A Sunday state of mind

Written for nbl.com.au by Tom Hersz

Free Agency brings opportunity. For some, it’s an opportunity to get a change of scenery and play a different style; for others, it provides a chance to take on a bigger role or get a bigger payday. And for some, it brings the opportunity to come full circle in their career.

Sunday Dech began his NBL career with his hometown Perth Wildcats as a development player 12 years ago. He played two seasons there, winning a championship in 2014, before heading to the United States to play collegiately for three years. Dech returned to Western Australia in 2018, trained with a few NBL teams including the Wildcats, and found his way onto their roster for NBL19 as a nominated replacement player, ultimately winning a second championship.

Dech as a Wildcat in 2019.

But Dech then left for a bigger role, playing a year with the Illawarra Hawks and solidifying himself as a premier wing defender in the NBL, before spending the last five seasons with the Adelaide 36ers.

While the 36ers didn’t have much on-court success during his time there, Dech became a fixture of their lineups and part of their leadership group. He saw coaches come and go—four coaches in five seasons—with his role and usage fluctuating, but he managed to be a positive influence in that locker room and was very well respected.

As free agency began this year and Dech found himself out of contract, he had a sense it was time to move on.

“I think everything runs its course, right?” he told NBL Media this week.

“I’ve definitely had a great five years in Adelaide. There’s been ups and downs on the court and off it, but for me, it felt like it was time to move on. The club made an offer and there were talks there, but I just felt it was the right time to move on in terms of this stage of my career and what I’m looking for in the next chapter.”

Dech during his time at the 36ers.

So, with a fresh start ahead of him, Dech and his agent set about looking at opportunities for the 31-year-old. His priorities were centred around team culture—both on and off the court—understanding what his role may look like, and also understanding the priorities of any new team he was considering so he could get a sense of how they would like to play.

Dech asked a lot of questions through that process and was able to pretty quickly narrow it down to a couple of teams, including Perth. But the Wildcats soon emerged as the perfect fit for him.

“Obviously, being familiar there with playing my early years in Perth,” Dech acknowledged as a big factor.

“And then talking to the new coaching staff there and things they wanted to emphasise and progress forward. And obviously playing Finals as well. Five years in Adelaide, we played one final and that was this year.

“Perth’s got a rich history in playing Finals basketball and that’s the most fun part of the year, and the group they were wanting to put together and assemble was going to be a fun way to play for me as well.”

Welcome home, Sunday. ❤️

The Perth Wildcats are excited to announce the return of two-time NBL champion Sunday Dech on a three-year deal.

Read more: https://t.co/aICRKnir6k pic.twitter.com/i8rwXFzhN0

— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) April 22, 2025

It wasn’t a fait accompli that Dech would return home to the Wildcats though. Early in the process, he wasn’t even looking at them, thinking some of the players they already had in the backcourt would return and limit his opportunities.

But he began a dialogue with Danny Mills and their coaching staff. He also leant on relationships he had with some of their assistants from playing in the NBL1 West last year, as well as some friends who played with Perth, and that gave him some good insight into how the club has changed since he left in 2019 and what it was like now.

“As the talks progressed, I got really excited about what they envisioned moving forward, ’cos the big question was the post-Bryce era,” Dech explained.

“What was that going to look like and how they were going to attack it. That seemed really positive from my angle. They’d done their homework and instead of me asking the questions, they asked a lot of questions of me as well.

“To me, that showed that they were really interested in me and how they saw me fitting into the team, my kind of role moving forward and how things were looking in terms of shaping together a championship team.

“That was big in my priorities and also the cultural side of things, how they were going to make that fit with the new pieces and the pieces they were retaining.”

Dech signed a three-year deal (third year mutual option) which should take him through NBL28, and he is looking forward to playing in front of familiar faces more often, as well as being in familiar settings in his hometown.

“My parents and siblings would fly to Adelaide once a year to come visit us, and [I was] missing a big chunk of their lives growing up,” said Dech.

While it will clearly be a nice change for Dech and his family, there are still a number of unknowns with the Perth Wildcats roster. So far this offseason, they’ve extended Elijah Pepper and development player Tom Gerovich, signed Cameron Huefner as a DP, re-signed imports Kristian Doolittle and Dylan Windler, re-signed David Okwera, and now brought in Dech and his former 36ers teammate Lat Mayen.

But there is still a big hole left by Bryce Cotton, uncertainty as to the future of Keanu Pinder with the club, and it looks likely that Ben Henshall—who has now declared for the NBA Draft—will either get drafted or explore playing in college in the U.S.

So the NBL25 Playoffs side will look a lot different when they hit the floor in September. How the roster will be filled out—and how Dech will fit in—were certainly front of mind when he was meeting with Mills and Head Coach John Rillie.

Sunday Dech is feeling it on a Sunday! 🔥

Live & free on ESPN | 10 & 10 Play pic.twitter.com/mV7eE00InO

— NBL (@NBL) December 8, 2024

“They were important questions and ones that I asked over a couple of weeks. They painted a picture for me, went through some film and laid out what they thought they could put together in terms of a team,” explained Dech.

“The last couple of years, they’ve been known for their high-octane offence, scoring in the hundreds regularly. But for me obviously, being a guard and a defensive guard at that, I was curious as to how that was shaping up. They want to recruit length, size and positional switchability, which is key, hence the signing of Doolittle, Windler, Lat [Mayen] and myself.

“That goes a long way, especially in a league where every game matters and if something happens with injuries or foul trouble, you’ve got guys who can play multiple positions and switch. And [then] getting a five-man that’s versatile and can play multiple defensive coverages.

“Offensively, obviously Perth have scored a lot of points the last couple of years and that’s something we want to continue, but more so, focus it in a team aspect, where you can create an advantage and keep the advantage. And that’s very hard to do when you’ve got the best player in the league scoring nearly 30 points a game every night. You have to play through him, give him the ball and then play off that.

“So, I think from JR and the coaching side of things, they were really excited about the opportunity to explore this style of play which they tapped into last year when Bryce was injured a little bit. And they felt like retaining guys like Doolittle, guys like Windler, David Okwera coming back as well and hopefully Henshall, but having that continuity in terms of systems and types of players to fit these positions, will go a long way.”

Dech also acknowledged that it’s no secret Perth is going after a marquee five-man and hoping to land either Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. or Yanni Wetzell, which he thinks could put them “over the edge”. He guesses that if Henshall does not return, they’ll likely consider an import point guard with their final import spot.

But like everyone, he’s waiting to see how the roster shakes out when it’s completed. When it is, he’ll continue building relationships with his new teammates, because aside from his steady shooting, secondary playmaking, transition scoring and strong defensive presence, Dech was also signed to provide leadership and experience to what is looking like a younger roster this season.

With nine seasons of NBL experience under his belt, he will support Jesse Wagstaff as the Wildcats reset slightly in this new, post-Bryce Cotton era.

“For me, they talked a lot about what they’re going to expect of me in things on and off the court. And also, how I can help Jesse on the leadership side of things,” Dech said.

“Just showing the young guys what it takes in terms of professionalism, what it takes day in and day out to win, building those winning habits. And it’s not saying they didn’t do it, but that’s something I definitely take pride in because I learnt from the best and I learnt all those things at the Wildcats in my younger days. So, it’s a bit of a full-circle moment there in that regard.”

Two of those younger players he will help to mentor, Dech already has a strong connection with. One is Mayen, who he played with in Adelaide last season. The other is Okwera, who is actually Dech’s cousin.

And while neither Dech nor Mayen has ever played with Okwera in the NBL, the three of them will have an instant connection by virtue of their South Sudanese heritage.

Dech, who was part of the South Sudanese National Men’s Team—the Bright Stars—that made history with their first FIBA World Cup (2023) and Olympic (2024) appearances over the last two years, is extremely proud of his heritage. With a strong South Sudanese community in Perth, having three players with that heritage playing for the Wildcats in NBL26 is significant for Dech.

“It’s something really special,” he admitted.

“You alluded to the strong South Sudanese community in Perth. It’s one that I grew up in and one that I’m still very fond of. Especially the Perth Rhinos, which is a South Sudanese basketball program that we came through—myself, JLA [Jo Lual-Acuil], Duop [Reath]—all of us came through that program, so to be able to go back and give back to that is going to be something that I’ll look forward to as well.

“But, to have David [Okwera], who is my younger cousin on the team, it’s pretty cool right? I was there when he was born and now back here when he’s a professional and playing on the same team, so I’ll look forward to that.”

From Adelaide, to the South Sudan Bright Stars, to Perth. ❤️

Sunday Dech and Lat Mayen are reunited again! pic.twitter.com/cXwMi9Yegi

— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) April 23, 2025

“And Lat, you know he’s a brother of mine. We’ve definitely gotten really close over the last couple of years and especially last year in Adelaide through the highs and lows. Bringing him out west and showing him the ropes of things in WA, I’m looking forward to that.

“He’s someone that’s got a bright future—so does David—and any experience I can give to help those guys progress in their careers is something I’ll give freely. And that’s with anyone, but obviously having that bond, being South Sudanese, makes it even more special.”

Dech representing South Sudan.

Before he gets to Perth though, to start training under Rillie with the Wildcats, Dech is once again spending his off-season in the NBL1 to stay in shape, work on his game and take on a new challenge. 

After playing in the West conference last season with the East Perth Eagles, he’s moved to the NBL1 South conference this year to join the two-time defending National Champion Knox Raiders.

Knox is currently in second place with a 5-1 record and Dech is averaging 17.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.5 steals, while making 2 threes per game and shooting 49.4% from the field (36.4 3FG%).

Dech was considering not playing this off-season, but the chance to work with Head Coach Matt Nunn, team up with former 36ers teammate Tad Dufelmeier Jr., as well as Brody Nunn (Tasmania) and Keli Leaupepe (Sydney), on a team that has a strong winning culture, was too exciting to pass up.

“He’s [Nunn] put together a really good team, Knox are always in the finals, they’ve won the National Finals the last two years, so practices were going to be competitive,” said Dech. 

“Also, they’re very well resourced in terms of taking care of your body and looking after the health and wellbeing side of things, which was going to be an emphasis of mine this off-season, just having a few injuries this past season. So, when I talked to Nunny, he explained what they were about and it’s everything that I was looking for in a club to come and be a part of. 

“To play winning basketball, be held accountable and push for a championship, that’s the joy of it. To do it alongside Tad, who was my teammate in Adelaide, who I’ve stayed close with and Keli who I’ve gotten to know really well, it’s really good. 

“And when I came in the first week, I was like ‘wow, this is tough.’ We train hard and we play hard, but we reap the rewards of that. So, it took an adjustment period, but it’s paying dividends because we pay a lot of attention to our bodies through the strength and conditioning side, the rehab side, and being located at the State Basketball Centre where we have access to great facilities there and a bunch of resources. 

“So, that was the drawcard and obviously we’re winning a lot of games, so that makes it easier as well.”

Dech lining up for Knox in the NBL1.

Of course, Dech is hoping that those winning habits will extend to NBL26 when he takes the floor at RAC Arena as his home court for the first time since NBL19.

Playing in front of the Red Army is something he is very excited about as he knows what an advantage they can provide on certain nights. And if he’s going to help the Wildcats win another title, his third potentially, then they’ll need that ‘jungle’ atmosphere to be in full force.

“I think the Perth fans have been known to be some of the loudest and best in the competition, and to be able to play with them and not against them, it’s going to be a change and something I’m looking forward to,” he admitted. 

“Because, when they get roaring it’s very hard to stop that momentum and stop that wave, so to be on the good side now is going to be fun. 

“The Red Army has always been very vocal and very supportive, so to return home to your home city and have my mum in the crowd every game as well, is going to be pretty special.”