NBL Opportunity Unmatched: Stevenson

New NBL CEO David Stevenson says the league has the biggest growth opportunity of any professional sporting code in Australia.  

Stevenson was announced as CEO on Thursday and has expressed his excitement about the heights the competition can reach. 

“I can’t think of another sport in this country that has the same opportunity that the NBL does,” Stevenson told Fox Sports News. 

“The growth that’s been delivered over the last four or five years with Larry (Kestelman) and Jeremy (Loeliger) and the team has been nothing short of remarkable.

“I’m really excited to be able to take that next step of growth and really bring some innovation and boldness to the NBL.

“One of the great things about the NBL is their ability to move quickly, their ability to listen to fans and to be able to see growth opportunities around the corner that perhaps not everyone can see.

“I think what you’ll see in five years’ time is a much bigger competition, a deeper connection to the fans, strong clubs, and then who knows? Maybe some new teams, some international expansion, and then more and more eyeballs on the NBL, both in Australia and across the globe.” 

Stevenson brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the NBL, having previously held positions at the AFL as General Manager of Operations, the Western Bulldogs as CEO and Nike as VP & GM of Emerging Markets.

Set to start at the NBL in July, he’s keen to gauge opinions from a range of people in basketball, before laying out a growth plan for the league. 

“My big focus as a leader is always to listen and ask questions and learn first, before coming up with plans and developing those with the team,” Stevenson said. 

“I’m keen to ask a lot of questions … what I do see though is tremendous opportunity. 

“I’m really looking forward to getting in, learning, listening to fans, listening to our clubs, listening to the players, our broadcasters and fantastic partners … I feel that if we keep listening and asking enough of the right questions, we’re going to see tremendous growth continuing and take the next phase. 

“That’s both primarily here, in Australia and New Zealand, as the number one focus, but it’s also some amazing international opportunities that at the right time will create an incredible growth at the NBL.”

Stevenson was one of the key drivers behind the AFL’s successful Gather Round, which saw all teams converge on South Australia and play every game last weekend in the state.

Seeing a range of benefits bringing the entire league together in one place, much like the NBL does for the pre-season Blitz and the 2021 NBL Cup, Stevenson is open to investigating a Gather Round concept to the regular season. 

“I think that there’s tremendous opportunity when you bring the whole eco-system of a sport together; this notion of aggregation that not only you bring great games together, but you bring fans together and supplement that with activities and great events,” he said. 

“The NBL has had a lot great success doing that in the past, but based on the success of Gather Round which certainly exceeded all of the expectations for the AFL and the South Australian Government (and the clubs) … it’s a great concept. I think it can continue to grow at the AFL and I’m really keen to explore what that looks like in the NBL.” 

One of the first items on Stevenson’s agenda will be expansion, with several states showing interest in establishing an NBL team. 

A strong formula on NBL expansion has been created by the South East Melbourne Phoenix and Tasmania JackJumpers, and that blueprint will need to be followed for any new teams. 

“There’s been lots of interest in another team coming to the NBL and frankly we’ve had conversations across all of the states and internationally as well,” Stevenson said.

“It’s not just an easy process – you need to make sure you’ve got strong fan support and continuing across all the great momentum we’ve seen at the other teams.

“Secondly, you need strong government support, particularly from an infrastructure perspective, and thirdly you need great corporate partners. 

“We want to make sure that when we do add in new teams, that they’re going to be successful from the word go.”

Stevenson revealed the NBL is interested in growing the entire sport of basketball in Australia, which could include helping the WNBL in the future. 

 “Along with great partners like Basketball Australia, we’ve love to see the WNBL continue to be successful. Anything we can do to help we’ll certainly commit to, as they will with us,” he added. 

Stevenson will work closely with NBL Executive Director and Owner, Larry Kestelman, and Commissioner, Jeremy Loeliger, in his role. 

“The approach across the NBL is really a one-team approach. I’ll work really closely with Larry and Jeremy, we’ve got a fantastic team, but we don’t really care who gets the credit,” Stevenson said.

“We’re more interested in driving the great results that have been happening and we look forward to continuing that momentum into the future.

“No egos at the NBL, we’re all about trying to win together as a team.”