Basketball year in review: Boomers, Ben Simmons and the teens who shook the world

Stories of the year: Ben Simmons goes No. 1 and Australia win under-17 women's world championship

Simmons was the talk of the basketball world when he went pick No. 1 in the NBA draft in June, while in July the Sapphires dominated the under-17 women's world championship, including a semi-final win over the US, to claim gold.

Broken foot: Ben SimmonsCredit: MATT SLOCUM

Simmons is now the face of the Philadelphia 76ers but after looking impressive in the NBA Summer League he broke a bone in his foot and has yet to play this season.

Simmons could make his debut in the new year or the Sixers may hold him out until next season – either way he and No. 10 pick Thon Maker, also Australian, will carry the nation's colours at NBA level for years to come.

The Sapphires went into the world championships in Spain with athletic centre Ezi Magbegor looking promising and coach Shannon Seebohm unproven at international level.

Their pressing, relentless running game saw them blow away the competition as Magbegor won tournament MVP and Jasmine Simmons (no relation to Ben) and Monique Conti joined her in the all-star five.

They beat Team USA 73-60 in the semi-finals, then dominated Italy in the gold-medal game, winning 62-38 to claim the world title.

Opals legend Michele Timms also went into the FIBA Hall of Fame – Timms' pioneering play in Europe and the WNBA set the path for those teens to walk in years to come.

Issue of the year: The rise of the NBL, the struggles of the WNBL

The NBL is continuing to invest in its future but the women's league battles to earn any attention at all.

Overseas stars like Dave Andersen, Cameron Bairstow and Brad Newley returned to bolster the domestic talent, while an additional import has won over fans.

Larry Kestelman and like-minded owners are putting in the money and effort to promote the NBL, but at the same time the WNBL struggles from the absence of such financial clout.

Kestelman pushed the NBL to start its own production company to produce its own television broadcasts – it was a major investment but one that has improved the feel and quality of the broadcast, which is also streamed into China and India

The league also ran an NBA Basketball Without Borders camp in Dandenong and had two Chinese Basketball Association clubs at its pre-season tournament with more CBA and NBL crossovers to come.

On court the WNBL continues to produce world-level talent but bigger European clubs are taking more of those players while the lack of regular television coverage has the league out of the picture for most Australian eyeballs.

The clubs demanded Basketball Australia put more resources into the league this season, it has but it can't match what the bigger men's sports are doing with their women's leagues.

Perth Lynx earned a two-game trial with 7Mate in Western Australia just before Christmas. It was a boost built from the club's own live-streamed games.

This season's competition is again compelling and stars like Sara Blicavs, Carley Mijovic and Kelsey Griffin are as impressive as any female athletes in the country.

But media coverage and corporate sponsorship aren't given out to on merit – the league needs to find a way to cut through.

Star of the year: NBL managing director Larry Kestelman

In a year filled with NBA and international success, one wealthy man's vision for the NBL is starting to take shape.

Kestelman took over the NBL 19 months ago, with the league on the brink with only six teams sure of starting the coming season.

The former Dodo co-founder invested many millions plus much of his valuable time in turning the NBL around and he and his team are getting results.

The Brisbane Bullets are back, Sydney Kings have wealthy international owners and a bevy of elite players have returned from Europe or the NBA.

All eight sides remain in the finals race and Adelaide import Terrance Ferguson is poised to be an NBA draft pick and open the way for other precious US teenagers to follow him in future seasons.

The NBL has much work to do in becoming profitable but Kestelman's vision is giving it a chance.

His goal is for the NBL to be the biggest sports entertainment product in the country. It seemed a pipe dream at first but with connections to China, India and the NBA continuing to flourish, anything is possible.

Controversy of the year: Boomers lose bronze, Opals miss medals

A phantom foul call on Patty Mills robbed the Boomers of an Olympic bronze medal while the Opals went from an iron-clad unit two years ago to a side that couldn't summon its best as it was knocked out of the quarter-finals in Rio.

The Boomers were up one point with five seconds left, a late whistle for a blocking foul on Mills gave Spain's Sergio Rodriquez the chance to regain the lead, his two free throws were good and the Boomers' bronze-medal dreams were dashed.

Conversely, the Opals' missed out on a medal for the first time since 1992.

Liz Cambage's Rio form was sublime but with WNBA stars Penny Taylor and Erin Phillips unable to join the team until two weeks before the tournament and less-experienced players looking under pressure, the Opals appeared unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

With the under-17 women's side winning the world title and our under-19s looking good too, there continues to be talent coming through but forming our best Opals team remains the challenge of the future.

Quote of the year: 31-year-old Damian Martin on making the Boomers for Rio.

"Each guy had a 10-minute meeting with the coaches and I'm not going to lie, when Luc Longley opened the door he wouldn't look me in the eye – I thought 'oh this is not going to go the way I was hoping'," Martin said.

"But they had actually set me up because [coach] Andrej [Lemanis] started saying how hard it was to cut me for the London Olympics and how he was in the same position again.

"So I thought I'm going to get up, shake their hands and get out of there – then he goes but I'm not going to do it – you are going to Rio.

"It was one of the most amazing feelings of my life, then I got to go downstairs and share that moment with my wife, in particular, and then my parents. I still haven't spoken to mum because as soon as I told her she just burst out crying and cried the rest of the conversation."

Match of the year: Boomers v Team USA in Rio. All over the world people tuned in to see the NBA-laden Australians attempt the impossible, a win over Team USA.

They almost did it.

The Boomers led at half-time and the likes of Matthew Dellavedova, Andrew Bogut and Patty Mills (30 points) had the team within four points with 90 seconds to play.

But Carmelo Anthony's nine three-pointers and 31 points plus a dagger three-pointer from Australian-born US guard Kyrie Irving saw the US win 98-88.

The Australian audience reached unprecedented levels with a peak of 850,000 tuning in on TV and 450,000 live streams logging on, while millions more tuned in around the world.

The Boomers will hope to have Ben Simmons, Dante Exum and Thon Maker plus Mills and co all primed for Tokyo 2020.

Rematch anyone?

The sad moment: Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor retire

For almost 20 years the Opals boasted not one, but two of the world's finest players and despite injury-marred endings, both Jackson and Taylor will forever sit among the best women's players of all-time.

Their retirements hand the national team over to present stars like Liz Cambage and Rachel Jarry and leave the side in a fight to return to the world's elite.

Other nations are bolstering their women's programs and domestically Australian sports are raiding our best young talent. Producing future Jacksons and Taylors will be much tougher.

But both superstars showed Australian women our basketballers had no ceiling, the next generation of Opals has a big job ahead to replace them.

A prediction for next season: Australian connections to the NBA will go beyond double figures

It may not seem a big call with eight Australians already in this year's competition but it would be a major milestone if two or more Australians moved into the big time next season.

There are a few promising talents playing US college basketball like Deng Adel and Isaac Humphries, while the likes of Boomers Ryan Broekhoff, Brock Motum, Cameron Bairstow and Chris Goulding are ready to play NBA roles.

Plus former NBL imports like Jordan McRae and James Ennis are also playing NBA after honing their games Down Under.

The impact of ongoing success at NBA level can't be underestimated, every Australian who makes "The Association" shows many more athletes they should look beyond domestic footy stardom.