NBL Close to 100% Vaccination

The NBL is one step closer to having all of its players fully vaccinated, Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger has revealed.

Loeliger says the encouraging vaccination rate is a credit to the players and should help minimise potential disruptions to the season. 

"We now have in excess of 99 percent of our players vaccinated,” Loeliger told the ABC.

“At last report there's only one player who hasn't yet received their first vaccination dose, which is extremely pleasing…we're very, very proud of our players.

“We went through an extensive education process to ensure that everyone was aware of the implications of not being vaccinated. That's not just the health implications, we of course made our medical experts available to the players to ask questions if they had any specific health concerns, but also the practical implications of not being vaccinated.

“We've started to see certain jurisdictions regulate so that you can only return to work if you've been vaccinated, or you can only enter certain venues if you've been vaccinated.

“We were very transparent about the fact that if you weren't vaccinated, there are going to be certain things beyond our control, which will limit the extent to which you can play.

“At the end of the day, we know professional athletes are very careful about what they put into their bodies. But we also know that ballers want to ball, and they didn't want to be sitting on the pine back at home, watching the team play elsewhere.

“And I think that was a large part of how we got to this really positive vaccination regime.”

The NBL season will tip-off on Friday December 3 with a blockbuster double header on ESPN and Kayo Sports. The Tasmania JackJumpers host the Adelaide 36ers at 7:30pm AEDT before the Perth Wildcats battle the Brisbane Bullets at 9:30pm AEDT.