Ko-orenite basketball goes back a long way but without many of the storied teams we've come to expect - blame football, rugby, and baseball. Dozens, if not well over a hundred clubs have been a part of professional, national competitions, and dozens did not stand the test of time. Regions have sprung up as hotbeds of talent, even keeping players within the sport, where signing contracts in other endeavours would have - for most of this history - been far more lucrative. As soon as these regions sprang up with a strange burst of talent, they would die off after a generation. Basketball in Ko-oren is not a history of continuity - outside a few small exceptions - and there certainly isn't a clear line from mentor to student, from leagues and regions to clubs and cities, or clear formats leading to concensus champions.
But given we've been somewhat decent in the IBC before, all on the back of - indeed - one of those strange concentrations of talent, we think we deserved a bit of self-important navel-gazing, especially as the current iteration of our national competition has held on for a few cycles and is increasingly showing its value to our athletic landscape. It might even stick around for over a decade using mostly the same format this time.
Part I: Muddy Origins
Sixteen teams, extensive playoffs. the KNBL, as it was named at the time, was the first league in Ko-oren to send half its field to playoffs, and actually stood at the basis of playoffs as a post-season event to begin with. Gridiron simply looked at the standings at the end of the season back then, and named a champion. A relatively short season and strange travel restrictions, the action was short and packed, but the playoffs were somewhat well watched, especially in the parts of the country that supplied both our NT and most playoff teams at the time.
There were the capital cities, with barely any space to squeeze in sports between buildings and parks - you do not touch the parks - and so basketball courts, sometimes rooftop ones, were the only way to provide some sort of athletic competition to those living there and those working there. Basketball was pushed by the government as a simple, light, and not very space-intensive way to get some exercise during a lunch break. It was one of many attempts to get Ko-orenites to move, and for some, it has been popular and effective.
There was the southeast, the reason for our season being so weirdly packed around seasons. It gets hot there. As a sport that was still outdoors some of the time, you don't want to play under the hot spring, summer, and autumn sun, if you can help it.
Lastly there were the eastern islands, dominating the early years of the KNBL, not in a great position to grow grass (as was the southeast), and relying on clay, wood, and concrete, to play their sports on. They've given us our streakiest teams, with the sport at times part of school curriculums (which the islands - Yoshima - had some autonomy and authority over) but as soon as it was dropped in any capacity, the talent pipeline was severed and the pro teams suffered immediately, not having the funds of the capital, bay (they didn't have a huge role early on but have always been the standout fourth area), and southwestern teams to keep their players for a long time.
Groups of teams would spring up and fall off very fast, though a few powerhouses emerged. The Diamonds, Blues, and Westerners were an institution, and the Tazers have been up there for some spells as well. The Blues, Diamonds, and Sapphires started out on the eastern islands - more on that later - with the Westerners playing in the southeast. There were the Capitals as well, a single franchise operating pro teams across soccer, basketball, gridiron, and others, with either prolonged success (soccer) or next to no accolades at all (basketball).
An average season would look something like:
National League Pld W L PF PA PD Pts
1 Ka Uin Tazers 90 61 27 7137 6446 +691 185 Regular Season Champions, Playoffs
2 Sishinova Diamonds 90 61 28 7030 6357 +673 184 Playoffs
3 Kangutsu Blues 90 55 33 6857 6396 +461 167 Playoffs
4 Othushun Giants 90 53 35 6851 6596 +255 161 Playoffs
5 Jeknolr Dominators 90 53 36 6850 6706 +144 160 Playoffs
6 Kthosl Lions 90 50 37 6765 6583 +182 153 Playoffs
7 Ong Westerners 90 49 40 6929 6608 +321 148 Playoffs
8 Aj Uin Elves 90 48 39 6826 6720 +106 147 Playoffs
9 Hogone Sapphires 90 46 42 6799 6904 −105 140
10 Maethoru Blizzards 90 42 46 6710 6816 −106 128
11 Ko-oren Capitals 90 39 49 6672 6984 −312 119
12 Arelothun Lords 90 37 50 6780 6968 −188 114
13 Uzhotu Silvers 90 33 55 6708 6986 −278 101
14 Rabth Eagles 90 32 58 6500 6930 −430 96
15 Engbrothun Marines 90 26 61 6441 7003 −562 81
16 Vnoskjulung Bears 90 20 69 6349 7201 −852 61
This was season seven, after the schedule was expanded several times accounting for multiple games on back-to-back nights, more indoor venues, and later starts to make playing right after the end of summer possible. This specific season ended with a first round Tazers exit, the Diamonds sneaking past the first round on overtime, and an eventual Diamonds-Blues final series, won by Sishinova in four (4-0).
Then came the Great Franchisening, on the cusp of a handful of good IBC finishes (five finals, one win), leaving most teams in the dust, ditching series in regular season scheduling, and slimming down the schedule to 76 games but opening up the league to 24 teams. Of the original 16, no nicknames were kept around, but many teams were fully incorporated by their new capitalist overlords. Doubly so for the teams from the eastern islands, who went from four in number to ten. The big southeastern teams lost their status but also doubled in number.
The big losers? The Capitals, losing all of their teams. I guess the workday exercise programme ended after all.
