NBL chief executive Dave Stevenson has forecast one of the greatest finals series in league history on the back of a record-breaking regular season.
Seven teams remain in the championship hunt with two rounds left to play in the regular season, as the league's popularity continues to grow across a range of key metrics.
Attendance and viewership have increased significantly in recent years, the latter spurred in part by a surge in international interest.
The increased attention from overseas is largely attributed to the successful Next Stars program, which has produced nine NBA draftees in the last five years - six of those in the first round.
Reigning champions Tasmania host ladder leaders Illawarra on Thursday night as the Finals race goes up a notch, with a series of high-stakes contests over the remaining fortnight of the regular season.
The JackJumpers need a win to keep their title defence alive, while the Hawks' hopes of claiming a first championship since 2001 would receive a huge boost if they can secure the top seed for the Finals.
Melbourne United are hot on Illawarra's tail, while the Adelaide 36ers are clinging to sixth spot and hoping to fend off Tasmania's challenge for a Finals berth.
Sydney, South East Melbourne and Perth are all top-six locks and have legitimate claims to being in title contention.
"What we always love is when it's a close Finals series," Stevenson told AAP at the NBL's Pride Round launch on Wednesday.
"When you see what's happened this year with the amount of upsets we've had, it's given people a real hope that their team's in with a chance regardless of whether they're on top of the ladder or sixth.
"Coming off last year's incredible Finals series and the amazing moments that happened there, we've got a lot of confidence that this year might even be better."
For the third straight year, six of the league's 10 teams will qualify for the post-season - four of those featuring in the Play-In Tournament.
The play-in concept was borrowed from the NBA and tweaked to fit, with Stevenson hailing the move as a success.
"It's been a great addition to the season. What it's allowed is to keep the season alive for longer for more teams," he said.
"Now that you've got teams and players that are on the cusp, they're fighting for every single point because they know that could be the difference."
Stevenson said the NBL had tallied 42 sold-out games from a total of 132 played so far, up from 40 last season.
That number is likely to go past 50 during the Finals.
The increasing popularity of the league means expansion is front of mind for league officials, who are eager to strike while the iron is hot.
But the competition will remain at 10 teams next season.
New teams from the Gold Coast, Canberra and Darwin, a second team in Sydney, and even a fresh representative from south east Asia have all been mooted.
"We're in conversations with five or six different cities and always thinking about that standard that's been set through the JackJumpers," Stevenson said.
"They've sold out every game they've ever played, they've got strong corporate support and the government have been fantastic.
"But the way that they've ingrained themselves in the community is the standard that we want for all new teams."
