The Adelaide Thunder have broken a world record for the longest game of wheelchair basketball, clocking up a gruelling 32 hours of play as part of a unique fundraising effort to get them back into the national league.

The team folded three years ago due to a lack of funding and in order to compete in next year's season it needs to raise $40,000.

It came up with an innovative way to attract attention and hopefully some donations and sponsors with a world record attempt.

Beginning on Saturday morning, the players embarked on a continuous 32-hour game, which finished at 5:00pm on Sunday with a final score of 1,956 to 1,683.

It beat the current registered world record of 27.5 hours and also surpassed a New Zealand team's claim to have played for 30 hours.

Coach David Gould said it was a fantastic effort.

"They've really pushed, they're tired, they're fatigued, they're sore ... all the players down on the court have just been fantastic to just keep going," he said.

Coach David Gould said the Adelaide Thunder were once the top team in Australia. ( ABC News )

He said it was disappointing to see the team fold after achieving huge success in the 1980s and 1990s.

"We used to be the best team in Australia — for one-and-a-half decades we held every trophy and won every championship," he said.

"Funding became really tough and there are a lot of new players now who have had an accident and ended up in a wheelchair or lost their leg, whatever their situation might be, and they haven't had the opportunity to play the sport they love, so getting back in the league is fantastic.

"We want to give the opportunities to these athletes to represent Australia and go to the Paralympics."

Despite a steady flow of onlookers who made donations, the team is still a long way off its fundraising goal.

The Thunder's Adam Roocke, who was behind the fundraising initiative, said he and his teammates desperately wanted to get back into the national league.

"It means the world to the whole team," he said.

"To not have a team in the comp for three years, we're all pretty disappointed and didn't really know where to go, so yeah getting this team back into the national comp is just going to be unbelievable.

"We've shown that we're committed so as long as we can raise the funds we're in."

Thunder's Adam Roocke said he was exhausted after breaking the record. ( ABC News )

Roocke said it had been a gruelling but rewarding challenge.

"Exhausted, yeah I'm pretty spent," he said.

"I can't believe all these players, I mean they age from 62 down to 17 and they're all still toughing it out, the pace is still quick and everyone is still having a ball."

Paralympian Jocelyn Neumueller was among the players on court and said it was a challenging but thoroughly enjoyable experience.

"This has been an awesome challenge, like just what it takes to be part of a continuous 32-hour game and everything it takes as a team to work towards that has been really good," she said.

"It's really unique and just as rewarding [as the Paralympics], not knowing how you'd get through the 32 hours of playing to have been able to achieve that is really rewarding.

"Being able to push through the pain and the fatigue of playing non-stop is challenging but overall it's great.

"I've actually really enjoyed it, as much as I was really not looking forward to not sleeping and not having a break, I've actually really enjoyed the game."

Jacob Gracey from Disability Recreation and Sports South Australia said the not-for-profit organisation did not have enough money to support the Adelaide Thunder in the national league.

"We've got to spread our money over different sports which is why we haven't been able to enter the team for the last three years, so that's what we're trying to change at the moment," he said.

Mr Gracey said the unique fundraising initiative deserved success.

"They really deserve it after all the effort that they've put in and if people see the way their hands and arms look at the moment I think they'd probably agree."

Mr Gracey joked that the world record achievement could become the team's competitive advantage.

"If any of their national league games go into the 30-hour mark I reckon we could back our fitness against other people that haven't done it, so yeah we might maybe go to a few overtimes and it may play into our favour."

Donations can be made through Disability Recreation and Sports South Australia.