Kelly: NBL's Finest Hour

Having played and coached in the NBL for the best part of 25 seasons, Mike Kelly knows all there is to know about the League.

He’s been through the highs and lows, from the glory days of the mid 90s as a player, to the NBL’s toughest times in the early 2010s, and now through to a new era of success.

According to the new South East Melbourne Phoenix coach, the League has never been in better shape. 

“The hype is off the charts wherever you go; whether it’s in each individual city, or even just on ESPN and Kayo and on the news, it’s amazing,” Kelly told SEN. 

“The style of play and the talent level, guys coming from our League straight into the NBA, it’s at a high level.

“The professionalism of the League, led by a central figure and office – Larry Kestelman and and Jeremy Loeliger ... it just seems a little more cohesive there.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Great to have new <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SEMelbPhoenix</a> coach Mike Kelly on the show<a href="https://t.co/9xFf8D6puh">https://t.co/9xFf8D6puh</a></p>&mdash; Andy &amp; Gazey (@TheRunHomeSEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRunHomeSEN/status/1641319555543994368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The NBL23 season saw huge increases in viewership, crowd records broken and a standard of play unrivalled in recent years. 

According to Kelly, the League is in a better place than it’s even been, even in comparison to that incredible period during the early and mid 90s.

“I think it’s surpassed it when you take everything into account,” Kelly said. 

This year, the NBL boasted its highest attendance numbers since 1996, as the Sydney Kings were crowned back-to-back Champions in front of an all-time record crowd.