later, that record was broken by the younger Geddy. On July 7, 2022, during the Thunder's game against the Lone Ranger, Gidy scored a triple-double of 17 points, 13 rebounds, 14 assists and 4 steals, becoming the youngest mr. triple-double in NBA history at 19 years and 84 days.
These young players have won the NBL a reputation in overseas markets, and many over-aged players have found their way to the NBA from here, and Zhou Qi may also want to regain his unfulfilled dreams from here.
Jock Randale, a center currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs, is famous from the NBL and is targeted by NBA scouts. Randale, who played for one season with NBL Melbourne United last season and signed with Spurs offseason, said the NBL is the best springboard for players trying to land in the NBA.
"I think the NBL league is very inclusive, letting players pursue their dreams, and now people see it as a reasonable pathway," Randale said. "At the moment, Randale has basically established himself on the Spurs, and the success of him and Jeshaun Tate has also made people see more possibilities in the NBL.
What's even more interesting is that many NBA players choose to invest in NBL teams to make a profit. Dante Exam, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, is the small owner of the South East Melbourne Phoenix, and john Wall, who just joined the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason. Sean Marion and Oladipo are small owners of New Zealand spoilers, and Oladipo broke the record for the world's youngest basketball club owner at the age of 28. The record was later broken by Lameló Ball, who became the owner of the Illawarra Eagles, where he had played at the age of 18. The Bucks' current Middleton and Kevin Martin are the minor owners of the Brisbane Bullets.
Andrew Bogut, who also became the owner of the NBL after the return of the Warriors in 15 years, is one of the shareholders of the Sydney Kings, he is also a sydney Kings player, and in 2019 Bogut was also elected the NBL's Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Best Defensive Player (DPOY).
More and more players are using the NBL as a springboard to enter the NBA, which also provides new ideas for Chinese players. In this summer's NBA Summer League, Chinese players such as Zeng Fanbo were again frustrated. Then you may wish to face the NBL at the southern end of the ocean, first do it to stand there, play your own value, and maybe then the door to the NBA will naturally open.