You have your head buried in your laptop when the court announcer asks the gathering to stand and applaud the firefighters for risking their lives in combustible times.
There’s such an explosion of noise and emotion that your desk shakes — someone tell the fireys — and when you look up, you see foot-stomping, decibel-raising patrons are packed to the rooftop, all the way up to the highest row of the nosebleeds.
The Sydney Kings and Illawarra Hawks have pulled 17,514 to Qudos Bank Arena. It’s a landmark afternoon. The largest crowd in NBL history. You haven’t seen this many Kings T-shirts since your ill-fated visit to a honky tonk bar in Sacramento. Don’t ask. But you’ve experienced this sort of rollicking atmosphere before: Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers playing under the banners marking Sixers championship wins and Bruce Springsteen concerts. Let’s not get too carried away — the NBL ain’t the NBA, and nor does it pretend to be. But it ain’t half bad inside this kudos-banked arena.
Fan friendly. Family friendly. Non-stop hooting and hollering. Frenetic. Fun. Courtside DJ. Cute mascots. Running commentary from the resident comedian. Free hamburgers if the other team misses two consecutive free throws. You’ve never heard a roar like it. Emoji Cam, that sort of stuff.
The previous NBL record has been 17,143 for a 1999 double-header featuring Sydney, Canberra, West Sydney and Brisbane. The single-match benchmark has been 15,366 for a Melbourne derby in 1996. The Kings have struggled to get 5000 through the door in the dim, dark, not-so-recent past. Bravo for the turnaround.
You turn up expecting to see some sort of physical gangsta freak but instead there’s a slender guy with the appearance of a work experience kid. He’s wearing red headphones and sort of slinking around during the warm-up as if he isn’t sure about where to go or who to talk to. He starts the warm-up with a slam dunk that attracts whistles and applause. He wears No 1 for the Hawks, probably his not-too-subtle prediction of where he’ll land in the NBA Draft. Swagger is in evidence. Flair. Quick feet. Swift hands. Et cetera. He takes unkindly to being called for a flop, as does his coach Matt Flinn, in the 92-87 loss. The Kings have made 28 of 39 free-throw attempts; the Hawks have made 11 from only 18 invitations to the line.
“I’m going to try to not get fined,” Flinn says. “I don’t really want to comment and go down that area. Let’s start a basketball game and shoot 15 foul shots, and then we’ll tip off. Part of our game plan is to get to the foul line and I just didn’t think we did that well enough tonight. I need to go back and look at it before I go too crazy with comments. I think the call on LaMelo in the third quarter, the flop — again, I don’t want to get fined, but I’m pretty sure you need to get warnings before.”
READ MORE: Rise and rise of the NBL
Ball is fouled out shortly after losing possession when the game has still hung in the balance at 83-79. He exits with 16 points next to his name.
“Our message to him all game was mate, stay aggressive,” Flinn says. “He’s doing a better job in starting to lead the team offensively and buying in defensively, too. We always want him to be aggressive. He works really well out of the middle of the floor. He’s a really willing passer. He’s starting to slowly become a better leader, which is really encouraging.”
Kings coach Will Weaver believes more and more NBA-bound American youngsters will come to the NBL when they see the benefits being gained by Ball.
“Hell yeah,” Weaver says. “I give credit to the league for it. And I give credit to these guys forging this trail. Moving away from friends and family and putting their faith in our leagues and our teams. It’s brave and smart and forward thinking and they’re going to reap the rewards.”
Cotton’s big night puts Melbourne United on notice
The Perth Wildcats rode the hot hand of MVP favourite Bryce Cotton to a big win over the Adelaide 36ers meaning the make-up of the top three teams will not be known until the last game of the regular season. See the latest NBL news.
‘I’m done’: Aussie basketball GOAT’s ‘epic ride’ over
It’s been five months since Australian basketball GOAT Lauren Jackson claimed a fifth Olympic medal. One of the greatest competitors in sporting history is finally ready to say “I’m done”, as she tells MICHAEL RANDALL.