The Tasmania JackJumpers have welcomed the delayed start to the NBL season after the league revealed the competition will begin on November 18.
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The start date has been delayed by a month to enable fans the best opportunity to attend games when the season gets underway.
JackJumpers chief executive Simon Brookhouse said the move benefitted the NBL's newest franchise.
"Obviously we're the only team that hasn't trained or played together so to get that extra four weeks makes it really good for us to get our team together to bond," Brookhouse said.
"We're struggling with COVID to get players into Tasmania at the moment so it gives us a bit extra time to get the whole team here and get eight weeks training before the season."
The delay means the JackJumpers could have a home debut at MyState Bank Arena after previously requesting to start the season away from home due to construction works on the site.
"If our first game happens to be here [in Tasmania], I think it'd be great for MyState Bank Arena," Brookhouse said.
"With a new team getting on the road to play a few games isn't a bad thing so they can bond together. I'm a little bit ambivalent on it, I think most importantly we win our first games."
NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger highlighted the JackJumpers as one of the most exciting parts of the upcoming season.
"We know our fans have been eagerly awaiting this announcement and we hope they continue to get right behind the players and clubs as the NBL continues to break new ground and takes things to the next level," he said.
"There's so much to look forward to with the inclusion of our newest team, the Tasmania JackJumpers, an exciting new group of Next Stars set to launch their careers, and many of our Olympic bronze medal heroes will be coming back home to play."
The Tasmanian team is ready to make their highly anticipated debut in the upcoming NBL season after being announced as the newest franchise last year.
Head coach Scott Roth and the JackJumpers have been busy behind the scenes building a roster of young talent and experienced NBL veterans to compete this season.
Talented centre Will Magnay, Canadian MiKyle McIntosh, American's Josh Adams and Josh Magette are all part of the JackJumpers inaugural roster with more development players on the way.
Talented Russian guard Nikita Mikhailovskii has signed as the club's inaugural Next Star.
More details on the complete NBL fixture are expected to be announced soon, the league confirmed.
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