Million-dollar decision: Why Alex Toohey waited to nominate for the NBA draft

Alex Toohey faced the toughest of decisions at the end of last NBL season.

Should the NBL Next Stars player dash off to the NBA draft and go all in, hoping a team would pick him up? On the line were millions in earnings and a career in the American basketball league.

Sydney Kings forward Alex Toohey is fast emerging as an NBA Draft prospect. Credit: Louise Kennerley

The feedback for the Sydney Kings forward was mixed. Though just 19, he impressed with his maturity as well as his 203-centimetre frame, his versatility and his defensive skills. But his shooting, his ball-handling and his strength needed years of work.

Like any draft prospect, he just needed one team to fall in love with him and the NBA millions would follow. But he might have slipped and found himself stuck with the scores of promising but uncontracted players on the NBA fringes.

He took advice to remain with the Kings for another year and threw himself into a heavy off-season of work.

A three-month stint in Los Angeles working out with NBA players including Zach Lavine, Klay Thompson, Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels followed, then camps as a train-on player with the Australian Boomers as they prepared for Paris 2024.

Toohey saw first hand that he could match it with NBA athletes and formed bonds with his now Kings coach Brian Goorjian and veteran forward Joe Ingles, among others.

Sydney Kings forward Alex Toohey throws down a dunk against New Zealand Breakers in 2024.Credit: ESPN

Toohey clearly made the right call. Halfway through the NBL season, the now 20-year-old is playing a bigger role for the Kings and is pushing to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft this June.

“If you get to the NBA, and say I was a second-round pick, if you are not getting playing time and not getting developed, then one or two years later you can fall out of the NBA and it can be hard to get back in,” Toohey said.

“I didn’t want to mess around with my foundations as a basketball player, I wanted to solidify that I can excel in this league [the NBL].

“Having ‘Goorj’ here [Kings coach Goorjian] and the line-up that we have – it all pointed towards me having the ball in my hands more and taking that next step in my development, then hopefully make the jump [to the NBA] with some confidence that I know what it takes.”

Toohey used to aim to fit into the NBA role known as a “three and D” player. It requires someone who can shut down an opposition player defensively and make open three-pointers so defences can’t sag away from them.

But Goorjian sees much more in his young star.

“I keep telling him, he’s more than ‘a three and D guy’,” Goorjian said.

Sydney Kings forward Alex Toohey is doing everything he can to go from the NBL to the NBA in 2025.Credit: Louise Kennerley

“He played like a guard, he was positionless, his position was based on who he guarded.

“I enjoy him. I’m just as excited about him as I was when I got here. I think he’s targeted [by opponents], everybody knows he is one of our key players.”

Finding “positionless” players has become a vital element of NBA roster building, as shown by the impact of the likes of Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James and others.

“I’m the kind of person who feels there is always something else you can do,” Toohey said.

“I’ve got a lot of tools with my size and athleticism and my IQ. I feel like I can change basketball games with what I have, so with that confidence, I think the person that loves the journey and the process is going to go farther than the person that just loves the destination.

“As much as I can stick to that and just keep getting better every day, I feel like the limit is almost limitless.”

The Athletic’s senior writer Sam Vecenie focuses heavily on the NBA draft and he has heard a mix of reviews from teams on Toohey. He has Toohey at pick 37 in his current mock draft, but says he could end up in the top 30. ESPN has Toohey in a range between 30-50.

“Alex’s issue in terms of switchability at NBA level is going to be his foot speed – he’s not overly quick at that level,” Vecenie said.

Sydney’s Alex Toohey battles for a rebound with Brisbane duo Tyrell Harrison and Tohi Smith-Milner. Credit: Getty Images

“He does a great job of sliding his feet laterally, I think he needs a lot of work on his closeout mechanics. But I’m a fan of the way he is willing to take on different match-ups defensively and I’m a fan of how he communicates defensively – for such a young player he is talking all the time.

“I think he will shoot it [well] and he sees the court reasonably well – all of this translates to a potentially really solid rotation player in the NBA.”

Adjusting to NBA athletes was a big part of Toohey’s pre-season and the work he’s doing in the lead-up to the draft.

“You are going to have to guard quicker, more athletic bodies and, talking to those guys, such an important part of the game now is making your open three-pointers,” Toohey said.

“The speed and skill of the NBA is an adjustment but I feel like the NBL is already a pretty fast league as well.”

Just like Daniels and Giddey, both first round picks, did before him, Toohey knows he needs to make a strong impression when he works out for teams before draft.

“I don’t get too caught up on where people rank me,” Toohey said.

“It’s about trusting myself and trusting that I’m getting better each day and understanding that when it comes to those decision-making days closer to the draft, that’s when it really counts.

“So as long as I’m at my best on those days, then I can show teams, in person, what I have and what I can do.”

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