Revealed: The checklist NBA scouts will use to identify stars at the NBL pre-season Blitz
This year’s NBL Blitz will feature a record 40 NBA scouts from 26 teams, MATT LOGUE details who they’ll be watching and why.
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A record number of NBA scouts will descend on this week’s NBL pre-season Blitz on the Gold Coast – armed with a clear checklist on what they want to see from potential draft picks and signings.
40 scouts from 26 NBA teams have their sights on surveying the best hoops talent the Australian league has to offer.
And when it comes to potential stars, the NBL is loaded with some of the most exciting and promising players in world basketball.
It’s headed by the league’s globally respected Next Stars program, which this season features a never seen before eight rising players aiming to reach the NBA draft.
The gifted list includes Perth centre Alex Sarr – a French phenomenon being tipped as a top 5 pick in next year’s NBA draft. The NBL also has talent at varying ages on the cusp of taking the next step, so it’s why an unprecedented influx of NBA scouts are heading Down Under to pick the eyeballs out of the pre-season Blitz.
Melbourne-based American reporter Sam Vecenie has dedicated large chunks of his life to analysing NBA draft stock via his role at The Athletic.
Vecenie regularly talks to scouts about their expectations for players – and says there is a prerequisite for any basketballer to reach the top.
“In terms of the NBA for me right now, skills and strategy are the two most important things,” Vecenie told the Hasbeen Hoops podcast with NBL and Boomers legends Chris Anstey and Mark Worthington.
“Having that ability to have real skill level and be able to process what you are doing on the court, I think are paramount.
“So, can they play the game at a high level, but can also think the game at a high level?
“That’s passing, vision and being able to break down defenders.”
Vecenie also nominated size and shooting as a vital traits for players to thrive in the NBA.
He says a “smaller” player can no longer survive in the world’s best league while a player who struggles with their stroke is even more problematic.
“You can’t have non-shooters or reluctant shooters out there anymore,” he said.
“Shooting is incredibly important if you are going to be an off-ball player now, just because of the way that teams guard you.”
Vecenie has long been high on the NBL’s Next Stars program – a set-up that has helped the likes of LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey reach the NBA as first-round lottery picks.
He believes Sarr and Cairns’ Swedish-born power forward Bobi Klintman are strong chances to be first-round draft picks, but he is also tipping a surprise. Vecenie is a huge fan of Melbourne United’s German big man Ariel Hukporti, who is coming back from an Achilles injury that sidelined him last season.
He wouldn’t be shocked to see Hukporti surge up the draft board rankings following a standout NBL season with United.
“Ariel looks like he is going to be a starting quality big in the NBL this season at 21,” he said.
“I’m told he looked really good scrimmaging against the Australian Boomers in the lead up to last month’s World Cup.
“He has been a guy on the NBA radar since he was 17. He was always very heavy, but when he got to Australia he has done some incredible work on his frame and added the explosiveness that was missing from his game.”
On-court ability is paramount, but NBA scouts hold equal value on a player’s background.
Long hours are spent digging into athletes’ personalities, family situation, professionalism and how they handle adversity.
The message from NBA scouts is clear – it takes more than basketball to succeed in the world’s best basketball league.
The NBL Blitz runs from Saturday, September 16 to Friday, September 22 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Originally published as Revealed: The checklist NBA scouts will use to identify stars at the NBL pre-season Blitz
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