The NBL is less than 4 weeks away and there is a lot of player movement that has shocked and even excited many.

We could potentially be seeing a very competitive league but one question is, will it be exciting?

When you look at the last couple of years, the NBL has been lethargic for the most part.

Even in the playoffs, there hasn’t been very many memorable moments that have resulted into major talking Points.

For the most part, people come, watch the games and move on to other things.

This is not bad but if a league is exciting, people do more than just watch and go.

They try as much as possible to follow, support and the league becomes a part of them.

In this article, I will highlight some of the things that can make the NBL more interesting in 2026.

Dunks

There is a thing about dunks that gets the crowd excited. It is like opening floodgates of adrenaline and this always gets the crowd pumped.

Over the last years, we have seen less and less dunks in the NBL and this makes the game dull.

If I asked you, who is the best dunker in the NBL, what would you say?How many dunks has that person made in the NBL and which kind of dunks were they.

If a person jumped over another and dunked the ball in. Don’t you think people will talk about that more? Won’t they want to come again to watch this person? Won’t that highlight clip make very many rounds?

There is a thing that dunking in a game brings and we need to see more of them more so the high energy aggressive dunks over people.

Flair

Most of our players don’t add any flair to the game.

If may I ask,  who are the most skilled players and do they add flair to their game?

The majority of our players just play the game. They don’t add exciting things to their game.

For example, lobs, off the backboard passes, behind the back passes, crossovers, trick shots, dunks of different kinds, skills in finishing.

The more you see flair, the more you want to follow the game or a particular player or teams.

Let me leave you with a question on this. Which team played with the most flair last season?

Iso

So many coaches don’t like this but for fans, it is among the things that make the game interesting.

If players went iso more, we would be able to see the skill set that players have on offense as they would have to beat the defender and finish.

Also, we would get to see which players are very good 1v1 defenders.

When there is a 1v1, the fans can easily notice this as the players are on an ‘island’ and only one will come out on top.

Celebrations

When you watch the NBA, players have made celebrations and they have become a part of their identity.

Another example is Aston Villa’s  Amadou Onana who started the celebration of pocketing 3 fingers to indicate 3 points, after a win.

In the NBL, these are some of the things that players and teams can be serious about.

For example, when you score a 3, you make a certain celebration and may be your teammates join in.

This becomes a part of you and as a player or team, it becomes part of your brand.

Before long, players in other teams or schools and fans will start making the same celebration.

More media presence

The media presence of the NBL and most of the teams is very been bad.

Teams like Sommet, JKL Lady Dolphins, JT Jaguars and Namuwongo Blazers have endeavored to do something online but it is still lacking.

As a team, you are supposed to establish a connection with your fans and are supposed to make sure you post a lot of content which fans can relate with.

It hurts that not all teams have social media accounts and those that do, they are not very active.

The more content you chun out, the more people will follow and be interesting in the league, the players and the teams.

When it comes to TV, Radio and Newspapers, some teams have barely made an appearance in the last 12 months.

Honestly, that is not good for the teams and the league.

The league as a whole also needs to do more in media. It needs a team to come up with creative ways of engaging the fans and selling the experience them.

More Highlights

If you look online, you may not find any highlight for some teams in the last year or two.

Teams and the NBL need to invest in content.

When highlights are made, we get to relive some of the good moments that happened in a game, and season.

This also helps players build a name because of the good things they do off the court that get to be witnessed by many.

When this happens, a market for our players is also created.

Rivalries

I don’t know if you can call the Namuwongo Blazers and City Oilers match a rivalry. However, it is the closest thing we have to a rivalry at the moment and it is not surprising that many people always come out to catch this game and it is easily the most talked about game.

In the past, Power, Kyambogo Warriors and Falcons had their rivalries but they are no more.

Things like this need to be created if we want people to come and watch but also follow the league.

Forexample, the universities can have their thing. A team like JT Jaguars could rival Sommet while UPDF and UMU could also have a thing going.

In the ladies, KCCA, JKL, JT, Pearl Queens and UCU could have a thing.

KIU could have a rivalry with Victoria which could also have a rivalry with Pearl Queens. Magic Stormers and Miracle can also have a thing.

All this can happen if there is intentionality to set the narrative and when it does, people will stop coming to watch just the game but the rivalry.

Trash talking

Not the surface, this is not good but if you think about it, the league can benefit from it.

If we know that certain players could go at each other, the fans get interested.

It also creates talkability about the league, certain players and certain teams.

Community Outreach

Teams and players think that the league is just about playing but this is not the case. Teams need to reach out to the community and do different activities.

This can help them tap into a new fan base and also show the public that basketball isn’t just about playing but also impacting the community.

Fan Zones

When Castle Lite came on board in 2024 playoffs, so many guys came out to enjoy some discounted beer.

This was very good for the game because very many new/not regular fans came to watch the game and stayed for the ‘enjoyment’.

As the NBL, there needs to be something put up that can make the fans stay around after the game.

With this, a new fan base that comes for the after festivities can be tapped into while also creating a vibrancy around the league. We have seen this being done a lot in Rugby.

The 2026 NBL is set to tip-off on 6th February.