If there is a league that has been standing out as a petri dish of new talents and also for the quality of its product, it is certainly the NBL. In the last edition of the NBA Draft, for example, LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton were selected in the first round, the Australian Josh Green who played for the Arizona team and the American Justinian Jessup who was selected by the Golden State, but who for now will play at the NBL with the Hawks for further development.
The league is ambitious, it has good strategic business proximity to the NBA and certainly growth potential. Along these lines, the NBL decided last season that it should expand the number of participating teams from nine to ten and opened a popular vote on possible venues for the expansion, which is slated to start in the 2021-22 season.
At the end of voting and twenty-five years after the last participation in the league, Tasmania, an Australian island which is home to approximately 500,000 people, was chosen as the headquarters of the 10th team for the next NBL season. The state already has an impressive basketball history having hosted three former teams in the league: Devonport Warriors (1983-1984), the Hobart Devils (1983-1996) and the Launceston Casino City Tigers (1980-1982).
As a way to develop and ensure long-term sustainability, the Tasmanian government has pledged to sponsor the team and renovate the Derwent Entertainment Center, where the new franchise will be headquartered.
In a statement, the current Prime Minister of Tasmania, Peter Gutwein, said: “We have been clear that any deal for our state to have an NBL team of its own would need to represent significant value for Tasmanians, and the final agreements should see not only an economic injection of $102 million but also the creation of over 1,000 jobs.”
In order to choose the new name of the team, another popular poll was conducted in which new fans felt more present in the creation process, and the final name chosen was Jack Jumpers, referring to the name given to a very present species of Australian ants on the island and as their name suggests, they are known for their ability to jump long distances. The new brand was launched with the video above and the following manifesto:
“We're fearless in spirit. We're energized and exciting. And we're finally here.
We've been given the opportunity to start something new and we'll attack it with ferocity, passion and integrity on and off the court.
By doing this, we'll build an Ant Army, starting with 500,000 Tasmanians, marching to victory every week.
We'll play our hearts out for the whole of Tasmania and represent the state on the world stage.
On the court and in the community, we're Tasmania's Club. We are the Tasmania Jack Jumpers.”
The Jack Jumpers' new home, Derwent Entertainment Center, is undergoing a $68 million renovation backed by government funding and will be ready before the team's debut next season. The plan is to increase the fan arena capacity to host concerts, improve transmission technology, create training centers and also have all the necessary infrastructure to receive tourists with hotels, shops and restaurants around the arena.
The team has not yet been completely picked, but it has already hired a young star of only 18 years of age, it is the point guard born in Tasmania Sejr Deans, having already played in the NBA Global Academy and sub-19 selection of Australia. In addition to him, the team has already signed with the American Scott Roth for the position of head coach and the Australian Mark Radford as assistant coach.
Tasmania's expectations are nothing short of amazing and the arrival of the team will be a key factor in the region's development in terms of economy, tourism and general development that sports generate. The proposal is really ambitious, in a few years from now basketball will become the most popular sport on the island and who knows, we might not be able to run into a Brazilian like Scott Machado or another athlete on the new team.
