His dad played with Michael Jordan. Now this Melbourne-born star is shooting for an NBA championship

Last year Dante Exum was in the NBA wilderness and grieving the loss of his father, Australian basketball stalwart Cecil Exum.

On Friday morning the Melbourne-born star will line up alongside Sydney boy Josh Green for the Dallas Mavericks in the hunt for a championship, and Australian basketball great Chris Anstey couldn’t be happier for him.

Dallas Mavericks guard Dante Exum (0) reacts to a play in the western conference finalsCredit: AP

Exum’s rise to the NBA Finals, in which the Mavs will be underdogs against the Boston Celtics, has taken considerable resilience after he was cut by the Houston Rockets in 2021 following injury-ravaged stints with Utah and Cleveland.

But the 28-year-old has been a revelation for the Mavs this season. They surprised some around the league in the off-season when they offered him a partially guaranteed, two-year deal to return to the NBA following two seasons in Europe with Barcelona and Serbian team Partizan Belgrade.

Cecil Exum played for Geelong Supercats, among others, in the NBL. Credit: NBL photos

“To see two Aussies in the NBA Finals – we haven’t seen it for a long time,” said Boomers great Anstey, who is a former Maverick.

“Dante, after the injuries he has had, and the year he has had in losing his dad – I’m really happy for him and hope he has a really positive experience.

“He had two really impressive years in Europe and showed his body was more durable than people thought. When he got back into the NBA, he was still sharp, still impactful, and returned himself to being a mainstream NBA player.”

Cecil Exum was a member of the University of North Carolina’s 1982 NCAA college championship team, where he played and roomed with Michael Jordan before Jordan went on to superstardom with the Chicago Bulls and basketball immortality.

Exum snr was drafted to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA, and moved to Australia in 1986, where he spent seven years in the NBL with the North Melbourne Giants, Melbourne Tigers and Geelong Supercats.

Dante Exum was the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft before injuries appeared to derail his career.

Exum and Green have been regular rotation players for Dallas this season, but their minutes have been reduced in the play-offs as coach Jason Kidd trimmed his rotation to get his stars more court time.

Josh Green attempts a dunk against Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the play-offs.Credit: Getty Images

Those stars include a third “Australian” – the Melbourne-born Kyrie Irving. He, too, is the son of an American expat who moved to Melbourne to play professionally, and will be playing against his old team.

Irving had a short, unhappy tenure in Boston after the team traded for him in 2017, but injuries, bizarre comments and social media posts, and personal issues off the court resulted in both parties souring on each other.

Then there is Green, the 23-year-old born and raised in Sydney who was drafted by Dallas at pick No.18 in the 2020 draft. The franchise signed  him to a three-year, $US41 million ($61.5m) contract extension just before this season.

Green’s defensive nous, athleticism and much-improved three-point shot have made him a reliable role player.

“There has always been a really good role for Aussies, and for all players, if you can fit in alongside superstars,” Anstey said.

“Someone like Delly [Matthew Dellavedova] ... his ability, as much as anything, was being able to fit in and play a role with superstars, and both Dante and Josh have demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice part of their games to fit alongside [Slovenian] superstar Luka Doncic, and now Kyrie. Their roles have been really professional.”

Anstey tipped both players would have their moments in the best-of-seven series, although Green would probably have more of them due to playing more minutes.

“It seems to be that they have settled on Dante’s role as playing one or two minutes, maybe twice a game, where you don’t have Luka or Kyrie in, and he plays that second ball-carrier and defensive player who tries to keep their plus/minus [change in points margin] as neutral as possible,” Anstey said.

Mavericks superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving celebrate their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves during the play-offs.Credit: AP

“It’s much more valuable than people understand.

“As for Josh, I think the improvement in his jump shot, especially that corner three-point shot, has stood out, and then suddenly he will do things [like] the behind-the-back pass he threw against Minnesota, and you wonder where it came from. I think he has been impressive for Dallas for a couple of years now.”

Green and Exum are expected to make Brian Goorjian’s Australian Boomers team for Paris 2024, having been part of the team that won bronze in Tokyo.

The Celtics are favourites after a barnstorming run through the eastern conference, which they dominated. They’re led by the superstar tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with veteran big man Al Horford, hard-nosed point guard Jrue Holiday, and reserve guard Derrick White also impressing.

“They have to start favourites, and it’s amazing how hard people try to dig up dirt on a team that wins 64 games and then goes 12-2 in the play-offs,” Anstey said of the Celtics, who are gunning for their 18th title, which would take them one clear of rivals the Los Angeles Lakers as the NBA’s most successful franchise.

“I think Dallas have the best player in the series [in Doncic] in my estimation, but Boston has a chance to cap off a historic season – not many teams in NBA history have lost so few games on the way to a championship.”

There were doubts around how Doncic and Irving could fit together, but as the season went on, their connection has grown and in the play-offs they have shared the big moments and taken their team to within four wins of the title.

“Kyrie’s ability to buy into the group and to stay in the shadows to some extent publicly has been impressive, but that will be tested in Boston as perhaps they have as sour taste in their mouth as any club when it comes to him,” Anstey said.

Game one of the NBA Finals tips off on Friday at 10.30am (AEST) with ESPN and NBA League Pass showing all games live.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.