John Leonard, a highly respected Perth businessman, athlete and two-time winner of football's coveted Sandover Medal, played a key role in orchestrating the first meeting.

[1] The resulting winter competition played at Claremont Showground saw men's teams compete for the John Leonard Perpetual Shield.

The Perth Wildcats had been a financial burden since joining the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1982, and at the end of the 1986 season, the WABF was $400,000 in the red.

A task force was established to sort out the mess, and the upshot was that Perth businessman Bob Williams, sponsor of the Wildcats in 1986, purchased a 60 percent interest in the team from the WABF for $200,000.

Fortunately, the Wildcats had a hugely successful season in 1987—reaching the NBL Grand Final in their first trip to the finals—attracting much television coverage, which saw basketball's popularity soar.

[2] Simon Leunig, who had been the WABF's development officer, was appointed general manager of the SBL, and set about organising an expanded league for 1989.

His marketing strategy paid off, and three new franchises were established in country areas: the Rainbow Coast Raiders from Albany were the first, followed by the Batavia Buccaneers from Geraldton and the Souwest Slammers from Bunbury.