NBL growth drives Boomers' success: Baynes

Expansion of the NBL is quickly becoming an inevitability on the near horizon of the future of basketball in Australia, and Brisbane star Aron Baynes has backed the strength of a bigger competition to translate onto the international stage.

Baynes has pulled on the green and gold for the Boomers extensively over the course of his over decade long career in basketball, and was a member of the nation’s Olympic bronze medal side that travelled to Tokyo.

With the pre-season NBL Blitz being held on the Gold Coast this year, NBL CEO David Stevenson has stated the onus is on fans to turn up to the tournament should the city want to earn its place back in the league, and Baynes believes that talent levels in the local game can easily support a larger pool of teams at the elite level.

“The better the local competition is, the better the country does in international competition,” Baynes said. “And that’s something that’s pretty close to my heart.

“We’ve seen it throughout the rest of the world that the countries that have the best domestic leagues always compete better on the international stage.

“That’s something we’ve been pushing internationally, and you see that development from the sheer numbers of junior participation and the number of guys that are making that leap to the highest level as well.

“It’s a great thing for Australian basketball.”

Baynes has a well-established reputation as a mentor to some of Australia’s top talent on the international stage, and in NBL24 the former NBA champion will link up with emerging local talent Rocco Zikarsky.

Zikarsky has joined the Bullets as the youngest Next Star in the history of the NBL, and will directly compete with Baynes for minutes at the centre position.

Baynes believes the level of talent in the NBL rivals that of almost any competition in the world.

“There’s a lot of great players in the NBL, and it’s shown in the NBA Draft numbers over the last few years,” Baynes said.

“It’s now internationally recognised as a pathway to the NBA which is the highest level of basketball.

“People get to come to a local game and see that, then they get to watch these guys go on to bigger and better things.

“At the same time the NBL is just taking those steps every single year and the competition level is up there with some of the best leagues in the world.”

The NBL Blitz will begin on September 26. For more information on the competition click here.