After a successful Super League Basketball inaugural season, a dark cloud lingers over the future of British basketball.

In what should be a period of celebration and jubilation in the domestic game, British basketball is trapped in another vortex of uncertainty as fans are left clueless about the future of their beloved sport.

Chair of the British Basketball Federation (BBF), Chris Grant, continues to evade questions over what the landscape of the league will look like during the 2025/26 campaign, before he graciously passes the mantle over to former NBA executive Marshall Glickman and his consortium, GBB League LTD (GBBL), for the next 15 years – commencing in 2026/27.

What are the alleged plans for the future?

Promising a £15 million upfront payment, Glickman plans to ‘disrupt’ British basketball by completely revamping traditions that loyal fanbases have become accustomed to.

According to Nick Westby, Head of Sport at The Yorkshire Post, ‘Mr Glickman’s group wants to “disrupt traditional league structures by migrating 25 per cent plus of games from small home arenas to world-class venues via regional mini tournaments that offer compelling experiences”.’

Westby then goes on to state that ‘They also plan to limit telecasts to one game per week and also broadcast an All-Star game over Christmas, as well as televise the play-off semi-finals and final. This season, all games hosted by Super League Basketball clubs were broadcast live and for free on DAZN globally.’

What does this mean for supporters of the league? That is correct, they will have to fork out more money to watch their favourite teams taking part in a newly structured league that they never asked for in the first place.

Fortunately, the founder clubs of Super League Basketball (SLB) have stood firm in their beliefs that the licensing tendering process was unjust and unethical.

Despite the valiant attempts to save a league that has done a magnificent job at showcasing the fantastic product of basketball that Great Britain possesses, the paying public is still stuck in a realm of uncertainty about how this scenario will pan out.

The blame undoubtedly lies at the door of Chris Grant, who has done a remarkable job of plunging the domestic game into turmoil once again. It must be a glorious feeling to sit upon your ivory throne, watching chaos ensue in the game that you supposedly love and not have to suffer an ounce of pain.

Loyalists who follow British basketball – despite all the problems that have come with it over recent years – are the ones who are suffering the most.

We now live in a climate that is being devoured by political issues and economic challenges, creating constant anxiety over what the world will throw at the working class next.

Sport is the one place on this planet where humans can enter to be free from the stresses of the outside world. It is an escapism from reality and has the ability to bring communities together who may not interact in the normal world.

Nevertheless, greed and corruption continues to bring a devastating divide into a wonderful sport where there should never be one.

When will supporters be provided with clarity?

Fortunately for supporters of Super League Basketball, the British Basketball Fans Association (BBFA) has took matters into their own hands in an attempt to create some sort of transparency of what the future of British basketball will look like.

The BBFA has created an open letter to the BBF, SLB, and GBBL which contains over 100 fan-submitted questions. There is a deadline of Friday, 7th June 2025, that has been sent in order to manufacture a response from each governing body.

Whether this letter actually gets a response is another matter entirely. 

There is no doubt that investment will be needed in the future for British basketball to continue its growth, but this should not come at the expense of the founder clubs who salvaged the league when it was at the depths of the ocean.

Investment should be accepted with the guidance of competent management who have shown they have a realistic vision for the sport, not a group of investors who clearly have no knowledge of British culture and its identity.