Murphy III: 'NBL teams will bring the heat"

With the 2025-26 NBA season fast-approaching, the New Orleans Pelicans are making the most of their time together, during the historic NBAxNBL Melbourne Series.

During Thursday's open training session at Rod Laver Arena, Pelicans star Trey Murphy III, who averaged a career-high 21.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season, explained how this historic series gives them a chance to 'build chemistry' against strong opposition, from a well-respected league.

"We're very conscious [of who we're coming up against] and understand the NBL is a really good league and have plenty of talented players," 144-game NBA veteran Murphy said during Thursday's media scrum.

"[In particular] I know they [Melbourne United] have Dash [Daniels], who is the little brother of my former teammate Dyson.

"He's been getting better as a player and plays a lot like Dyson, so I know he'll be ready to compete with us on Friday."

The 25-year-old Virginia alum elaborated on that point, knowing how beneficial it is to compete against international teams that play a different style to the NBA.

"It's really cool [to get this chance to come to Australia]," Murphy said.

"I went to Italy three summers ago and the overseas game is very different to the NBA, there's a lot of hard-hedging and it's a brand of basketball which moves a lot.

"It's always great to play different teams and I'm excited to play."

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Here’s how you can watch the NBAxNBL games:

New Orleans Pelicans vs Melbourne United
Friday, October 3, 2025 – 7.30pm AEST
How to watch: Live on Amazon Prime Video, 10 Drama and NBA League Pass

New Orleans Pelicans vs South East Melbourne Phoenix
Sunday, October 5, 2025 – 2pm AEDT
How to watch: Live on Amazon Prime Video, 10 and NBA League Pass

Events to come:

- NBAxNBL Fan Zone (Bounce Nation) - Thursday, October 2 to Sunday, October 5 at Rod Laver Arena.
- NBAxNBL Fan Night – Saturday, October 4, 2025, 6pm AEST: A showcase event with player performances, basketball challenges, live entertainment and more.
- Southern Tip-Off Louisiana Luncheon – Sunday, October 5, 2pm AEDT: An exclusive lunch at Centrepiece, while listening to two-time NBA Champion and ten-time All-Star Ray Allen, 15-time All-Star Kevin Garnett, six-time NBL MVP Andrew Gaze, and Olympic silver medallist Michele Timms.

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