Basketball in Australia

Basketball in Australia
Basketball in Australia
	Ten-time NBL champions, the Perth Wildcats
Country	Australia
Governing body	Basketball Australia
National team(s)	Basketball
Nickname(s)	Boomers (Men); Opals (Women)
First played	23 February 1897, Adelaide, South Australia
Registered players	1,056,012 (adult); 325,261 (children)
Clubs	93 (Men); 90 (Women); 183 (Total)
National competitions
	List Summer Olympics; FIBA Oceania Championship; FIBA Oceania Championship for Women; FIBA Basketball World Cup; FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup; ;
Club competitions
	List Professional National Basketball League; Women's National Basketball League; ; Semi-professional Big V; NBL1 Central; NBL1 North; NBL1 South; NBL1 West; NBL1 East; ; ;
Audience records
Single match	17,514 (2019) NBL: Sydney Kings v. Illawarra Hawks (Qudos Bank Arena)
Season	896,408 - 2019–20 NBL season

In Australia, Basketball is a popular participation and spectator sport played both indoors and outdoors. According to Ausplay, in 2024 1,056,012 Australian adults play basketball making it the second highest team participation sport in the country. Around 4.6% of Australian adults, and 6.7% of Australian children play basketball. Over a quarter of Australian basketballers are female.

Basketball in Australia experienced a golden age in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, during which the National Basketball League saw its halcyon days. However, its popularity, media attention, attendance, and corporate support deteriorated during the 2000s. From the mid-2010s, the sport saw renewed interest following a record number of Australians playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States.