Josh Giddey: The changes I would make if I was NBL Commissioner

Higher scoring, more minutes and more fouls – see the changes NBA superstar Josh Giddey would make if he was NBL Commissioner for a day.

There’s really not much about the NBL I don’t love. It’s a tough league with some of the best players in the world and some really exciting young talent coming through the ranks.

Having played in the league for a season with Adelaide and being forced repeatedly to watch all of dad’s games with the Melbourne Tigers on replay so many times (joking, Dad), I don’t think it needs much tinkering to improve the game or overall product.

However, if I was asked for my opinion, there are a few things I’d strongly consider if I was the league owner, Larry Kestelman, to make sure the NBL stays on pace with the NBA and continues to evolve.

Those who don’t follow basketball closely may not even be aware the NBA has different rules to most leagues around the world. The NBA essentially makes its own rules while the NBL and others are governed by the International Basketball Federation, more commonly known by the French acronym, FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball).

FIBA rules mean shorter games (10-minute quarters compared to 12), smaller courts, fewer personal fouls (five fouls compared to six), no defensive three seconds meaning zones can be implemented to clog up the key.

With a few small adjustments I believe the NBL could achieve higher scores and more highlights.

1. BAN THE ZONE

By restricting the amount of time a defensive player is allowed to stand in the lane to just three seconds, more space will open up for players to get to the hoop. Right now in the NBL, if you beat your man on the perimeter, you’re likely to have one or two other defenders waiting for you under the rim.

It’s the opposite in the NBA; if you get past your defender, more often than not, you’re at the cup.

Right now, you can play zone in the NBL whereas in the NBA a defensive player may not stay in the lane (a.k.a. key, restricted area) for longer than three seconds if he is not actively guarding an opponent. Let’s use Melbourne United Next Star, Ariel Hukporti, who is a SuperCoach NBL bargain at $172,100 as an example. A super athletic big and one of the best rim protectors in the NBL, if he’s allowed to camp under the rim – good luck.

This rule change would outlaw big men from planting themselves under the basket on the defensive end and force them to rotate in and out of the key every three seconds, like they do on the offensive end.

Good luck getting past Melbourne United big man Ariel Hukporti under the rim. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

2. INCREASED GAME TIME

While it’s true NBL players don’t score as much as the NBA players, they have less time to do it in.

Last season Mitch Creek, a highly rated SuperCoach NBL commodity at $418,900, led the NBL in scoring with 23.4 points per game. In the NBA, Creek would have been the 30th ranked scorer with those numbers.

Pro rata with the 48-minute game in the NBA, Creek’s numbers paint a much different picture. In fact, he would have averaged 33.1 points per 48 minutes last season while New Zealand’s Barry Brown Jr would have sat at 35.1 points. To compare, the NBA’s leading scorer was MVP Joel Embiid, who averaged 33.1 points per game – equal with Creek and less than Brown Jr.

Selfishly, I also think the NBL games go way too quickly – even though it means I get more sleep and time to recuperate after watching so late at night or into the early hours of the morning in the US.

Longer games would mean more points for stars like Mitch Creek. Picture: Martin Keep/Getty Images

3. MORE PERSONAL FOULS

No matter the game or competition, fans come to watch the stars play, and there’s nothing worse than seeing your favourite player stuck on the bench early because they’re in foul trouble.

I’d love to see the NBL change its personal foul count to six instead of five, like the NBA.

Changing this rule would allow the superstars more time on the court and less time on the pine. All too often stars in the NBL are banished to the bench in early foul trouble because there’s less to play with. If SuperCoach NBL superstar Bryce Cotton gets pinged for two fouls in the first quarter, there’s every chance we won’t see him again until the second half.

A way to avoid that is by giving players one extra foul to play with.

Josh Giddey says playing with more space makes for more exciting basketball. Picture: Ian Maule/Getty Images

The NBL is home to several future NBA players, so the league should look to embrace these rules to further develop and grow the connection between the competitions.

When I started playing in the NBA, I was taken aback by how much extra space there was on the court. You need to cover so much more area on an NBA court, and it provides a bigger platform for the stars of the game to showcase their skills and athleticism.

Whenever I talk to NBL players who play in the NBLxNBA pre-season series, they have the same feedback. It isn’t so much the aura and world-class abilities of the NBA players that NBL squads struggle against – it’s trying to learn on the fly how to effectively score and defend in more space.

Scoring is much harder in the NBL than it is in the NBA according to French star and Minnesota Timberwolves’ centre, Rudy Gobert, who said at the World Cup: “In the FIBA game, you have to think even more, look around even more … It’s still harder to score in the FIBA game.”

For me, the NBL should look at making it easier to score, not harder – because ultimately that’s what the fans want to see.