The National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia and New Zealand welcomed a record attendance for its five-game Finals Series between the Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers.
The total of 67,811 fans is the most ever for a NBL Championship Series.
The Sydney Kings faced the New Zealand Breakers across five games, with the Kings crowned champions at Sydney’s 21,000-capacity Qudos Bank Arena.
Game five attracted 18,124 fans, which is the biggest ever crowd for an NBL game, while game four saw 9,728 fans attend in Auckland. This is also the biggest NBL crowd for a game in New Zealand.
This year’s Finals Series also welcomed the highest crowds since 1996, with over 114,000 fans attending the Play-In Tournament, Playoffs and Championship Series.
Across the season, more than 984,000 fans attended, which is the highest number of 27 years.
NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said: “This NBL Finals series was one of the most memorable and dramatic in recent memory, and one worthy of these record-breaking attendance numbers.
“We can’t thank our amazing fans enough for helping set three records in a row during the Championship Series, with Game 3 setting an all-time crowd record before it was broken days later in Game 5. And of course, New Zealand supporting their beloved Breakers in their historic Game 4, breaking the all-time attendance record in New Zealand.
“Our fans helped create an incredible atmosphere during the Finals and we are so grateful for their unwavering loyalty and passion.”