The NBL is continuing to work with the Australian Basketball Players’ Association (ABPA), NBL Clubs and venues to address the issue of court maintenance.

After a meeting between the NBL, the ABPA and its Player Delegates, NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said: “Player safety is paramount and the NBL is working closely with the ABPA, Clubs and venues to ensure all appropriate measures are taken to protect this.

“This includes addressing the drying and cleaning of courts. It is a longstanding issue with our sport, not just the NBL, that any moisture on polished wooden floors can contribute to unnecessary slippages and we are working closely with the Clubs to ensure that moisture on the court is addressed quickly and rigorously during the course of any game and that courts are kept as dry as possible.

“In relation to advertising decals, we became aware of an abnormally high number of slippages in the opening game of the season in Adelaide and immediately took steps to identify and address the issue with venue management. Independent analysis found the decals we use not only meet the tolerances required by FIBA and international standards, but that they sit very close to the “ideal” standard. 

“Nevertheless, the ABPA has raised further concerns with us and we are working with them to address this on top of the work undertaken in the off-season to procure the market leading product in this regard."

NBL Owner and Executive Chairman Larry Kestelman said: “On-court advertising provides an essential source of revenue for the league and Clubs to fund NBL operations including items such as referee costs and the production of our broadcast, which in turn is essential to the revenue generating capacity of our Clubs.

“The NBL uses multi-purpose courts, which are owned by multi-purpose venues, and as such painted courts are simply not an option at this stage. The economics of virtual signage have been closely explored but are not viable. However, we will continue to look at all options and work closely with all venues and Clubs to ensure best practice for player safety is protected.”