Future NBA visits floated as Pelicans sweep NBL rivals
Shayne Hope |
New Orleans coach Willie Green believes an NBA regular-season game in Australia is possible after his team completed an exhibition series sweep of NBL rivals.
Star forward Zion Williamson wowed another sellout crowd at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena as the Pelicans ended their pre-season visit with a 127-92 win over South East Melbourne on Sunday.
It gave the Pels a perfect record against local clubs in the “NBAxNBL” series after their 107-97 win over Melbourne United two days earlier.
The two games were the first by an NBA team in Australia, after more than 15 years of lobbying by the likes of former players Luc Longley and Andrew Bogut, as well as NBL owner Larry Kestelman.
MLB opened its regular-season in Sydney in 2014 and the NFL will host a competitive game in Melbourne next year, and Green could see the NBA following suit.
“It’s a possibility, for sure,” Green said.
“The game is so global that you get teams that are playing regular-season games in other countries.
“After this experience I think we’ll see more teams (coming to Australia).”
The NBA will play games in Mexico City, London and Berlin during the upcoming season, which starts on October 21.
Pelicans guard Jordan Poole – an NBA champion with Golden State in 2022 – echoed Green’s sentiments about his team’s tour of Australia.
“The interactions (with fans), good basketball … I only have positive things to say,” Poole said.
“It’s something that we should make more routine, for sure.”
Former No.1 draft pick Williamson was the star attraction for Australian fans but was on limited court time as he builds into a predicted breakout season with his vastly improved physique.
Williamson was levels above his NBL opponents, finishing with eight points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in 15 minutes against South East Melbourne.
Fellow starters Saddiq Bey (21 points), Jeremiah Fears (12) and Poole (15) also stood out.
There was a sour note for New Orleans when guard Jose Alvarado hurt his right knee while under pressure from Phoenix import Hunter Maldonado.
Jordan Hunter (17 points), Nathan Sobey and Akech Aliir (both 16) led the scoring for the Phoenix and NBL Next Star Malique Lewis had mixed results, tallying eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two turnovers.
It came after fellow NBA hopeful Dash Daniels – the 17-year-old brother of Boomers and NBA star Dyson Daniels – boosted his draft prospects with an impressive showing for United on Friday.
“He looked good out there,” Phoenix coach Josh King said of Trinidadian forward Lewis.
“There’s no better opportunity than to actually play against an NBA team to see where you stack up.
“He had a lot of good scenes out there, like a lot of our guys, and he’ll continue to get better.
“Hopefully getting out there against these guys gives him confidence moving forward, knowing that he can compete out here against NBA players.”
NBA teams have now won 25 of 26 pre-season games against NBL clubs since the “NBAxNBL” series was introduced in 2017.
The only outlier was in 2022, when the Adelaide 36ers stunned the Phoenix Suns.
AAP
