Logue Down: Lindsay Gaze says Asian market the next frontier for booming NBL
Lindsay Gaze says the NBL is the best shape it’s ever been, and the next step could take it to even greater heights. Plus all the latest news and opinions in this week’s Logue Down column.
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The godfather of Australian basketball, Lindsay Gaze, says the NBL is at its “peak” in history but the next step is commercialising the sport via Asia.
Gaze, a FIBA Hall of Famer for his immense contribution to basketball as a player, coach and administrator, believes the domestic game is at all-time high when it comes to talent and competitiveness.
“I think anyone who has been around for a while would have to say that the NBL at present is at its peak in relation to its past,” declared Gaze, who won two NBL championships as a coach and three Coach of the Year gongs.
“It’s not saying that it is going to get any better, but the talent that we have in the league at present, I think it’s outstanding.
“The competition is also in a situation where the bottom team can beat the top team on a given night, so it is better than it has been.
“That doesn’t surprise me because it is almost what you could say on a yearly basis – the (NBL) is progressing annually.”
There is no questioning that Australian basketball is on the upwards trajectory.
The NBL is attracting record crowds, the Boomers and Opals are coming off bronze medals on the international stage and there are countless Aussies excelling in the NBA and WNBA.
According to Gaze, the next move for a booming Australian men’s domestic league is free-to-air coverage and tapping into the Asian market.
He tried to access the significant audience in Asia when he was coaching in China during the 2008-09 season through the introduction of a pre-season tournament involving teams from China, Korea, the Philippines, and Australia.
Unfortunately, the Chinese club – the Tianjin Ronggang Pioneers - ended up gazumping the concept as it couldn’t identify a control of revenue.
“It needed someone higher up than me to deal with the television, but the concept and interest was there for the starting point for a pre-season tournament,” Gaze said.
“I think our future is in Asia when it comes to television and commercialising the sport.
“The Asian audience is massive, and I think the league will take its place on free to air again, as soon as it becomes commercial.
“I think Larry Kestelman has been working on that behind the scenes.”
Gaze senior’s Asian vision comes in a week when Boomers coach Brian Goorjian contacted this column about his hugely positive experience coaching the Bay Arena Dragons in the new East Asia Super League.
Goorjian has long been a fan of the Asian market and couldn’t believe the electric atmosphere his side witnessed in Game One of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“20,000 fans game 1, different stadium game 2 and 16,000 fans. Both sold out. Philippines crazy about hoops. Nuts,” Goorjian said.
AUSSIE HOOPS MOST INFLUENTIAL IN HISTORY
Passionate debate and claims of “whitewashing” Australian basketball has prompted this column to collate a list of the sport’s most influential people in history.
Last week’s Crosscourt column, which listed the current top 20 most influential in Aussie hoops and not the most influential in history, caused a major stir.
NBL great and import pioneer Cal Bruton led the displeasure, taking to his social media to express his disappointment for not making the list.
“It always nice to be left off a list like this when you invest so much time and effort into the game Australia wide,” Bruton wrote.
“The Brutons have given 43 years of service to Australian Basketball and have assisted on so many levels.
“When you receive an OAM for your services to basketball from the Australian Government (how many of those listed have one of those?) but you can’t get any respect.”
Bruton also wanted to see more people of colour named in the list, outside of NBA champion Patty Mills being listed at No.1.
“As I’ve often said, the game here has been built on the backs of “Black Americans,” he said.
“And it continues to be built on the back of the imports (majority Black Americans).”
Bruton makes valid points, especially in a list of the most influential in Australian basketball history.
There are so many names to consider and it’s subjective, but here is our top 10 list and honourable mentions as players, coaches and administrators. Tell us your thoughts. Who would you include?
Top 10 most influential of all-time (no order)
Lindsay Gaze
The godfather of Australian basketballer. Gaze senior excelled as a player, coach, and administrator while his tireless campaigning for basketball and facilities, often behind closed doors, paved the way for the sport’s current position of strength.
Cal Bruton
NBL champion as a player and coach and an import pioneer who helped to put basketball on the map in Australia during the foundation years in the 70s.
Bruton, who received an Order of Australia Medal in 2021 for his services to basketball, continues to give back to the game at all levels and has paved the way for his son CJ to become a hugely successful player and now coach.
Brian Goorjian
One of the greatest coaches in Australian sports history, led the Boomers to Olympic bronze, has the ability to turn a franchise around in an instant and pushes the barrow of Australian basketball wherever he goes.
Lauren Jackson
Universally respected as the sport’s Aussie GOAT. Made a remarkable return to international competition at the age of 40 and is now back in the WNBL. When LJ speaks, everyone listens.
Andrew Gaze
The NBL’s greatest player and still arguably Australian basketball’s most-recognisable face. Still adored by every basketball fan and is hilarious while being so polite and giving of his time to every person he meets. An ornament to the game.
Patty Mills
Mills has ridden on the shoulders of Indigenous pioneers like Michael Ah Matt, Danny Morseu and Claude Williams to become an icon and voice for basketball and his people.
Larry Kestelman
The man who saved Australian basketball. The NBL would be dead without him.
Luc Longley
From creating history as the first Aussie in the NBA to winning three championships alongside the great Michael Jordan at the Chicago Bulls and excelling on the international stage for the Boomers, Longley is an icon. Now a part-owner at the Sydney Kings who is helping mentor the next generation.
Leroy Loggins
Three NBL championships, three MVPs and an import who helped to legitimise basketball in Australia through his on-court brilliance in the foundation years.
Andrew Bogut
The first Australian to be drafted at No.1 in the NBA, a championship winner with Golden State in 2015 while his historic signing with the Sydney Kings in 2018 has proven to be a gamechanger for the NBL.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
Ken Cole
Mike Wrublewski
CJ Bruton
Lorraine Landon
Brian Kerle
Bob Turner
Jack Bendat
Phil Smyth
Bob Elphinston
Adrian Hurley
Al Ramsay
Ken Watson
Bruce Palmer
Shane Heal
Eddie Palubinskas
Doc Adkins
Dr John Raschke
Larry Sengstock
Danny Morseu
Push for Pero to lead Bullets
There is support for legendary New Zealander Pero Cameron to remain at the Brisbane Bullets beyond this season.
Cameron, the only New Zealand national to be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, was recently hired as an assistant coach for the remainder of the season.
I’m told the current Tall Blacks coach has made an immediate impact at the Bullets, with some players even keen to see him stay around longer than this season.
There is also a belief that Cameron wouldn’t look out of place as Brisbane’s head coach.
League to stick with player commentators
The NBL has no plans to scrap its use of guest player commentators despite strong criticism of the concept.
Adelaide 36ers import Antonius Cleveland recently questioned if current players like Al Williams, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Mitch Creek and Ryan Broekhoff should be commentating on games via his personal Instagram account.
“Whose idea was it to let the players commentate?,” Cleveland tweeted.
Cleveland’s question sparked a barrage of responses, with most people agreeing that existing players shouldn’t commentate on games.
Sydney Kings owner and chairman Paul Smith was clear, saying: “hard no” while another supporter said: “Current active players should not be commentating games at any pro/semi pro level. At best, involve a player through an insightful in-game chat/interview, but not to call a game.”
The GOAT returns to the WNBL… again
Australia’s basketball GOAT is set to join the WNBL as the league prepares to embark on its new era.
Huge SA coup as Adelaide to host Boomers, Opals games
Adelaide is set to host the first Australian men’s basketball internationals outside Victoria since 2019, with both the Boomers and Opals set to hit South Australia later this year. See the details.