Is There an NBL Draft? How Players Actually Get Into the NBL

No, there is no NBL draft. Unlike the NBA or the AFL, the NBL does not hand out young players through a draft. Clubs sign players directly, and everyone on an NBL roster got there by agreeing a contract with a club. If you want to play in the NBL, the goal isn't to be drafted: it is to play well enough, in front of the right people, that a club offers you a deal.

How an NBL roster is built

Every club fills the same kinds of spots, within rules the league sets each season:

• Contracted players. The core of the squad, signed on one-year or multi-year deals. Contracts often include a club, player or mutual option for a later season.
• Imports. Players who are not Australian or New Zealand nationals. Each club can sign up to three, so there are at most 30 import spots in the whole league, and they usually go to experienced professionals.
• Development players. Young Australian and New Zealand players who train every day with the squad on a smaller contract. Clubs have had up to three development spots in recent seasons, and a development player can be elevated to the main roster.
• Next Stars. NBA draft prospects who join through the league's Next Stars program. They sit outside the three import spots.

All of it sits under a salary cap, which was a little over A$2 million per club in 2025–26, with a minimum each club has to spend. The cap is one reason rosters are small and competitive: a club typically has around ten or eleven contracted players.

How NBL free agency works

Most signings happen in the off-season, after the Championship Series. Clubs first decide on the options in existing contracts, the league then publishes the list of free agents, and from there clubs can negotiate with any available player. In 2026, free agency opened on 17 April. Signings keep coming through the winter, and during the season clubs can bring in replacements for injured players.

The pathways into the NBL

Junior, state and national programs

Almost every Australian NBL player came through club basketball, state teams and national junior championships. Junior national teams and the national championships are where talented teenagers first get noticed by NBL coaches and college recruiters.

The Centre of Excellence

Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence and NBA Global Academy at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra take in the best teenage prospects for full-time training. Graduates often head to US college basketball or sign straight onto NBL development contracts.

NBL1

NBL1 is the semi-professional winter competition, played while the NBL is in its off-season. NBL coaches watch it closely, many NBL players use it to stay sharp, and a standout NBL1 season is a common route to a development deal. The NBL vs NBL1 vs WNBL guide explains how the competitions fit together.

US college

Plenty of Australians and New Zealanders play college basketball in the US and come home to the NBL afterwards, often with several years of high-level coaching behind them.

Next Stars

For the very best prospects, the NBL itself is the pathway to the NBA. Next Stars isn't only for imports: Josh Giddey, Alex Toohey, Rocco Zikarsky and Dash Daniels all came through it. See how each one played on the Next Stars tracker.

How imports get to the NBL

Imports are usually signed through agents after college, the NBA G League, Summer League or leagues in Europe and Asia. With so few spots, clubs look for players who can make an immediate impact, and the best imports often stay for several seasons or move between NBL clubs.

So what is the "NBL draft"?

When people talk about the NBL and a draft, they usually mean the NBA Draft. NBL players can be picked in it, and the Next Stars program exists to get prospects drafted: LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey and Alex Sarr were all top-ten NBA picks after a season in the NBL. That draft is run by the NBA, not the NBL.

If you want to play in the NBL

• Play at the highest level you can reach, whether that is a state league, NBL1 or a junior national program.
• Keep game film and statistics: coaches and agents recruit from tape.
• Treat a development contract as a realistic first goal. It is how most young Australians get their start.
• Look at college and the Centre of Excellence as ways to get better coaching and more exposure.

See who made it

Every player who has played this season has a page with their averages, career numbers and game log, starting from the NBL players list. You can put two side by side with the player comparison tool.