The British Basketball League is ready to start again with the Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles ready to face off against B. Braun Sheffield Sharks in the first game of the 2023/24 championship season.
The British Basketball League is back! The start of the new era of the British Basketball League is here, and what a way to start it with the Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles hosting the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks.
The 2023/24 season tips off with an incredibly interesting game with many pundits, players, and coaches predicting the Newcastle Eagles to make a massive jump this season. The huge new additions to the Eagles will be seen for the first time in the championship season in this first match of the season.
The Sheffield Sharks are also set to be a must-see team this season with their own set of additions to push them up the standings after finishing seventh in the 2022/23 season. The Sharks have won 8 of their last 9 games against the Eagles, having prevailed in 3 of the 4 matches last season. In 12 visits to the Eagles home court, the Vertu Motors Arena, the Sharks have managed 9 wins.
What to expect:
With so many new players for each team, this game’s outcome
could end up surprising a lot of us. The Eagles are the favourites coming into
this with most people predicting Newcastle to become a top three team this
season.
However, the Sharks are also expecting huge improvement this
season. Last season’s early struggles for the Sharks should hopefully not be a factor
anymore with the core of the team having spent the prior season together.
Chemistry could be the difference maker between the two teams. Even though many pundits perceive that Sheffield have the less talented team on paper, their time together last season could prove effective against the Eagles with their massive changes to the team as a whole.
Who to watch:
Tajh Green is easily the one to watch for the Eagles. According to the 2023/24 anonymous survey, Tajh Green finished second in the most valuable player vote, showing how much of a factor he should make in the upcoming season.
Green averaged 18 points per game for the Manchester Giants
last season, and we could see him even surpass that this season.
Jalon Pipkins and Jubril Adekoya share the prize for who to
watch in this game on the Sharks’ side. Pipkins became one of the Sharks’ best
players last season and only should look to progress after the rocky start to
the 2022/23 season.
Adekoya is the new Sharks player to watch this game. Joining from the Leicester Riders where he was a role player, Adekoya will get more minutes, and be in a much bigger role for the Sharks.
With this being the start of Sheffield’s 30th season in the league, interestingly this one starts exactly the same way their first one did in 1994, with an away trip to the northeast – Sunderland (where the Newcastle franchise used to be based) – and Sheffield won that game 87-72 before going on to win the championship in their rookie season.
To watch the inaugural game of the 2023/24 British Basketball League season, tune in to Sky Sports on Thursday, September 14 at 7:30 pm BST.
With the countdown to the new season continuing, you can
still get your British Basketball fix by following the League on social media
or heading to our YouTube channel to relive all of
the best moments from last year!