Bogut has coach mic say

Australian basketball champion Andrew Bogut says the league should continue to innovate and be a differentiator from other leagues, backing the continued mic’ing up of coaches on the sidelines. 

Access to coaches’ audio has been a topic of debate in recent weeks, but Bogut believes it provides fans with an unrivalled insight into the passion of the coaches and the players. 

“It’s a differentiator for the NBL. No one else is doing it,” Bogut said on NBL Overtime, which airs on Tuesday at 7.30pm AEDT on ESPN. 

“When it first happened there were some issues with coaches swearing and forgetting and getting a please explain from the league, but I think that’s kind of tapered down ... people understand it’s emotional.”

The newest member of the NBL commentary team, Bogut says access to the sights and sounds of the game brings fans closer than ever to being inside the stadium itself. 

“This is a good one to see how passionate it is ... how passionate teams are to try and win games in the NBL,” he continued. 

“It’s unique. We need to do things that are different. We can’t just keep copying the AFL and the NRL,” he said.  

“I know for a fact the AFL, NRL, their coaches’ associations will not allow it, so it’s nice the NBL got this one in nice and early.” 

The NBA champion and 2019 NBL MVP is set to provide expert analysis and commentary, offering fans a front-row seat to his unique basketball IQ and firsthand knowledge of the game.

Watch Overtime on ESPN, 7.30pm AEDT Tuesday night, or on-demand via the free NBL App.