Okay, that might be taking it a bit far, but you get the picture – basketball was a big part of the ’90s sporting diet, particularly the NBA.

A red Chicago Bulls cap was among my prized possessions; I treasured my “Upper Deck” NBA cards as much as my “Scanlons” footy cards; a new basketball ring that is still standing today took pride of place in our backyard on my 13th birthday in 1993; Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes in White Men Can’t Jump nearly wore out the VCR; while the weekly dose of NBA action on TV on a Saturday morning hosted by Steve Carfino was always-must watch.

Yet from a hoops fanatic, over time my interest in the NBA waned – the fact my Chicago Bulls slipped from six-titles-in-eight-years powerhouse to mediocrity post the Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson-era (pictured) didn’t help – but it has been well and truly reinvigorated watching the exploits of a gritty 24-year-old from Maryborough, whose development included playing on the hardwood of the Bendigo Stadium, taking centre stage in the NBA Finals.

Such is the stardom he’s now obtained with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he needs no introduction other than his nickname – Delly – and he is giving basketball a massive shot in the arm in this country.

It seems you can’t flick on the TV or radio, open a newspaper or check in on social media without a mention of Delly, particularly in the wake of last week’s game two and three of the NBA Finals when he was so influential in the Cavaliers beating the Golden State Warriors in those back-to-back games, with his performances on the biggest stage of them all putting basketball back in the limelight in Australia like it once was 20 years ago.

During the basketball craze of the '90s, it wasn’t just the stars of the NBA – Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Alonzo Mourning, David Robinson, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Shawn Kemp, Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Reggie Miller, Clyde Drexler, Latrell Sprewell, Chris Webber, Larry Johnson, Dikembe Mutombo, Penny Hardaway, Dennis Rodman and a young Kobe Bryant immediately spring to mind, and who could forget little Mugsy Bogues and Spud Webb – who we imitated in the schoolyard, but Australia’s NBL was strong with names of its own.

Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Lanard Copeland, Chris Anstey, Scott Fisher, Leroy Loggins, Darryl McDonald and Andrew Vlahov were big NBL names back in the ’90s that lit up the TV screens on Network Ten. 

Twenty years ago in 1995 the NBL featured 14 teams – four in Victoria (North Melbourne Giants, South East Melbourne Magic, Melbourne Tigers, Geelong Supercats), four in New South Wales (Newcastle Falcons, Illawara Hawks, Canberra Cannons, Sydney Kings), three in Queensland (Brisbane Bullets, Townsville Suns, Gold Coast Rollers), and one each in Western Australia (Perth Wildcats), South Australia (Adelaide 36ers) and Tasmania (Hobart Devils).

But two decades on the number of NBL teams was almost halved back to eight for the most recently-completed 2014-15 season, and two of them – Woolongong and Townsville – entered voluntary administration in March, However, both will play on when the new season tips off later this year.

The WNBL, which features our own dual-champion Bendigo Spirit, has also been the subject of an Australian Sports Commission review into its operations over the past 18 months with a view of securing the financial stability of the competition and its clubs.

Who knows whether basketball will ever again reach the heights in this country of its heyday back in the '90s, but there’s no denying right now Delly, in conjunction with somewhat forgotten fellow Aussie Andrew Bogut with the Warriors, is doing a mighty fine job of creating one hell of a buzz around the sport.