NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

league in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020,

Basketball Western Australia Basketball Western Australia is the governing body for the sport of basketball in the state of Western Australia. It is responsible for overseeing the development, promotion, and administration of basketball throughout Western Australia. The organ ...

partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to bring

NBL1 The NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball league in Australia run by the National Basketball League (NBL). The league consists of five conferences: NBL1 South, NBL1 North, NBL1 Central, NBL1 West and NBL1 East, with each consisting of bot ...

to Western Australia. NBL1 replaced the former SBL to create more professional pathways and opportunities for males and females playing basketball in Western Australia. As a result, the SBL became the west conference of NBL1.

History

The State Basketball League originated in 1972 as the District Competition. The District Competition was introduced by the Western Australian Basketball Federation (WABF) as an 'elite' competition held on Friday nights, featuring eight

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

-based associations from the prominent districts of Perth, Swan Districts, Tangney/Willetton, Subiaco, East Perth, Cockburn, Stirling, and Claremont. In 1987, plans were put in place to expand the competition and include several country teams. In 1988, it was decided to form a State Basketball League for both men and women, and in 1989 the SBL made its debut season with three new franchises established in country areas: Rainbow Coast Raiders from Albany, Batavia Buccaneers from

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

, and Souwest Slammers from Bunbury. Kanyana Kings from

Mandurah Mandurah ( ) is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 90,306. Mandurah's central business dis ...

and

Goldfields Giants Goldfields Giants is an NBL1 West club based in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is owned by the Goldfields Basketball Association (GBA), the major administrative basketball ...

from

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

joined in 1990. In 2017, the SBL shifted to the 40-minute game format in-line with FIBA, with games consisting of ten minute quarters as opposed to the twelve minute quarters under the previous 48-minute format. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the 2020 SBL season was cancelled and later replaced by the amateur-based West Coast Classic. In October 2020, Basketball Western Australia and the National Basketball League (NBL) announced a new partnership to bring

to Western Australia in 2021, with NBL1 replacing the SBL. The SBL was officially renamed NBL1 West and became the west conference of NBL1.

Current clubs

Women's teams

Men's teams

League championships

Perry Lakes Hawks championship banners 2024

The

Willetton Tigers Willetton Tigers is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Willetton Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organi ...

have won the most championships in the women's competition with 9 Grand Final wins, while the

Perry Lakes Hawks Perry Lakes Hawks is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Perry Lakes Basketball Association (PLBA), the major administrative basketball org ...

have won the most championships in the men's competition with 7 Grand Final wins. The Hawks women have also amassed seven titles, making Perry Lakes the most successful club in league history with a total of 14 championships.

References

External links

*
Old SBL website

"Perth Wildcats owner Mark Arena makes NBL1 West the priority for players and coaches in off-season"
at thewest.com.au {{Basketball in Australia NBL1 Basketball in Western Australia Basketball leagues in Australia 1989 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1989