David Johnson picked up a basketball and casually sank his first five jump shots from the left wing.

Johnson's trademark sweet stroke that made him the face of Bendigo sport in the late 1980s hasn't changed.

Johnson returned to the old Bendigo Stadium court on Thursday where he was known as the "wizard of the Wigwam".

He was joined by his former coach David Flint and captain Mick Spear ahead of Friday night's reunion of the Bendigo Braves' 1988 SEABL championship team.

Johnson, Flint and Spear were part of a close-knit Braves' squad that not only won the club's first SEABL title, but also helped put basketball on the map in Bendigo.

"I feel as though I'm home,'' Johnson said of his return to Bendigo Stadium.

"I can remember all those great times we had in this stadium. Big crowds, stamping their feet and making plenty of noise... playing with a great group of guys and watching the growth of basketball in Bendigo.

"To see how much the game has developed in Bendigo 30 years later is just amazing."

"DJ" was a scoring sensation throughout his SEABL career, but his grand final performance in 1988 remains one of the great individual games in league history.

Johnson scored 70 points as the Braves upstaged title favourite Bulleen by three points.

"It seemed as though we had all of Bendigo at that game supporting us,'' Johnson said.

"I'll never forget the bus trip back to Bendigo where we celebrated hard.

"The game itself was a great game of basketball. It was back and forward and we always felt we had a chance to win.

"For me to have the game of my life was a great feeling."

Johnson averaged 48 points per game in his four-season stint in Bendigo.

Flint had the best seat in the house to watch the DJ Show.

"People who weren't around back then and didn't see him play and train have no idea how good DJ was,'' Flint said.

"To see him play was a treat. I think he's the greatest player to have not just played for the Braves, but in the entire SEABL.

"That's how good he was."

Flint and Johnson were the Braves' star players in that era, but they both said the secret to the team's success back then was the team chemistry. 

"Physically, to me, it only feels like 10 or 15 years,'' Flint said.

"I can't believe it's been such a long time and what makes this reunion so special that it's probably the last time we'll all get together."

"We did everything together back then,'' Johnson, who now lives in Missouri in the United States, added.

"I've probably only seen these guys three times in 30 years, but every time I see them I feel as though we're back to that same tight-knit group."

Bendigo Stadium has grown from two courts to 10 in the past 30 years.

Flint said the 1988 Braves could take some credit for helping basketball become the juggernaut it now is in Bendigo sport.

"I think we own a small part of what we see now,'' Flint said.

"You can't go from two courts to 10 courts without the success of the Braves.

"For four years we had the same core group... we played 94 games and won 75 of those.

"We were a fun team to watch and it was a great to be a part of basketball in Bendigo."

The 1988 championship team will be honoured at Friday night’s Bendigo Braves clash with Frankston at Bendigo Stadium.