Unlikely bed fellows net US dream
MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy’s View from Downunder) – It is so pleasing to be able to say that in hoops circles Downunder, our various representatives have set an example the rest of the sporting world could do well to follow.
In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, it was announced this week that Team USA would be heading to Melbourne in August next year for two World Cup lead-up games against the Boomers.
They're not just any old ‘friendlies’ either, they will both be played at the 50,000-plus Docklands Stadium near Melbourne’s waterfront.
The idea of hosting an NBA game or Team USA at Docklands has long been talked about in pubs, on social media and no doubt in hushed tones in various basketball headquarters over the years. Actually doing it is a whole other expedition.
When Anthony Moore took over as CEO of Basketball Australia (BA) he set about the ambitious task of filling the 15,000-seat Rod Laver Arena for the FIBA Oceania Championship.
Few thought it possible, in the end they did it with ease with the help of the Victorian Government and some other key partners.
So Moore decided to take it up a notch this time around, but knew he needed some more help. Enter Larry Kestelman, the owner of the NBL who had been working feverishly to build a strong relationship with the NBA.
With three NBL teams playing pre-season games against NBA opposition last October, a number of NBL players making the step up to the NBA, and a new rule making allowance for one-and-done potential draftees to play in Australia, Kestelman has been knocking loudly.
The combination of that work with the emergence of a number of Australian hoopsters as genuine NBA contributors, led brilliantly by Ben Simmons, has made Aussie basketball relevant to the US.
And so, BA and the NBL struck while the iron was hot and lured arguably the biggest sporting fish ever to come to Australian shores.
Team work makes the dream work. Great effort by all involved for making the Boomers 🆚 USA Basketball games at Etihad stadium a reality. @BasketballAus @visitvictoria #BoomersUSA pic.twitter.com/XuwVlgRIUr
— NBL (@NBL) March 18, 2018
Of course, we all know it will be exciting to see some of the USA’s biggest superstars taking on Australia’s ever-improving Boomers, but what are the actual tangible benefits?
Firstly, and most importantly, it makes the country’s basketball team a big deal at last.
Sure, every now and again when the Boomers made a genuine medal run at the Olympics – in 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2016 – the nation took notice, but outside of that they have been the forgotten men in green and gold.
The cricket team has enormous support, especially when they take on England in The Ashes. The Wallabies have the Bledisloe Cup every year, the Kangaroos the ANZAC Test, the Socceroos the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Basketball just hasn’t really had an equivalent. But in this two-game series, and the games against top European visitors that are likely to accompany them, the Boomers will be top dog, even in the middle of domestic footy season.
The game between the USA and Australia at Rio 2016 attracted massive viewer numbers, and this visit from the NBA stars, from both countries, will captivate an Aussie media corps that so easily get stars in their eyes. Basketball will be the winner.
Secondly, it will help secure corporate dollars for the sport long after the Americans have departed, with the NBL owning the Australian broadcast rights for the two games.
Rewind more than a decade and when soccer’s governing body needed to find a broadcast deal for their little-followed A-League, they coupled it with the rights to the Socceroos.
Fox Sports, not wanting to miss out on screening the national team in their drive to the FIFA World Cup, got on board with a relatively-lucrative deal.
Unfortunately, the NBL has never had something similar to piggy back onto – until now.
Demand will be high to get the rights to these games – which could potentially be a preview of the World Cup final – that a little bit of extra cash splashed to also broadcast an excellent, ready-made product in the NBL won’t seem like much of a sacrifice.
With former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou now aboard the NBL train to help with the broadcast negotiations, there is every chance this event will lead to far more regular basketball on free-to-air screens in Australia, and that would be huge for the sport.
TEG Live report that more than 55,000 registrations have been received for #BoomersUSA series at Etihad in 2019. With all VIP packages sold out, make sure you register via the link in the article to ensure you are in the running!
— The Pick and Roll (@PickandRollAU) March 20, 2018
➡️https://t.co/IOqg7ahm8b#AussieHoops pic.twitter.com/sRh2OmMOie
Thirdly, this will make the World Cup a far more prominent event in this country. Sadly, it has never really received much traction Downunder, coming in the middle of the footy seasons and played far away at obscure times of the day or night.
This time though, the build-up will be covered extensively thanks to the Team USA visit, then the tournament itself will be played in viewer-friendly timeslots with China just two hours behind.
This will take another big step towards moving the Boomers up to a point where they have a profile that can at least be mentioned in the same breath as the Wallabies, Socceroos and our much-loved cricketers.
That will especially be the case if the Boomers put on a good show, both against the US and at China 2019, something made more likely by this lead-up event.
While the lure of the World Cup is now much stronger thanks to FIBA’s move to make it the primary Olympic qualifier, the work of BA and the NBL will add a cherry on top.
In his exclusive column for @NBA_AU, @matthewdelly says he can’t wait for Team USA series in Melbourne: ‘I’m just really excited to play in it‘
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) March 19, 2018
➡️ https://t.co/xsP1hYnUwc pic.twitter.com/QgcnROovwV
Any Aussie star undecided about committing for China 2019 is now more likely to. Who would want to miss the chance to play in front of 50,000 home fans against the best team and the biggest stars on the planet? It’s in the ‘tell your grandkids about it’ category.
Some may say it was a bit of a trip back in time to be quietly and productively working together, rather than raising the walls via a ‘with us or against us’ mentality and fighting PR battles through various media channels.
However, this NBL-BA partnership has shown why those with mutual interests – such as growing the game of basketball – need to be all about finding common ground. The potential rewards of growing and promoting the game together are enormous.
To see two organisation who were at loggerheads not so long ago now be such productive partners brings great hope that basketball’s current upward trend Downunder can continue.
Paulo Kennedy
FIBA
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