A basketball fans perspective

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The NBL

This is not a reference to the former basketball league that eventually became part of today’s NBA. Here, the focus is the National Basketball League, or NBL, in Australia. While the number of NBL players reaching the NBA has not been overwhelming, the league has produced NBA talent for several years. LaMelo Ball, for example, played for the Illawarra Hawks, earned NBL Rookie of the Year honors, and the following season was named NBA Rookie of the Year with the Hornets.

Others have followed similar paths. Rayan Rupert, who played for the New Zealand Breakers, was drafted by the Blazers and is now with the Grizzlies, splitting time between the parent club and the G League Hustle. Bobi Klintman, formerly of the Cairns Taipans, now divides his time between the Pistons and the Motor City Cruise. AJ Johnson, another former Illawarra Hawk, was drafted by the Bucks and is now with the Mavericks. Josh Giddey reached the NBA after playing for the Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne Tigers, while Alex Sarr played for the Perth Wildcats before being drafted by the Wizards. This list is not complete; I may have missed several players. Still, even if the numbers are modest, the NBL offers clear evidence that Australia remains a source of basketball talent.

Was he blackballed

We use the headline above on those occasions when an athlete is generally ignored by a league for political, racial or other unnamed reasons. That is the case for the late Raymond Lewis, he was drafted in 1973 by the Sixers but never played in the NBA. From what I have been able to gather it had nothing to do with his ability….it was said at the time his attitude. Where did this story begin, Lewis had distinguished himself on the basketball court for Verdum Dei High School in Los Angeles. While enrolled at Verdum Dei he led the school to an 84-4 record and three consecutive CIF titles from 1969 through 1971. It was said the 6-foot 2 175 pound Lewis received over 250 offers but decided to attend Cal-State L.A., according to the history Lewis was a scoring machine while enrolled. Was he ready for the NBA, the Sixers believed that to be the case.

In 1973 he became the 18th pick in the first round of that year’s draft. The next portion of the story becomes who do you believe? Reports are Lewis had played outstanding during rookie camp even outplaying Doug Collins the Sixers number one pick. At this point “the water becomes a little murky,” the Sixers contend Lewis walked out of camp over a contract dispute. According to Lewis he was told “to sit out a year and mature,” he claims the Sixers tore up the original agreement and informed him he had to earn a spot on the team. Back then there were 12 players on a team under contract, he attempted to go to the ABA but the Sixers threatened him with a lawsuit. In 1975 he was invited back for the third year of his contract but didn’t make the team. The story of his potential NBA career ends at this point, Lewis would battle alcoholism and depression for the latter part of his life. February 2001 he died after complications developed from amputation of his leg and a stroke. Raymond Lewis drafted into the NBA but never played a minute….was he blackballed by the league?

It’s my belief

You probably read or heard many of the same stories as me. The claim there is more emphasis on recruiting portal transfers than high school prospects. This is easy to understand, a portal player has played at the collegiate level already and the only adjustment required is a new team/conference. Notice I didn’t include the coach/coaching staff in our account, I would guess the athlete would be okay in that department prior to committing. Despite what you just read it’s my belief high school remains more fertile than portal transfers for a single reason….length of time. Often portal players have no more than two seasons of eligibility remaining, a high school prospect not NBA driven could provide a coach four quality seasons. With that statement let’s check out the ranking ESPN assigns several colleges for the 2026-27 season. They rank John Calapari’s Arkansas Razorbacks having the top rank group of high school prospects in the nation.

At number two they place the Duke Blue Devils which says to me Jon Scheyer has continued to funnel talent to Durham. At three the Bill Self and his Kansas Jayhawks managed to secure the number one prospect in the country Tyran Stokes, he is headed to Lawrence Kansas. Number four, the defending NCAA champion Michigan Wolverines are placed here. Number five at Southern Cal the Ratliff twins arrive and demonstrate the recruiting prowess of the university. Number 6 the Michigan State Spartans, Tom Izzo is still on the job coaching and beating the bushes for talent. At 7 we find the Missouri Tigers making the cut for the first time under Dennis Gates. Number 8 is Alabama while number 9 is Oklahoma State, we close the Top 10 with BYU which intends to continue its winning ways despite no AJ Dybantsa. There is no guarantee that any of these schools will have successful seasons or with the NCAA championship, ESPN happens to believe these schools have added the best crop of incoming freshmen.  

The NBA (international) draft

In a few short weeks at Barclays Center the NBA draft will be held once again. The vast majority of names will be known college players, included in the number will be a few international athletes. I checked two mock draft sites and both place 5 international athletes in the first and second round, of course that’s not to state it will occur. There are at least two college prospects in this draft who played at American universities, this is liable to increase the number even greater. Will this 2026 draft contain the next “Wemby or SGA” that’s highly unlikely but certainly not beyond the realm of possibility.

Unlike other American sports basketball has exploded on the international level for a variety of reasons. Other American sports are yet to reach that level and a few might never reach the level of basketball. I can state with confidence the NBA and basketball in general is the only American sport with an ever increasing international flair, allow a brief explanation on the others. Major League Baseball has long contained international athletes the majority of athletes coming from Latin American nations. More recently we’ve seen an increase from other parts of the world too, those who follow the game closer than me might disagree with my next statement. It’s my belief the best baseball player in the world is the Dodgers Shohei Ohtani who hails from Japan. Although the NFL is the sport most popular on these shores the following is smaller on an international level. As for football/soccer in this nation I am unsure of the count but believe the sport contains a smaller number of American athletes compared to international one’s.

In any event back to our sport basketball, it shouldn’t come as a surprise for a variety of unexplained reasons the game has grown overseas at a greater level than other sports. On an international level there are probably more Little League baseball teams than peewee football played throughout the world. I continue to take a world view of  basketball, all those arriving on these shores will not be noteworthy in the NBA as Wemby has become, however, quality athletes will continue to land in the U.S.