The NBL continues to go from strength to strength, as the league set a new record for the highest total attendance for a regular season round after 67,206 fans attended nine games across Round 13.
It smashes the previous record of 61,990 set across 10 games in round three of the 1995 season. Attendance highlights from the round included:
• The top of the ladder blockbuster between Sydney Kings and Perth Wildcats at Qudos Bank Arena had the biggest attendance of the round of 11,569 • 27,354 fans attended the three games in Melbourne, a new record for the highest total attendance in a regular season round in Melbourne. The previous record was 24,768 in Round 16, 1994 • The Cairns Taipans sold out their New Year’s Eve game against South East Melbourne Phoenix at the Cairns Convention Centre • The Illawarra Hawks recorded their highest home attendance since the 2010 Grand Final, when 5,064 fans watched them upset Sydney on New Year’s Eve • A total of 576,739 fans have attended games so far this season, a 17 per cent increase on the same period for the 2018-19 season.
With just five wins separating first to eighth place on the ladder, the NBL is also enjoying one of its closest seasons ever, with some historical numbers including:
• The average winning margin of 10.1 points is on track to be the lowest in NBL history • 45 games have been decided by single figures, which is 54 per cent of all games • 11 of the last 16 games have been won by the lower ranked team • Teams are averaging 92.93 points per game, the first time in history the NBL has averaged above 90 in the 40-minute era
“I want to thank everyone who has come out across Australia and New Zealand to watch the NBL so far this season,” NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said.
“Thanks to the hard work of our clubs and players, the NBL has established itself as a world class sports entertainment product and fans continue to attend games in their droves in what is one of the closest and most competitive seasons yet.
“The record is all the more remarkable as it was set in a round where no games were played in Perth where the biggest attendances are traditionally drawn.
“I also want to acknowledge the contribution made by a number of NBL clubs already to support those affected by the terrible bushfires across Australia.
"As a leading sporting code, we have an obligation to support those communities affected and we will announce some further initiatives shortly.”