Doolittle weighs Aussie citizenship as Perth ties deepen

Over the past few Hungry Jack's NBL seasons, numerous American stars have naturalised and become Australian citizens, which has many benefits for both the player and the team from a basketball perspective.

First was Adelaide's Bryce Cotton, before Illawarra's Tyler Harvey recently became an Australian citizen.

For the player, it opens the door to representing the Boomers down the track if the opportunity arises. For the club, naturalising the import means he no longer counts against the restricted player limit; he's classified as a local, freeing up the roster for three additional imports.

Other stars around the League are hoping to follow suit too, with Breakers' Parker Jackson-Cartwright saying he 'has already started the process of becoming a New Zealand citizen'.

The next to potentially join those ranks could be Perth forward Kristian Doolittle, who is entering his fourth campaign with the Wildcats.

When asked if he was considering his citizenship options, Doolittle told ESPN: "if the opportunity presents itself."

To do so, Doolittle, who is contracted with the Wildcats until the end of NBL28, would need to make some sacrifices during the off-season, such as not returning home or playing in Puerto Rico, in order to meet the citizenship criteria.

But Doolittle has explained that he and his family would like to stay in Perth long-term.

"Perth has welcomed us with open arms, and it's just a great place to raise a family," Doolittle told The West Australian.

"I'm not high maintenance whatsoever. I've always said, as long my wife has got what she needs, I'm good. She handles everything outside of basketball, and I do my job on the court. There's so many parks and stuff in Perth, and this is just a safe community. So that's really all that I look for. It gives me peace of mind to be able to just focus on basketball."

The Wildcats open their season on Saturday against South East Melbourne at RAC Arena from 9.30pm AEST, live on ESPN, 9 (Perth), 9Go! and 9Now.

Read the full story here >> Perth Wildcats import Kristian Doolittle starts looking into what is needed to become an Australian citizen