Josh Giddey: Why the NBL is perfect stepping stone to the NBA

Player salaries are wildly different but JOSH GIDDEY says the NBA and the NBL have more in common than you might think. And that can help pick your next SuperCoach NBL star.

Dyson Daniels of the New Orleans Pelicans drives against Ousmane Dieng of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Picture: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

It’s been said of late that the NBL is the best basketball league in the world outside of the NBA and, having played in both competitions, I can honestly say this isn’t just a throwaway line or clever marketing strategy.

Whenever I’m in Australia, I make sure I go to games and firmly believe basketball and sports fans Down Under should be appreciative of the world-class standard of basketball they can experience in their own backyards.

The NBL is a genuine pathway and the fact players can bounce straight into the NBA and have an immediate impact only reinforces just how good the league is.

While there are stark differences – the most obvious being the player salaries in the NBA – from a pure basketball perspective, the NBL is the closest thing to the NBA.

Let’s start with the players and the springboard that has been generated between the leagues.

Last season alone, 14 players with NBL experience appeared on an NBA court, including my Oklahoma City teammate and fellow NBL Next Star alumni, Ousmane Dieng.

There’s little doubt that playing in the NBL accelerated our development and readiness for the NBA. Often, it wasn’t even about statistics. There were many aspects such as the physicality of the game, learning how to be a professional athlete, the rigours of a regular season schedule and the importance of recovery; being exposed to these elements was priceless. The up and down style of the NBL, as opposed to the slower halfcourt game in Europe, is most akin to the NBA style, which makes for an easy transition.

LaMelo Ball shot to NBA stardom after a season with the Illawara Hawks in the NBL. Picture: Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

With other recent NBL-to-NBA success stories such as LaMelo Ball, Xavier Cooks, Jack White and Jock Landale, it’s pretty cool how many NBA-calibre players are now wanting to come to the NBL because they know it’s their best chance of getting into, or back into, the NBA.

The NBL has fast become a destination league.

For this upcoming NBL season, I’m told there are around 20 players with NBA experience. And that doesn’t include players right on the brink of an NBA deal such as Sydney’s DJ Hogg and Melbourne’s Luke Travers – who was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022 and I expect will be signed in the very near future.

Hogg is priced at $375,00 and Travers $276,300 in SuperCoach – keep both in mind when picking your team.

To highlight the status and standing the NBL holds in global basketball, you don’t need to look much further than Travers. Luke told me that the Cavs have encouraged him to stay in the NBL to advance and progress his game, as opposed to going to Europe or Asia.

Clearly, NBA teams believe in the value and quality of the NBL as there are more than 45 NBA scouts registered to attend the NBL’s pre-season competition, the Blitz, on the Gold Coast in a couple weeks. My agent just mentioned that it will be the most NBA executives on the ground in Australia at one time, ever.

In my opinion, one of the main reasons the NBL draws so much global attention and respect is because it’s a pure style of basketball with a big focus on teamwork. To be successful in the NBL, you need total buy-in from all 12 players on the roster.

DJ Hogg has joined the Kings this season. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

The NBA has the biggest and best athletes, no doubt, which often means individual players can take over games, mainly because they have the supreme talent to do so. It’s what makes life so tough as a defender in the NBA.

In the NBL, you don’t often see much isolation ball in a team’s playbook. This is mainly because clubs are so well defensively drilled and driven; you will be punished as a player if you attempt to be selfish and take over a game.

One major similarity between both leagues is the pace. NBA and NBL have close to the same number of possessions per 40 minutes, highlighting the quickness and scoring are very equal.

NBA superstar Luka Doncic summed it up by saying, “Basketball in EuroLeague – it’s more team basketball, it’s more tactics, and you have less time. I would say that scoring is easier in the NBA just because of the different rules, the amount of space, the time”.

To be clear, nobody is suggesting the NBA is easier than the NBL, but Luka’s logic can absolutely be applied to the Aussie league.

With a tight 28-game season, every game is vital to a team’s finals hopes. Last season’s post-season wasn’t decided until the last game of the regular season, while teams missing out by one game or percentage is a common occurrence. Simply put, there are no games off in the NBL and every moment matters.

Speaking of not having an off game, we are now in that situation at the FIBA World Cup with the Boomers, as we prepare for the next group stage where every game is basically do-or-die.

We have noticed and appreciated all of the great support coming from Australia and we can’t wait to hit the court again on Friday night.

Originally published as Josh Giddey: Why the NBL is perfect stepping stone to the NBA