Why British Basketball is on the rise

The British Basketball League is growing in stature and attracting some big names. With its trajectory only going up, it’s an exciting time to be a part of British basketball.

When James Naismith invented the game of basketball in late 1891, Everton had just won the title in the third-ever season of the English Football League. Fast forward 132 years, and the sport of football is still the dominant activity in the UK, and much of Europe. But the emergence of social media, increased television coverage, and ease of access over the last few decades have opened British eyes to the sport of basketball.

After its inaugural season in 1987, the British Basketball League endured a fairly rocky start to life as it tried to wrestle away fans from football, rugby, cricket, and other sports in the UK, but did draw success in the late 90s with primetime slots on national television. A 10-year, £22 million pound contract was signed with broadcaster NTL, but within two years, they had filed for bankruptcy. ITV Digital picked up the rights but themselves went under 18 months later, robbing the BBL of £21 million worth of investment, and untold national exposure. The BBL has struggled ever since and never really reached the heights it had around the turn of the millennium, thanks in large part to underfunding and the sport’s lack of status in comparison to others. The league has seen a return to Sky Sports in recent years but its presence across the sports network is relatively understated, rarely featuring anywhere other than the minor channels. But the BBL’s popularity has grown over the last decade, with more fans attending games and more teams applying to be part of the league, and the trend looks to be continuing upwards.

To start the 2022-23 season, the league’s two most successful teams over the last few years, the Leicester Riders and London Lions, both represented the BBL in Europe, a feat scarcely achieved by British teams. The Lions took part in the EuroCup, Europe’s secondary level of continental competition behind only the elite EuroLeague. Having exposure across Europe, as well as the additional revenue it brings, is seen as a huge bridge for the BBL to elevate itself to the top table of European basketball.

Another way of doing this is by having big names on the team sheets. Traditionally, ex-NBA players have been hard to come by in the UK, with salary cap restraints and the aforementioned lack of stature proving a stumbling block in attracting any of the more noticeable faces. However, any casual NBA fan from the last decade or so will likely recognise the names Sam Dekker and Kosta Koufos. Both players now suit up for the London Lions and had prolonged NBA careers. The now-33-year-old Koufos appeared in almost 700 regular season games across his 5-team, 12-year career, while the more youthful Dekker appeared in 201 NBA games across his 6-year career. Dekker has arguably been the BBL’s best player in his brief career thus far, and his highlight plays and NBA-level explosiveness often gets fans in arenas and out of their seats. Dekker and Koufos are currently the only two players in the BBL who had been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft (Dekker at 15 in 2015, and Koufos at 23 in 2008). Only two other players in the UK are ex-NBA-draftees, with Tomislav Zubčić and Miye Oni, both also of the London Lions, taken late in the second rounds of 2012 and 2019 respectively.

Having a couple of ex-NBA players in British arenas is one thing, but being able to watch NBA teams going against each other is another thing entirely. Between 2011 and 2019, the NBA hosted nine regular season games in London’s O2 Arena as part of their ‘Global Games’ project. Every year, the games sold out without fail. Arguably the most notable game took place in January 2018, with the Boston Celtics beating the Philadelphia 76ers, and the packed stands were treated to a star-studded line-up. Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, and Jaylen Brown all laced up for the Celtics, while Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons took to the court in Philly colours. Nowadays, despite the NBA London game moving over to Paris, the NBA experience is easy to take in from across the pond. Regular coverage across Sky Sports and the introduction of the NBA League Pass have allowed fans to watch their favourite teams and players live, or, most likely, on catch-up.

While the BBL is still some way away from the NBA and Europe’s elite leagues, the recruitment of former NBA players and the popularity of the sport as a whole is encouraging. The potential of the league is clear to see, and Miami-based investment firm 777 certainly agrees. 777 purchased a 45% stake in the league in late 2021 and invested £7 million off the bat, alongside an extensive growth strategy. Since then, the quality of broadcasting has improved and accessibility for the casual fan has grown. Watching a BBL game is now easier than ever and coverage online is importantly free, thus widening the net of potential consumers. The league has re-structured behind the scenes as well, with the appointment of vastly experienced Aaron Radin as the BBL’s new Chief Executive Officer. More sponsorship opportunities have followed suit too, IMG Arena has secured their piece of the pie with a data and streaming deal for the league. The new outlook for the BBL is increasingly positive, and it looks like the board of directors are serious about enhancing the league and the sport in the UK.

As well as the structural developments, the physical infrastructure of the league is on the up too. New state-of-the-art basketball-specific arenas are on the horizon, namely a new 3,626 seater home for the Bristol Flyers in Bristol’s new Sporting Quarter which is sure to be a catalyst for the appeal of basketball in the area, and the modern centre will challenge the Copper Box Arena in London and Emirates Arena in Glasgow as the portfolio of elite basketball stadia in the UK grows.

Any business strategist will tell you that if you want to have future success, look to the young generation. When BBL CEO Aaron Radin said his plan was to elevate British basketball into the number two sport behind football, he wasn’t exaggerating. According to a recent study by the Department of Culture and Media Sport, basketball is now the second most played sport by children between the ages of 11 and 15 years in the UK. In addition to increased levels of participation, basketball’s overall popularity score among all child age groups has now surpassed both cricket and rugby.

Kids have always had their favourite footballers to emulate in the park, the odd cricketer or maybe a rugby player too, but with an increase in British presence at the top level thanks to the likes of OG Anunoby and Jeremy Sochan, and the continued growth of the BBL, it may not be long until we see an influx of British players in the NBA.

The wrestling match hasn’t yet been won, but the shift of power away from historically popular sports in the UK towards basketball among the country’s youth shows that the future of British basketball is most definitely bright.