For local fans who came of age in the mid-'90s heyday of Leon Trimmingham and Robert Rose, the promise of live basketball on free-to-air TV has been one of steady disappointments; the legacy of broadcasters like Bill Woods and Steve Carfino dissolving to a story of commercial oversight and half-hearted scheduling.

With the NBL's anticipated new season set to launch on Thursday, SBS are eager to change the narrative.

SBS is committing an unprecedented amount of live broadcast time to the NBL this season.

"Since the '90s, it's struggled to really gain traction. Then the quality of the league deteriorated and the media interest also declined," says SBS's director of sport Ken Shipp. "But right now it does feel like the perfect storm."

Earlier this month, the public broadcaster unveiled its multichannel SBS Viceland as the new free-to-air home of the NBL for the next two years, after a three-year deal with Nine – last season's broadcasters and owner of this masthead – was binned.