UK basketball: Phoebe ban felt worse than ‘sledgehammer’
The immediate priority for the sport was enabling Team GB to compete in the November international window.
Basketball England worked with SLB to deliver the match against Lithuania, while other stakeholders – such as UK Sport and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – are involved in planning the way forward.
Lasker believes this chaotic moment could be a turning point.
With the NBA looking to launch a new European league in 2027, including potential franchises in London and Manchester, he says the opportunity is “huge”.
“It gives the sport a chance to hit the reset button and build a solid foundation,” the American added.
“If we take advantage, British basketball could explode quickly. If we don’t, we may never get this opportunity again.”
Sanjay Bhandari, SLB’s interim president, says lessons need to be learned, admitting that the crisis “shows the risks and dangers of insufficiently challenging governance” and that the sport needs a governance review.
Steutel agrees that change is essential, adding: “We need people who can drive the sport forward in terms of performance, commercially, administratively, financially.”
Immediately, however, his team must play.
The unsavory saga is unsettling for the players, but Great Britain full-back Josh Ward-Hibbert believes it will not affect their performance against Lithuania.
“You hear rumblings of uncertainty within the federation and the league – that can be worrying,” he said. “But just try to control what you can.
“Everyone understands where we are as a group and they are giving everything they can to push the national team forward.”
Given the major concerns earlier this month, the fact that the match is taking place at all is progress.
2025-11-27 06:28:00
