A wild confluence of basketball breakthroughs has sent the sport soaring in Australia, as national teams look towards a return to the Olympic dais, and the game's cultural impact rekindles memories of its 1990s heyday.
Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey are establishing themselves as NBA leaders, while Australian representation in the American league reaches a level once thought unimaginable, with 13 players on opening rosters last season – almost one in every two teams and roughly double the number of four years ago.
Alanna Smith and Ezi Magbegor are among the top 10 earners in the WNBA, a league that has transformed the global sporting landscape thanks to the popularity of Caitlin Clark and her emerging peers like Olivia Miles. That glow has illuminated the WNBL, driving a surge of investment in recent years led by Robyn Denholm, the Australian chair of Tesla.
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Domestically, the NBL continues to grow, recording its largest ever crowd of 18,589 in game five of last season's championship series. Powerhouse club Melbourne United have just announced the arrival of one of the NBL's most decorated imports, NBA star Cole Anthony, alongside the return of Boomers great Joe Ingles.
And if that wasn't enough, into the picture on Tuesday strolled Ben Simmons, appearing in Melbourne alongside Daniels and Giddey at an Australian players' work-out. Did the free agent and three-time NBA All Star, who is still just 30, want to play for Australia again? "That's why I'm here," he told Channel Nine. "It's a long way to fly, just not to do it, man."
The Opals won their first Olympic medal since 2012 in Paris, while the Boomers – after their own famous "rose gold" in Tokyo – are looking to return as an international force. Daniels and Giddey have assumed responsibility for a team that has long relied on Patty Mills, now 38 and playing in France.
The potential presence of Simmons adds a new dynamic, as a versatile defender and ball-handling option, even if he will first need to secure a return to top level basketball. His last NBA game was April last year, and after years of back complaints the man once recognised as one of the best 15 players in the NBA is apparently pain-free and mounting a comeback.
"He looked really good," Giddey said after Tuesday's workout. "He's obviously stayed in shape and been working out." Daniels went further, endorsing Simmons for a place on the Australian team for the Fiba World Cup in 12 months. "If he puts his hand up, he'll be there".
It would be a squad with considerable depth, given the Australian talent on NBA rosters includes centre Jock Landale – who signed a US$14m (A$19.4m) contract with Daniels' Atlanta Hawks for the coming season, and emerging NBA wings Josh Green and Johnny Furphy. After the US, Canada and France, Australia has the most players on NBA rosters.
The situation has driven the NBA to earmark Australia as a priority market for an expanded international push. The American sporting giant is bringing out promotions like NBA House, a fan expo that came to Australia in May. The New Orleans Pelicans were the first NBA team to play here during two pre-season games in Melbourne last year that almost sold out within 30 minutes of tickets being released.
"That tells us how much demand there is," said Rajah Chaudhry, who is responsible for the NBA's strategy in Australia. "We'd obviously love to bring out more teams and more games, but we'll see how that goes."
For the NBA's league pass live coverage subscription, only the US provides more subscribers than Australia. In the popular video game NBA 2K6, Australia ranks third globally for total hours played.
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While the NBA drives the most interest in basketball locally, aided by hours of daytime content especially popular with gamblers, the NBL and WNBL are also seeking to leverage the sport's expanding cultural footprint, which is echoing its 1990s boom in the era of Andrew Gaze. Last week, guard Anthony, a proven NBA performer and still just 26, signed for Melbourne United in one of the local men's league's biggest coups.
The former Orlando Magic player was open about seeking to return to the NBA, but said this week he chose the NBL because of its reputation. "Melbourne United, to me, is an elite program where I'm able to slot myself in and help them get some wins, and at the same time help boost my stock," said the man who averaged 16 points in his second year in the NBA. "I just think that this could be a great opportunity to play a high level of basketball, and not just a high level of basketball, but a high level of meaningful basketball."
In addition to Anthony and Ingles, this NBL season promises to showcase a player who has been identified as the most talented Australian prospect since Josh Giddey. Seventeen-year-old Luke Paul will play for the Cairns Taipans fresh off being named in the All Star Five for the Under-17 Fiba World Cup in July. Meanwhile, Jongkuch "JK" Mach, an 18-year-old who stands 7ft 6in , or 229 cm, is developing his game as Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence in Canberra.
