The resurgence of the National Basketball League, along with a slew of top-flight Australians playing overseas, is having major flow-on effects on local basketball.
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Basketball Ballarat has 500 teams entered in the 2019 championship season. The firgure marks an all-time high for domestic basketball in Ballarat, which also includes a record 343 junior teams.
Basketball Ballarat CEO Peter Eddy said the resurgence of the NBL and WNBL had a lot to do with the sport's rise in popularity, which has grown every year in Ballarat since 2014.
He said with players such as Patty Mills and Andrew Bogut also making headlines in the NBA, the sport's interest was higher than it had been in decades.
"The community is seeing the game on free-to-air television again, so the opportunity to watch games at a high quality level has been really good," Eddy said.
"Each sport is reliant on having a good profile and successful national and international competitions to encourage kids to take up the sport."
The figure represents a far-cry from 2012 when a survey showed that a lack of available courts, and late game times in the senior ranks were having a detrimental impact on the sport's numbers.
Eddy said with a new six-court complex set to come on line in July, the period could represent a boom-time in not just basketball, but also other sports
He said with Ballarat attracting kids from as far as Clunes, Maryborough and Horsham, Ballarat could provide a great pathway into the professional ranks.
"If we can provide a good base and a pathway, then Ballarat will be part of a journey to one day playing in Melbourne or the NBL," he said.