NBL 2025/26 Updates and Changes
What’s changed from last season? Plenty! This season’s coach changes and lineup switch-ups promise a surprising season of twists and turns. Key changes to keep an eye on this season include:
- Former Perth Wildcats star Bryce Cotton’s move to the Adelaide 36ers.
- Jaylen Adams moves from the Sydney Kings to the Brisbane Bullets.
- Two Tasmania JackJumpers players, Fabijan Krslovic and Milton Doyle, move to Melbourne United.
- Izaiah Brockington joins the New Zealand Breakers.
- JaVale McGee takes position in reigning champions’ Illawarra Hawks’ lineup.
Will this season’s signings create the magic formula needed to dethrone the Illawarra Hawks? Watch NBL live to find out!
Introducing the New NBL Ignite Cup
This season, NBL fans will be treated to an extra 20 games thanks to the new Ignite Cup in-season tournament.
The new tournament sees every team play four extra games, two of which will be at home, two away. The winning team will secure themselves an extra three points, plus $300,000 prize money - so there’s everything to play for!
Ignite Cup games will be played on Wednesday evenings, so don’t miss out on the action!
More About NBL
With the success of the 2024-25 season, which attracted over 1.1 million Australians, the National Basketball League (NBL) is now the fastest-growing sporting league in Australia. Broadcasters expect NBL 2025-26 viewership to be even higher!
While the league’s prominence dropped in the 2000s, NBL saw a major resurgence in the mid-2010s, which continues up to this day. As future NBA players fill teams across the league, Australasia’s basketball league is only going to get bigger in the years to come.
In the 2024-25 season final in March, the Illawarra Hawks emerged as the ultimate victor, defeating Melbourne United. Will they pull it off again? There’s only one way to find out: watch every game live via your streaming provider of choice!
FAQs
The NBL broadcast rights in Australia continue to be shared between ESPN (available via Foxtel, Foxtel Now, Kayo Sports, and Fetch TV) and free-to-air Network Ten. As of 26 March 2025, ESPN is also available on Disney+. There are, however, only select games available on Channel 10 and 10Play.
2024-25 NBL season replays and highlights are available to watch for free on Channel 10’s catch-up streaming service, 10Play. Channel 10 has also confirmed it will provide free-to-air NBL on Sundays at 2:30pm (AEDT) into 2025-26.
Some will, yes. ESPN will broadcast every NBL game live, which basketball fans can access by signing up to Kayo, Foxtel Now, or Disney+. If you prefer to watch sports via traditional pay TV services, ESPN is also available on Foxtel and Fetch TV.
Kayo and Foxtel Now, streaming services in Australia that carry ESPN content, still offer a 7-day free trial and a 10-day free trial, respectively. By signing up to either of the service, you can stream every NBL replay and highlight for free for a limited time. You can also watch select NBL replays on 10Play, completely free but with ads.
This time around, basketball fans will be able to enjoy an incredible 185 games. That includes the 165 regular season games, plus 20 exciting Ignite Cup games, added this year. Ignite Cup games will count towards the teams’ season record.
Sure. If you miss the live game, you can still watch replays and highlights on ESPN, available via Kayo, Foxtel Now, and Disney+. You can access sports channels like ESPN on Foxtel’s Sport Bundle and Fetch’s Vibe Pack. 10Play also offers replays of selected games for free.
Complete NBL highlights are usually available on streaming services that carry the ESPN channel, which means you can watch all the best moments through streamers like Kayo, Foxtel Now, Disney+, as well as pay TV services like Foxtel and Fetch.
If you spend much of your viewing time on sports, Kayo is the best option for watching NBL and other sports. As part of your Kayo subscription, you can use features designed to make your sports streaming experience more enjoyable. For instance, Kayo offers a shorter recap with the Kayo Minis feature, allowing you to watch condensed replays that keep all the best moments.