Liz Cambage is one of the stars of the WNBL. Credit:Eddie Jim "The sleeping giant of Australian sport is awake and we are coming," Kestelman said. "We want to be Australia's No.1 summer sport and one of the biggest sports in the country. "We have an opportunity to take basketball in Australia to the next level. To inspire a new generation of fans of the game. A game for all Australians." While crowds are poised to improve yet again this season, Kestelman said the next big jump needed to be building the public profile of its stars. "In participation and every other matrix we are on par or ahead of other sports," Kestelman said. "If you ask families today what kind of sport they want their kids to play then basketball ranks right at the top.

NBL owner Larry Kestelman has big aspirations for basketball. Credit:AAP "Look at the NBA – that is all I have to say – we have a formula that we can emulate and learn from and I have no doubt we can be the No.1 sport in the summer." Part of that could come with big performances against the NBA sides next month but he wants NBL players portrayed in a more "reality TV" type narrative, especially on television. "There is no secret formula about any one thing, you have to do everything the right way," Kestelman said. "One big thing for us is educating the public on its players. It is surprising how little the public knows about not only their own players but the players across the league.

"We liken it to a reality TV show, we are going to tell a lot of stories and reveal a lot of history about the players, hardships, successes and failures. We want our fans to get to know their players and just as importantly the other teams players." The NBL has yet to formally announce their free to air television partner but in a Good Weekend feature story on Kestelman earlier this month it was reported SBS would continue to show games. "It's not far away at all, stay tuned for the next week or so for announcements about that this season," Kestelman said. "We will have games on free to air." The NBL is confident they can earn more NBA games next season with Sydney Kings, Melbourne United and Brisbane Bullets all playing games this year. "We will see how this season goes but we have already had invitations from NBA clubs wanting other clubs to come across and play pre-season games [next year]," Kestelman said.

The NBL and WNBL joint launch is also the first in what could be many joint meetings between the two leagues. "The success of a sport is not just with one audience – there are just as many females playing as males," Kestelman said. "Both leagues being successful together is the winning formula." Basketball Australia continues to run the WNBL and the league will make its return to television screens on Fox Sports this season with a Saturday 3pm game each week leading into a marquee NBL game at 5.30pm. The WNBL will have Olympians Liz Cambage, Jenna O'Hea, Katie-Rae Ebzery and Abby Bishop back on court plus a bevy of WNBA imports and Spanish star Laia Palau joining Dandenong Rangers. BA chief executive Anthony Moore said the WNBL's new shorter season would make for an exciting competition.

"This takes us from being the invisible league," Moore said. "The rise of women's sport over the last couple of years has been fantastic for professionalism and pathway opportunities for women in professional sport and the WNBL has been missing from that because we haven't had a broadcast partner. "We can't overstate how important this deal is, it turns us from being invisible to being shown every week. There will be some amazing talent on display."