NBL1 South
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Current season, competition or edition: 2025 NBL1 season | |
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 |
| First season | 2019 |
| No. of teams | M: 19 W: 19 |
| Country | Australia |
| Continent | FIBA Oceania (Oceania) |
| Most recent champions | M: Sandringham Sabres (1st title) W: Knox Raiders (1st title) |
| Official website | NBL1.com.au/South |
NBL1 South is a semi-professional basketball league in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2019, Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create NBL1. NBL1 South was the lone conference in 2019, with North, Central, West and East joining over the proceeding three years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBL1 South did not have a season in 2020 and only half a season in 2021.
In October 2018, following the demise of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL), Basketball Victoria announced a new senior elite league to take the reins as Australia's pre-eminent semi-professional basketball league. All Victorian-based SEABL teams joined the new league, while Eltham Wildcats, Knox Raiders, Ringwood Hawks and Waverley Falcons also joined the league from the Big V.[1] The North-West Tasmania Thunder men and Launceston Tornadoes women also kept their place, as did the BA Centre of Excellence.[1] In February 2019, the league was named NBL1 after Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL).[2][3]
The NBL1 in 2019 was a single league and consisted of one conference. After a successful first season, the NBL expanded the NBL1 in 2020 by introducing Basketball Victoria's inaugural 2019 league and teams as the new South Conference and partnering with Basketball Queensland and Basketball South Australia to make the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) and South Australian Premier League the new North and Central conferences.[4][5][6] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled for all three conferences.[7]
On 1 September 2021, the 2021 NBL1 South season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria. With a combined 154 men's and women's games that could not be completed, it was decided to abandon the season with no champions and no individual awards.[8]
Current clubs
Former and defunct clubs
- Albury Wodonga Bandits (2019–2021) – moved to NBL1 East in 2022
- BA Centre of Excellence (2019) – NBL1 Wildcard conference (2022), NBL1 East (2023–present)
- Hobart Huskies (2019) – defunct
- Launceston Tornadoes (2019–2025) – merged into Northern Force
- North-West Tasmania Thunder (2019–2025) – merged into Northern Force