A record of more than 40,000 fans witnessed The Magic at the Rod Laver Arena winning his first championship .
In all , Rod Laver Arena hosted 287 NBL games including NBL Championship deciders in 1992 , 1996 , 1997 and 1999 , and played host to its last game in April 2000 before Hisense Arena opened in 2000 and became the new home of Melbourne Basketball .