Almanac basketball exclusive
2,000 games: That’s Not Bad Thanks!
By Graeme Willingham*
The extraordinary Not Bad Thanks Basketball Club has played its 2,000th game in the Thursday night men’s competition in Albert Park.
The Not Bad Thanks club was formed on April Fools’ Day, 1980, playing in the Business Houses competition at the old Albert Park Stadium. The Club continued with that league when it moved to MSAC and was invited to play in the association’s first game in the new venue. When Basketball Victoria restructured the competitions in MSAC, Business Houses retired from that venue. Most teams migrated to the new Melbourne Central association in MSAC.
The Club has won seven premierships (A Reserve, B, Cx2, Dx2 and E grades) through 90 seasons, using some 80 players, scoring 54,000 points, notching 21,000 fouls and using 63 different venues for their end of season Golden Elbow awards dinners. Twenty-five players have won the prestigious Golden Elbow, an award based on the player deemed by teammates to have ‘given it most heaps’ on the court.
President of the Business Houses Basketball Association, George Munro AOM, said Not Bad Thanks were great ambassadors for basketball in Australia.“The comradeship between their players is commendable and to play 2,000 games shows amazing resilience,” he said. “They always play in the right spirit and have solid social activities after games which encourages great team and health longevity.”
General Manager of Melbourne Central Basketball Association, Rebecca Thorburn also acknowledged the achievement: “On behalf of Melbourne Central Basketball Association, I want to congratulate Not Bad Thanks on reaching the incredible milestone of 2,000 games. Their dedication, sportsmanship and love for the game have made them a valued part of our basketball community. This achievement is a testament not only to their commitment to each other as teammates but also to the joy and longevity that basketball can bring. We are proud to have them as part of the MCBA family and look forward to celebrating many more milestones together.”
Basketball Victoria added its support: “What a great achievement for the single team Not Bad Thanks Basketball Club playing out of the Melbourne Central Basketball Association. For any single team to continue for 45 years is a special achievement and we congratulate all those involved on reaching this milestone.”
The Club’s Statistician, Numero Sums, has confirmed the 2000 kilometrestone (the club doesn’t recognise ‘milestones’, given Australia moved from imperial to metric measurement in 1971) game was played on July 24 on MSAC’s Court 8 at 6.30 against Kings in Melbourne Central’s B Grade. Not Bad Thanks won 49-42.
“Off the record,” Sums added, “Deliberately, nothing was made of it at the time because it was earmarked as a big thing for the big-ticket Season 2025 Golden Elbow dinner on September 19. But it’s leaked, probably because the players reckon they’re a fair chance of winning our eighth premiership which would be a much bigger deal than a 2,000 games celebration!”
Sums revealed the 2,000 accounted for season-on-season games, finals appearances, games lost during the Covid lockdowns, and incredibly, the single game when the Club could not field a team.
What about the games when teams forfeited to Not Bad Thanks and a game was not played?
“Look, the Club had players ready to play so those games were classified as ‘Games Played’!” insisted Sums. “This rule was established back in the 1980’s Foundations era. Given a forfeit, usually at very short notice, players still attended for an impromptu strategy meeting at The Clubrooms. They may not have been wearing their court tops, but they turned up to play for Not Bad Thanks on that game night … if you get my drift.”
The Golden Elbow dinner will be held at the home of player Plasma, a medical research scientist. The venue has been dubbed Plasma’s Stem Cell.
Graeme Willingham published the book Not Bad Thanks in 2018. He continues to watch over the antics of Not Bad Thanks Basketball Club for The Almanac.
The Expatriot (who died in 1996) commented “That’s a lota Thursday nights!” when he played his 400th game. The quote was resurrected for the 25 Years:50 Seasons celebratory T-shirt when total games played was just over 1,000. It has new relevance.
Read more about this brilliant club and their celebrated book HERE.
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Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.
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