State Basketball League

Formation of the SBL

In the 1980s, the highest level of basketball in the state of Western Australia was played in Perth's 'District' competition. In an effort to expand the league, the president of Basketball Western Australia, Bob Williams, began approaching various business people in the country areas of Western Australia to gauge their interest in a statewide basketball competition. Williams was successful in getting three teams from outside the Perth metropolitan area to join the State Basketball League (SBL) for it's inaugural season in 1989. In addition to the eight Perth-based clubs (Cockburn, East Perth, Perry Lakes, Perth, Stirling, Swan City, Wanneroo, and Willetton) that entered both a men's and women's team, a team from Albany, Bunbury and Geraldton was entered into the men's competition. An extra team from the WAIS was also entered into the men's competition, making it 12 men's teams and eight women's teams for the inaugural season.

1990s & 2000s

The 1990s saw the Bunbury Slammers dominate the men's competition, while the Swan City Mustangs and Willetton Tigers battled for supremacy in the women's competition—between 1991 and 1999, every WSBL Grand Final excluding 1994's featured at least one of those two teams.

During the 1990s, the SBL saw further expansion with teams from Kalgoorlie, Mandurah and Rockingham joining, while Albany eventually withdrew from the league following the 1999 season.

With the turn of the new century came the uprising of the Perry Lakes Hawks. From 2001 to 2003, both Hawks teams were crowned champions three years in a row, with the men's team going even further by winning a fourth-straight title in 2004; they went on to also reach the 2005 MSBL Grand Final, where they lost to the Lakeside Lightning. The men's team went on to make grand final appearances in 2009 and 2011, while the women's team won another two titles in 2007 and 2008.

Teams

The SBL originated in 1989 with 12 men's teams and eight women's teams. By 1999, the MSBL had expanded to 14 teams, while the WSBL had expanded to 10 teams. Two years later, the WSBL had reached 12 teams. The state capital of Perth is home to nine SBL clubs, while the remaining five associations are located in regional cities—Bunbury, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Mandurah, and Rockingham.

In the past, the SBL has used a conference system to divide teams. In 2000, the 14-team MSBL was split into two conferences, with half in the "West" conference and the other half in the "Sky" conference. A conference system was later re-introduced for the 2003 season, with both the WSBL and MSBL being split so as to consist of both a North and South conference. Of the 14 MSBL teams, eight were located north of the Swan River; as a result, the Goldfields Giants were placed in the South conference. This ruling was later implemented in 2015 for the first North v South MSBL All-Star Game.

Regular season

During the Australian summer, teams begin preparing for the upcoming season, as they host try-outs and trial games, reacquire the services of returning players, and scout for overseas imports. By the end of February, most teams have had their imports arrive in Western Australia and begin training with the rest of the playing group. Import players are most commonly recruited from the United States, with each team allowed two 'restricted' players on their roster. While most teams sign two imports, some do choose to fill a restricted player spot with a NBL or WNBL player.

In early March, the annual SBL Pre-Season Blitz tournament is held at Warwick Stadium. The tournament is held over a weekend and features all 26 teams competing in a number of exhibition games.

During the regular season, each MSBL team plays 26 games, 13 each home and away; while each WSBL team plays 22 games, 11 each home and away. Games are played on Friday nights, Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Special weekend blockbusters happen every year, such as Easter Round and Anzac Round, with games often being played on Easter Sunday and Anzac Day. Other special-occasion rounds include Women's Round, Rivalry Round and Heritage Round. Prior to 2017, the MSBL was one of only a few leagues in the world (other then the NBA) to use the 48-minute game format. To align the competition with all State Leagues across Australia, as well as the NBL and international events such as World Cups and the Olympics, Basketball Western Australia made the decision to have the MSBL play under the 40-minute game format in-line with FIBA for the 2017 season.

In June, the regular season pauses to celebrate the annual North v South SBL All-Star games. The event is held on WA Day at Bendat Basketball Centre, with all proceeds going to Lifeline WA for suicide prevention. Fans vote via Internet polls to select the starters for each side, while the All-Star coaches select the remaining six reserve spots. Both the WSBL and MSBL All-Star games are played between North all-stars and South all-stars (north/south of the Swan River). At the end of each game, an All-Star Game MVP trophy is awarded to the best performing player. Other attractions of the day include a Three-Point Shootout during half-time of both the WSBL and MSBL All-Star games.

Around August, the regular season ends. Teams are ranked according to their win/loss ratio. If at the end of the regular season, two or more teams have an identical record, then positions are decided on a head-to-head basis. If they can not be split after that, than the for/against percentage is taken into account.

Finals

The SBL Finals begins in early August and finishes in early September, with the top eight teams in each competition (WSBL and MSBL) competing for their respective Championship. The first two rounds of the finals structure, the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals, are played using a best-of-three series. The higher ranked team hosts games one and three (if required), and plays game two away; with an exception being: any playoff series involving Geraldton or Goldfields will be played under the pre-2016 format with the higher ranked team playing away for game one, then home for games two and three.

Every year, Basketball Western Australia hosts an SBL Grand Final weekend at Bendat Basketball Centre to determine the champion teams of the WSBL and MSBL, with the WSBL championship game on the Friday night and the MSBL championship game on the Saturday night. All Grand Finals have been played in a one-game championship decider, except in 1995 when a best-of-three series was introduced for both competitions.

League championships

The Willetton Tigers have won the most championships in the women's competition with 8 WSBL Grand Final wins, while the Perry Lakes Hawks have won the most championships in the men's competition with 5 MSBL Grand Final wins. The Hawks' women's team has also amassed six titles, making Perry Lakes the most successful club in SBL history with a total of 11 championships.