King Opens Up on 2021 NBA Draft, Australian Boomers Representation

NBL Next Star Mojave King says his goal is to get selected “as high as possible” in the 2021 NBA Draft.

King will play for the Cairns Taipans in NBL21 and is eligible for next year’s draft. One mock draft from nbadraft.net has King listed as the number seven selection, while some draft boards don’t have him listed at all, leaving his draft status as a bit of a mystery at this stage.  

While he admits he does look at mock drafts, King says he doesn’t let them distract him from the task at hand, which is having the best campaign he can with the Taipans.

“It’s impossible for me not to see that stuff because I’m on social media and all that,” King said on Isolation Conversation.

“I try not to pay too much attention to it to be honest, I kind of just look at it. If they leave me off it completely, I’m like yeah okay, I try to use it as motivation but it’s still a long way away.

“I’ve got a whole season to play first, so I’m just trying to develop and get better every day and focus on what I can control.

“I’m trying to go as high as possible. I feel like if I just focus on what I can control this year and get out on the floor and do my thing, I feel like that’ll take care of itself.”

Along with making the NBA, another goal on King’s list is to represent the Australian Boomers.

King has an American dad and New Zealand mum and holds American and New Zealand citizenship. Despite that, the Queenslander has confirmed he wants to play for the Boomers and is working through gaining Australian citizenship.  

“That’s the plan, that’s the goal,” King said of representing Australia.

“I’ve been trying to go through the process for a while now but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get it yet. Still just trying to go through it, do everything I need to do to be able to one day throw on the green and gold hopefully.”

King has been training with Cairns over the past few months as they prepare for NBL21. The Next Star has revealed the attractive play style the Taipans displayed last season helped convince him to join the club and come to the NBL instead of college or other international leagues.

“Cairns last year, I was watching them play, they were getting up and down, throwing lobs and stuff like that and that’s how I really like to play, so I’m excited to be a part of that,” King said.

“I felt like it was the best place for me to be. A combination of the play style, the coaching staff, the group they already had, being close to home. It was a lot of things that were really perfect for me, so it seemed like the best spot for me to be at.”