NBL1 is a semi-professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

in Australia, consisting of South,

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

, Central,

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and East Conferences with both men's and women's competitions. Each conference is run by their respective state governing body, with the league including 76 clubs from across every state and territory. The league replaced the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

(SEABL), Australia's pre-eminent semi-professional basketball league between 1981 and 2018. Following the NBL1's inaugural season in 2019, the 2020 season saw the 2019 teams comprise the new South Conference and the former

Queensland Basketball League NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

(QBL) and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

(South Australia) become the new North and Central Conferences. The league was joined by the teams from the former WA State Basketball League (SBL) in 2021 and then the teams from the former NSW Waratah League in 2022.

History

The building blocks

In October 2018, following the demise of the

(SEABL), Basketball Victoria announced a new senior elite league to take the reins as Australia's pre-eminent semi-professional basketball league. All Victorian-based SEABL teams joined the new league, while

Eltham Wildcats Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The thre ...

Knox Raiders Knox Raiders is a member club of the NBL1 South based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of Knox Basketball Incorporated (KBI), the major administrative basketball organisation in Melbourn ...

, Ringwood Hawks and Waverley Falcons also joined the league from the Big V State Championship Division. The North-West Tasmania Thunder men and Launceston Tornadoes women also kept their place, as did

Basketball Australia Basketball Australia is the governing and controlling body of basketball in Australia, responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. Basketball Australia sanctions Australia's two professional leagues, the Nation ...

's Centre of Excellence teams. In February 2019, the league was named NBL1.

Expansion

After a successful first season, the league announced in October 2019 that it would be expanding into

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

for the 2020 season. In January 2020, NBL1 expanded with the establishment of North and South conferences for the 2020 season. After a landmark agreement with Basketball Queensland,

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

replaced the Queensland Basketball League (QBL). As a result, the 2019 NBL1 teams formed the new south conference. The following month, NBL1 expanded into

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

after an identical agreement with Basketball South Australia for

NBL1 Central NBL1 Central, formerly the Premier League, is a semi-professional basketball league in South Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball South Australia partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to ...

to replace the Premier League. However, the threat of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

forced the 2020 season to be cancelled. In October 2020, NBL1 expanded into

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

for the 2021 season after an agreement with Basketball Western Australia for

NBL1 West NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball ...

to replace the State Basketball League. In March 2021, an agreement was reached for the Waratah League in New South Wales to become

NBL1 East The NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales and the National ...

in 2022.

Conferences

South Conference

Founded in 2019, the South Conference was the only conference in NBL1 during its inaugural season and predominantly consisted of teams from the defunct

(SEABL). The South Conference currently has 20 clubs spread across

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

North Conference

In 2020, the North Conference joined the league, becoming the second conference introduced following NBL1's merger with the former

(QBL). The North Conference currently consists of 16 clubs, with 15 based in

and one based in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

Central Conference

In 2020, the Central Conference joined the league, becoming the third conference introduced following NBL1's merger with the former South Australian

. The Central Conference currently consists of 10 clubs, all of which are based in

West Conference

In 2021, the West Conference joined the league, becoming the fourth conference introduced following NBL1's merger with the former Western Australian State Basketball League. The West Conference currently consists of 14 clubs, all of which are based in

East Conference

In 2022, the East Conference joined the league, becoming the fifth conference introduced following NBL1's agreement with the Waratah League in

. The East Conference currently consists of 16 clubs, with 14 based in New South Wales and two based in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...

Current clubs

Spread across the four conferences, a total of 72 clubs compete in the league. *South Conference: 20 clubs (includes 19 female teams and 19 male teams) *North Conference: 16 clubs *Central Conference: 10 clubs *West Conference: 14 clubs *East Conference: 16 clubs

List of Champions

References

External links

* {{NBL1 seasons Basketball leagues in Australia 2019 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 2019 National Basketball League (Australia) Professional sports leagues in Australia