NBL the “Best Place to Be” to Make NBA: Landale

San Antonio Spurs forward Jock Landale has declared the NBL is the “best place to be” for players looking to make the NBA.

The 25-year-old joined San Antonio earlier this month after a sensational championship-winning season with Melbourne United.

Landale averaged 16.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in the 2020/21 NBL season, earning a spot on the All-NBL First Team. He also was named Grand Final MVP in Melbourne’s series sweep of the Perth Wildcats.

Before joining United, Landale played in college with Saint Mary’s and he also played in Europe with powerhouse clubs Partizan and Žalgiris. 

As a player who has had experience playing across the globe, Landale believes the NBL is the league that provides the best pathway to the NBA.

“It's got to be the best place to be. The proof is in the pudding,” Landale told The Huddle. 

“You see guys coming out year after year after year and they're not just guys that are treading a fine line. There's an NBA champion in Torrey Craig, there's Josh Giddey who is a lottery pick, LaMelo Ball who is a lottery pick, there's Jae'Sean Tate, who was in Rookie of the Year contention. 

“Guys aren't just coming out of here to tread the fine line between in and out, these dudes are contributing.”

The NBL has championed players from the league making the NBA, as the competition looks to help players achieve their dreams. 

Letting players go to the NBA if an offer is on the table is not a theory followed across all leagues though and Landale thinks the NBL’s combination of opening NBA doors, while maintaining a high standard of play, is making the league an attractive option in world basketball. 

“I think the NBL does themselves such a service in having that leniency to let people go and pursue that dream, that people now look at it as a legitimate pathway,” Landale said.

“The best thing about it is that mentality doesn't take away from the league itself. If anything, it enhances, it creates more excitement, it lures people to the league, and I just keep seeing more and more names that I've played against in EuroLeague, and who are big names, who are coming out there to play. 

“You've got (Peyton) Siva, he's out there this year. You've got some big names rolling through the league now. I was shocked when Colton Iverson went to play out there. He put up some monster games and he was a legitimate EuroLeague big. 

“I think the league itself is just taking steps forward. Now you've got all this extra money coming in because of the TV deals and I think you'll just continue to see more and more guys go out there. I really do believe that the NBL is just doing such great things.”

Landale also praised the “willingness that the GMs and the owners of NBL teams have to let people go”.

Entering NBL21, Landale found himself balancing his desire to make the NBA but also ensuring he was playing his role in helping United win the championship. 

Many pundits believed Landale had the ability to post bigger individual stats than he was during the season, but the Melbourne superstar knew the bigger picture and he drew back on advice from a former teammate when he had moments of self-doubt. 

“I'm a human being, I'm an athlete, so there's always moments throughout the year where I was like, am I doing enough?” Landale said.

“Is the box score what these guys out here look at? I was constantly challenging myself mentally, like, am I doing this the right way? Is this the way to go about it? 

“I kept reflecting back on lessons that I've been taught from guys early on in my career as a professional and Novica Velikovi, my captain from Serbia, we always used to go out and have coffee together and the words that ran through to me always was just, winning takes care of everything. 

“I really do try and embody that now. I'm not perfect mentally, sometimes I do let myself fall into (thoughts of) do I need to be putting up more numbers, but I think this year just proves that theory (of winning takes care of everything) is correct.”

Winning the championship not only inflated Landale’s NBA prospects but it also helped his teammates secure significant contracts elsewhere, including Sam McDaniel with the Tasmania JackJumpers and Mitch McCarron with the Adelaide 36ers. 

“If you win a championship, everyone gets looked after,” Landale said.

“You look at guys like Sam McDaniel, Mitch McCarron, all these guys who are a part of that winning vibe in that culture that we tried to carry forward to a championship, they got looked after and rightfully so, they deserve to be doing what they're doing.”

Even though the aura of an NBA contract was hanging over Landale’s head throughout the NBL season, the Australian never let it block his goal of winning a title with United. 

After boldly stating in the preseason that Melbourne would go undefeated, Landale knew he had an obligation to his team to not let individual pursuits overshadow team goals. 

“I wanted to taste winning a (NBL) championship, honestly, from the bottom of my heart, more than I cared about the NBA (contract),” Landale said. 

“There were times throughout that year where I was just like, I want to do this so much more than I care about the NBA right now. I'm so focused and locked up in the task at hand. That's kind of the whole mentality that I had throughout the year. 

“When I got there (Melbourne) I was like, no matter what I'm going to the NBA next year, I've been through way too much to not let that happen. But I can't think that far ahead, and I just have to make sure that we win this thing.

“I was the one that was saying, hey, we're going to win this thing. We have to win this thing. I was verbalising it to the media and I just tried to speak it into existence as much as I could. So that one meant way more than any of the others. 

“I was looking at how the roster was stacked up. As soon as we bought in, myself, Chris (Goulding), Scotty (Hopson), we had Jo (Lual-Acuil) in there, we are all players that could score 20. I was like, this isn't going to work unless we realise that we have to use each other and not get so wrapped up within those numbers. 

“The first three or four games of the season really helped me realise what was important because I saw the coverages that were coming at me and I was like, I could do this and I could put these numbers up, but I probably look bad, I look way worse, and we might not win. 

“And at that point, I just prioritised winning a championship way more than having a good game and having an NBA contract put down in front of me.

“I love the guys that I played with as well and I think that would have been a disservice to them if I went out and just tried to dominate every game for my own benefit. 

“What I really wanted was the championship and we did it and the results speak for themselves.”