{"id":868855,"date":"2026-08-26T08:58:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T08:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/868855\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T08:58:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T08:58:18","slug":"nbl-investigation-basketball-australia-finds-larry-kestelman-made-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/868855\/","title":{"rendered":"NBL investigation: Basketball Australia finds Larry Kestelman made mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jon<\/p>\n

August 26, 2026 \u2014 4:05pm<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

Basketball Australia has finally released findings from a secret report into the governance of the National Basketball League, conceding that billionaire owner Larry Kestelman made \u201cmistakes\u201d and giving him a year to make changes and rebuild trust.<\/p>\n

Kestelman and the running of the NBL were the subject of a seven-month investigation<\/a> prompted by a complaint from Crest Sports and Entertainment, the owner of the Illawarra Hawks, and supported by Perth Wildcats and South East Melbourne Phoenix.<\/p>\n

\"GivenGiven time to make changes: NBL owner Larry Kestelman has rebuilt the NBL into a power, but a report found he had made mistakes.Eamon Gallagher<\/p>\n

The three clubs questioned governance<\/a> and financial matters, established an independent Professional Basketball Club Owners Association<\/a>, forced mediation over travel and flight costs (the two parties are still no closer to a resolution) and took their case to world governing body FIBA.<\/p>\n

Crest, led by billionaire Jared Novelly, who is now Donald Trump\u2019s ambassador to New Zealand, has also taken legal action against Kestelman and the league.<\/p>\n

The investigation was concluded by April, when only a few details were shared, namely confirmation that Kestelman had no case to answer.<\/p>\n

Kestelman and the NBL felt they were exonerated, and said the majority owners \u2013 but not all minority owners \u2013 of the remaining seven clubs backed league bosses. The NBL also took its case against Crest to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.<\/p>\n

\"IntentIntent on change: Illawarra Hawks owner Jared Novelly is also Donald Trump\u2019s ambassador to New Zealand.Dylan Coker<\/p>\n

This masthead has unsuccessfully sought the release of the full report from the NBL, BA, and government and sports integrity bosses.<\/p>\n

However, on Wednesday BA acknowledged in a statement to this masthead \u201cthat the distinction between the overall decision and the broader findings of the report should have been made clearer\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCrest\u2019s complaint raised extremely serious and broad-ranging allegations, that Mr Kestelman had demonstrated himself to be a \u2018bad faith actor\u2019 over the course of a decade,\u201d Basketball Australia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the round, Crest\u2019s complaint is not a credible report supported by sufficient prima facie evidence to refer it as a whole to a disciplinary tribunal formed under the integrity framework. Mr Kestelman does not present on the totality of the evidence gathered in the course of the investigation, as a \u2018bad faith actor\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr Kestelman himself has invested an enormous amount of his own time and money, over a decade, in bringing the National Basketball League, its clubs and the game of basketball in Australia back from the brink of financial ruin and collapse, such that they are, in general, prospering and valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kestelman, who famously co-founded the telecommunications and internet service provider Dodo Services, bought the ailing NBL in 2015 and has revived it to such a degree that the league is now among the best in the world, attracting former NBA players<\/a> and young stars on their way to the US<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But BA, which has a commercial relationship with the NBL, added that \u201cMr Kestelman has, in the course of those endeavours, made mistakes, which in the main can be attributed to his drive to turn the fortunes of the National Basketball League around, where in the course of doing so Mr Kestelman has failed to pay sufficient attention to the interests of the National Basketball League where those interests differ from those of his private interests\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Wildcats, Hawks and Phoenix have all raised issues about the blurring of lines between Kestelman\u2019s basketball and private dealings, including the premises used for the sport\u2019s head office in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a number of specific areas where those failings, if one were to focus solely on the past, might possibly have found disciplinary charge under the Integrity Framework,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce due account is given to matters including the processes for remediation either underway or complete as at the time of reporting in December 2025, there is a case for preferring no charges being laid at this point in time, pending Mr Kestelman being afforded a period of one year, to complete the processes of remediation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report said clubs needed to \u201crebuild the trust and confidence in Mr Kestelman and the National Basketball League, given the corresponding importance to the health of the basketball ecosystem\u201d.<\/p>\n

The NBL released a statement Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Back<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBasketball Australia\u2019s statement reiterates Mr Gleeson\u2019s report found that Crest\u2019s complaint was not credible,\u201d the league said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome the acknowledgment of the scale of Mr Kestelman\u2019s incredible contribution to the sport in that he has invested an enormous amount of his own time and money, over a long period, to reinvigorate the league, its clubs and more generally, the game of basketball. As pointed out by Basketball Australia, all were in a state of financial ruin and collapse, but since Mr Kestelman took ownership of the League, all are now \u2018prospering and valuable\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NBL and its clubs have experienced unprecedented growth with record attendances, historic broadcast viewership numbers, digital expansion and club valuations.<\/p>\n

Basketball Australia, Mr Kestelman and the NBL are working through Mr Gleeson\u2019s recommendations together, and remediation work is \u201cprogressing well\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NBL will continue to focus on growing the league for its fans, clubs and partners, and looks forward to the start of the regular season on September 19.\u201d<\/p>\n

BA said if Kestelman\u2019s changes were not enacted within a year, the integrity unit could again investigate, but change is already \u201cprogressing well\u201d.<\/p>\n

One significant change by the NBL was adding Professor Graeme Samuel, a governance and leadership expert and former AFL commissioner, to the board this year.<\/p>\n

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"JonJon Pierik<\/a> is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"August 26, 2026 \u2014 4:05pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-868855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}