This fall, the National Basketball League proudly launched as Japan's new top hoop circuit. But it has also been ridiculed by naysayers as simply a rebranding of its predecessor — the Japan Basketball League — with its content practically the same.
But if you look into the details, the NBL does have something new. Perhaps the biggest change is that each club has to run its home games and earn its own profits, instead of being looked after by the league.
Fair enough. That, in theory, brings more professionalism and necessity to sell tickets to make money to run your own club.