With the NBA draft just over one week away, the league is set to welcome in a new group of players from all over the globe as the incoming rookie class prepares to transition to the next level.
The draft features several highly touted prospects from the college ranks, and others from some of the new, alternative pathways such as the NBA G League Ignite or “Next Stars” program in the NBL. The various routes each aim to help players develop on and off the court.
Earlier in the process, the NBA Academy has become another option.
The NBA Academy, which was started in 2016, is a year-round basketball development program that provides the top high school-age prospects from outside the United States with the necessary tools to unlock their skills in a variety of ways.
The program saw its first player drafted into the NBA last year when the Oklahoma City Thunder took Josh Giddey with the sixth pick. Giddey spent time at the NBA Academy in Canberra, Australia, and quickly emerged as one of the top international prospects.
Of course, Giddey stayed home side and played with the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL. He was named the Rookie of the Year after averaging 10.9 points, 7.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals. He led the league in assists and was the youngest Australian to register a triple-double at 18.
The NBA was ecstatic to have Giddey become the first player drafted from the program.
“We were really excited that it was Josh for a few reasons,” said Chris Ebersole, the NBA senior director of international basketball operations. “One is the pathway he took and the fact that he really focused on his development and his skill and wasn’t necessarily identified as a top prospect globally.
The fact that he’s an unselfish player — his primary skill is passing. That style of play is something that we’ve all tried to preach within the NBA Academy program: Sharing, helping make others better and that will come back to you as a player if you do that. To have a player like Josh, who, at times will sacrifice his individual accomplishments to make others around him better, be the first to be drafted in the NBA, I thought it was a nice feeling to have come to fruition.
With Giddey becoming the first alumni drafted, the program is poised to have as many as three additional players selected this year: NBA G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels, Davidson forward Hyunjung Lee and Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin.
Daniels and Mathurin are each projected to be lottery picks on June 23 after taking different paths. Lee, who is seeking to become just the second-ever Korean player in the NBA, is considered to be a potential second-round pick after a strong junior campaign.
Rookie Wire spoke to Ebersole at length to discuss the next wave of NBA Academy players set to enter the league and their unique paths to reach this point of the process.