The state has secured the basketball bonanza which will see 39 games of the NBL regular season played in Victoria in early 2021, including three in regional areas.

The season-opening “Melbourne Throwdown” between hometown teams United and Phoenix on 10 January will be quickly followed by South East Melbourne Phoenix hosting the Hawks on 14 January and Melbourne United battling it out against the New Zealand Breakers on the following day.

The nation’s best basketball then goes into overdrive in Australia’s sporting capital on 20 February, with 36 games to be played across John Cain Arena and the State Basketball Centre. Teams will play for the inaugural NBL Cup during the Melbourne Hub, with the top three teams sharing in $300,000 prize money funded by the NBL.

After the 36 Melbourne Hub games have been played, teams will return to their respective home cities and complete the remainder of the NBL home-and-away season.

Victoria is the undisputed home of basketball in Australia backed by the Victorian Government’s commitment to growing basketball across the state through investments in world-class infrastructure, community programs and high-performance development.

This includes a further $22 million in the Victorian Budget 2020/21 for the redevelopment of the State Basketball Centre at Wantirna South, and the $101 million basketball package in the Victorian Budget 2019/20.