NBL Next Stars: How the NBL Became a Pathway to the NBA Draft

Next Stars is the NBL's program for young, NBA-draft-eligible prospects. Instead of spending a year in US college basketball, a player can sign with an NBL club and spend their pre-draft season playing professionally against grown men, with NBA scouts watching every game.

How the program works

• Who it's for: young prospects from overseas as well as Australia and New Zealand, typically teenagers expected to be picked in an upcoming NBA Draft.
• How it fits the roster: Next Stars spots sit alongside a club's regular import places, so taking on a prospect doesn't cost a team one of its established imports.
• What players get: a professional salary, a full season of games under FIBA rules, and a spotlight: NBA teams send scouts to Australia and New Zealand throughout the season.
• What happens next: most Next Stars declare for the NBA Draft at the end of their season. Some come back to the NBL.
• Not an NBL draft: the NBL itself has no draft. Next Stars is one route into the league; the NBL draft guide covers the others, from development contracts to free agency.

Why it started

The idea grew out of Terrance Ferguson's 2016–17 season with the Adelaide 36ers. The American guard skipped college, played a year in the NBL, and was drafted in the first round in 2017. The league formalised the pathway as Next Stars from the 2018–19 season, and it has been a regular part of the NBL since.

Notable Next Stars

The program isn't only for imports. Josh Giddey was an Australian Next Star: a 2020–21 season with the Adelaide 36ers ended with the sixth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Alex Toohey, Rocco Zikarsky and Dash Daniels have since come through the program too. See how every Next Star's NBL season compares on the Next Stars tracker.

Why Next Stars are worth watching

The NBL is a physical, well-coached league full of experienced professionals, so it is a genuine test. Some prospects dominate; others struggle and still get drafted on potential. Either way, you are watching a future NBA player learn in real time.

This season's Next Stars are tracked game by game on the Next Stars tracker. Every NBL player also has a page with their season averages, career numbers, game log, shot chart and percentile profile against the rest of the league. Start from the NBL players list, or put two players side by side with the player comparison tool.