On a local level, its participation remained high and the quality of its top competitions was impressive.
But on a national level it took big strides.
The Otago Nuggets were the shining jewel.
Just seeing them back on court would have sufficed — at the start of April that was not supposed to happen until next year.
But they did far more than that.
The stars picked up in the draft clearly had a huge influence but, as the season went on, the local influence grew as well.
That climaxed on August 1, when they beat the Manawatu Jets 79-77 in a thrilling National Basketball League final to claim the title.
Yet it was not lost on a local level.
With the majority of Otago’s top players back home following the Covid-19 restrictions, they turned out in club basketball.
The likes of Sam Timmins, Richie Rodger and Kane Keil — who moved south following his stint with the Nuggets — joined perennial stars such as Josh Aitcheson and James Ross on court.
It made for the highest quality league in years — although much of it was played without fans as the country returned to Level 2.
A new-look Otago Gold Rush side also flourished in a significant year for women’s basketball.
The team had to wait until November for its chance to play — doing so in a fully televised league for the first time.
In the end it came within a couple of baskets of playing for the title, being pipped 68-63 in the semifinal by the Waikato Wizards on Saturday.
That was hardly a bad result when you consider this team had retained just six players from a year ago.
Many of those player losses had been key pieces too.
In Zoe Richards it had a genuine star, selected to the league’s All-Star five and to the Tall Ferns for a second consecutive year.
She was another to turn out weekly in club basketball, showing all her class and standing out even among a quality top-end in the women’s league.
In this day and age, how many current national team players do you see regularly playing for club teams in any sport?
At lower levels the game continued to flourish.
It continued its strong participation rate in school competitions, boasting 156 secondary school teams.
Several Otago age-grade teams performed well at national championships too.
Basketball Otago general manager Peter Drew was thrilled with the year.
Delivering full seasons had been key on a local level.
The NBL successes had been equally significant.
He said both were examples of making the best of Covid-19.
The Nuggets would not have played had the pandemic not hit.
The pandemic gave the young Gold Rush side a lengthy build-up, allowing it to be a far more refined product than had the season begun in April.
Drew said the next step was to create a stronger pathway between the school grades and the senior levels.
That came both in retaining more players into club basketball, as well as showing school players the way into the NBL teams.
