The State Basketball League is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia. The league comprises both a women's and men's competition and is run by the state's governing body, Basketball Western Australia. The league was founded in 1989 after Basketball Western Australia sought to expand their Perth-based District Competition. The SBL is one of six major state-based semi-professional leagues in Australia and sits under the country's two professional leagues – the NBL and WNBL.
History
The State Basketball League originated in 1972 as the District Competition. The District Competition was introduced by the Western Australian Basketball Federation as an 'elite' competition held on Friday nights, featuring eight Perth-based associations from the prominent districts of Perth, Swan Districts, Tangney/Willetton, Subiaco, East Perth, Cockburn, Stirling, and Claremont. In 1986, the competition was rebranded as the "State League". This name continued in 1987, but 1987 was something of a watershed year for the WABF, as the entire structure of the game in Western Australia was being reconsidered. A census in 1987 showed that 61 percent of WABF members were from country areas, so it was decided to try to include several country teams in the state's premier basketball league. The Perth Wildcats had a hugely successful season in 1987—reaching the NBL Grand Final in their first trip to the finals—attracting much television coverage, which saw basketball's popularity soar. In 1988, it was decided to form a State Basketball League for both men and women, and to develop it into an elite, statewide competition as soon as possible. This meant seeking out private owners and attracting corporate sponsorship, so as to not burden the association. As part of basketball's development, the Western Australian Institute of Sport men's team was included in the SBL under Warren Kuhn. Simon Leunig, who had been the WABF's development officer, was appointed general manager of the SBL, and set about organising an expanded league for 1989. His marketing strategy paid off, and three new franchises were established in country areas: the Rainbow Coast Raiders from Albany were the first, followed by the Batavia Buccaneers from Geraldton and the Souwest Slammers from Bunbury. The expanded SBL, which was limited to men's teams in 1989, was sponsored by McDonald's and Skywest, with a $65,000 grant from the State Government to help with travel costs.
Current teams
WSBL
MSBL
Regular season
During the Australian summer, teams begin preparing for the upcoming season, as they host try-outs and trial games, reacquire the services of returning players, and scout for overseas imports. By the end of February, most teams have had their imports arrive in Western Australia and begin training with the rest of the playing group. Import players are most commonly recruited from the United States, with each team allowed two 'restricted' players on their roster. While most teams sign two imports, some do choose to fill a restricted player spot with a NBL or WNBL player. In early March, the annual SBL Pre-Season Blitz tournament is held at either Warwick Stadium or Bendat Basketball Centre. The tournament is usually held over a weekend and features all 26 teams competing in a number of exhibition games. During the regular season, each MSBL team plays 26 games, 13 each home and away; while each WSBL team plays 22 games, 11 each home and away. Games are played on Friday nights, Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Special weekend blockbusters happen every year, such as Easter Round and Anzac Round, with games often being played on Easter Sunday and Anzac Day. Other special-occasion rounds include Women's Round, Rivalry Round and Heritage Round. Prior to 2017, the MSBL was one of only a few leagues in the world to use the 48-minute game format. To align the competition with all State Leagues across Australia, as well as the NBL and international events such as World Cups and the Olympics, Basketball Western Australia made the decision to have the MSBL play under the 40-minute game format in-line with FIBA for the 2017 season. Every year since 2015, an SBL All-Star day is held on WA Day at Bendat Basketball Centre. In 2019, after four years of North v South, the league introduced Australia v World for the first time. Other attractions of the day include a Three-Point Shootout during half-time of both the WSBL and MSBL All-Star games. Around August, the regular season ends. Teams are ranked according to their win/loss ratio. If at the end of the regular season, two or more teams have an identical record, then positions are decided on a head-to-head basis. If they cannot be split after that, then for/against percentage is taken into account.
Finals
The SBL Finals begins in early August and finishes in early September, with the top eight teams in each competition competing for their respective Championship. The first two rounds of the finals structure, the quarter-finals and semi-finals, are played using a best-of-three series. The higher ranked team hosts games one and three, and plays game two away; with an exception being: any playoff series involving Geraldton or Goldfields will be played under the pre-2016 format with the higher ranked team playing away for game one, then home for games two and three. Every year, Basketball Western Australia hosts an SBL Grand Final weekend at Bendat Basketball Centre to determine the champion teams of the WSBL and MSBL, with the WSBL championship game on the Friday night and the MSBL championship game on the Saturday night. All Grand Finals have been played in a one-game championship decider, except in 1995 when a best-of-three series was introduced for both competitions.
League championships
The Willetton Tigers have won the most championships in the women's competition with 8 WSBL Grand Final wins, while the Perry Lakes Hawks have won the most championships in the men's competition with 6 MSBL Grand Final wins. The Lady Hawks have also amassed seven titles, making Perry Lakes the most successful club in SBL history with a total of 13 championships.
