JLA Return “Massive” for United

Friday, April 14, 2023

Returning superstar Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (JLA) is a “massive” signing for Melbourne United according to 2010 MVP Corey Williams and NBL analyst Liam Santamaria.

“JLA is coming back to lay it down,” Williams said on NBL Overtime.

Lual-Acuil Jr was a force of nature in the NBL two seasons ago. The 28-year-old won a championship with Melbourne United in 2021 and won the Sixth Man of the Year Award, while also being a Finalist for the MVP in 2022.

After a season with the Nanjing Tongxi Monkey Kings in the Chinese CBA, Lual-Acuil Jr has retuned to his Melbourne family, and Williams is excited to see what the Aussie five-man will provide this season.

“To bring back the Grim Reaper, aka JLA, that is a void that needed to be filled and it wasn’t a void that was filled since he left,” Williams said.

“It’s great to see him back.

“We joked around a lot and we said that when he gets the ball, he ain’t passing. We’ve grown accustomed to him doing things like that when he did get the ball.

“It’s a great look to have him back in our league.

“I’m just happy he’s back in the league because I don’t even think there’s a five currently that could stop him. What five in this league could stop JLA.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JLA was ??? in NBL22 ?<br><br>The star centre will be back on the NBL hardwood in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL24?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL24</a>. Who can't wait to see him back in action? ?‍?? <a href="https://t.co/nZA2UPzYDY">pic.twitter.com/nZA2UPzYDY</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1646308629119909889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Santamaria agreed with Williams and mentioned the possibility of Lual-Acuil Jr reaching the NBA is best done through the second-best basketball league in the world.

“He still wants to get to the NBA of course, so he should. Because he’s seeing guys like Xavier Cooks and Jock Landale, who he used to go at in practice, get those massive opportunities,” Santamaria said.

“Massive for that team, massive for the league. Free agency, there’s names popping around left and right, you lose track of the actual impact a guy is going to have.

“This guy is a force in this league, and Melbourne United are going to have him in the middle.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SIGNED ??<a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnited</a> have made a ???? move in free agency, and have brought Jo Lual-Acuil Jr back to the NBL on a two-year deal ?<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/WW5oPEiZbe">https://t.co/WW5oPEiZbe</a> <a href="https://t.co/AgEuWReIyj">pic.twitter.com/AgEuWReIyj</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1646033986190229504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

With United fans howling with delight, Santamaria reiterated the impact that Lual-Acuil Jr had on this league, and the huge ‘welcome back’ that has already been received.

“We’ve missed him, we missed him last season. Melbourne United missed him last season,” Santamaria said.

“Went to China, put up massive numbers and did his thing. It says a lot about the league and about the club that he wants to come back.

“All-NBL First team, top three in MVP voting, 16 points, nine rebounds, two blocks a game. [He] was a force in NBL22.”

United have created waves already with player signings and to stay up to date with player movement, head to the NBL Free Agency hub and the NBL YouTube channel.