Preview: The Blitz

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By Dan Woods - NBL Media
Photo: Perth's Brady Manek

The Hungry Jack's NBL Blitz is just around the corner, and this genuine festival of Australian basketball will offer an early insight into how the season proper will play out around the nation.

As the entire league converges on Darwin on Friday, NBL Media previews the event to keep you in the know for the week-long tournament.

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It's 15 games across eight days in a hoops frenzy for fans in Darwin. 

Check out the full schedule below, and get your tickets here. 

Every game of the Hungry Jack's NBL Blitz will be shown live and free on Kayo Freebies. 

That's ten hours of free basketball, from the comfort of your lounge room, or wherever you like to watch hoops! 

Click here to watch via Kayo Freebies

The Brisbane Bullets
Since picking up Boomers star Aron Baynes and NBA veteran Tyler Johnson for the upcoming season, the Brisbane Bullets have risen from possible cellar-dwellers to near favourites for this season’s NBL title.

This is more than just a two-man team though. In fact, they overcame last season’s ladder-topping Melbourne United in both their pre-season contests last week, as import Devondrick Walker led a depleted Bullets team over a relatively fit United squad.

Jason Cadee and the almost fit-again Nathan Sobey loom as a scary homegrown veteran frontcourt, while Harry Froling, Tanner Krebs and DJ Mitchell lead a crop of exciting and emerging young talent.

Whether the Bullets’ star trio of Baynes, Johnson and Sobey take to the floor at the Blitz remains to be seen – all three missed the opening two pre-season clashes against Melbourne, but whether they have those stars or not, the Blitz will be a great way to ascertain whether Brisbane could be the real deal.

The Bullets performed strongly against Melbourne United in pre-season (Credit - Melbourne United Media) 

The most exciting part of any pre-season action is the potential to see your team’s offseason recruits in action for the very first time, and there are certainly plenty of new faces to get acquainted with across the Blitz.

Melbourne and Sydney both have all new import stocks coming into NBL23, and United’s Rayjon Tucker could emerge as the league’s best highlight for the new season.

A 6’2” guard with plenty of bounce, Tucker has already showcased his scoring ability in United’s pre-season fixtures against Brisbane, and his experience at the top-level will be invaluable as Dean Vickerman's side attempts to cover the loss of Matthew Dellavedova to the Sacramento Kings.

Justin Simon returns to the league in new colours after playing in Germany last season. After last appearing in the league for Illawarra in 2021, he's crossed the highway and traded the red and white for Sydney's purple and gold.

A defensive genius, Simon will look to regain his Defensive Player of the Year Crown from Antonius Cleveland this upcoming season, and a good showing at the Blitz could set the tone for his year.

Despite missing out on Simon, Illawarra has shown they mean business this season with the signing of Justin Robinson. The 24-year-old heads to the NBL after playing in the NBA as recently as last season.

He finished college as the all-time assists leader for the Virginia Tech Hokies – a school that can boast the likes of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry and 15-year NBA veteran Bimbo Coles among its alumni.

Robinson is one of a number of new and exciting guards who will begin their NBL careers this season, and he’ll be looking to place himself head and shoulders above his competition.

Perth import Brady Manek and South East Melbourne Phoenix centre Grant Anticevich are two of a number of players looking to make their mark in their first season in the professional game, after successful college careers.

While Manek’s strongest asset is his three-point shooting he, like Anticevich, also uses his size and strength down low to pull in the boards and affect opposition shots. How they adapt to the men’s game from college in such a physical league remains to be seen.

Another young player who’ll be looking to kickstart his season with a bang is Next Star Rayan Rupert, as the Breakers’ young Frenchman also looks to make his way in professional basketball.

Rupert is one of a number of exciting young talents to have come out of France in recent seasons and will hope to follow in the footsteps of former Breakers Ousmane Dieng and Hugo Besson by getting drafted into the NBA after a successful stint in Australia.

The Blitz will be the first time fans get to see the exiting wonderkid up close and in person. This could be the only season we get to enjoy Rupert’s talents on our shores, so make the most of it.

Photo: Justin Simon chats to the media in Sydney (Credit - Sydney Kings Media)

Last season’s NBL grand finalists the Tasmania JackJumpers look to be the worst impacted by injuries heading into the Blitz, with key trio Clint Steindl, Will Magnay and Jack McVeigh all set to miss the competition.

Magnay (knee) will remain sidelined with the knee injury he picked up last season, while Steindl (knee) and McVeigh (shoulder) are continuing to rehabilitate injuries picked up on Boomers duty this off-season.

The injuries to Magnay and Steindl will open the door for injury replacement players Isaac White and Tristan Forsyth to push their cases for early season minutes and main roster spots should the opportunity arise.

McVeigh has said he’s targeting a Round 1 return, so while he’s likely out of the Blitz, he could well still play some part.

All eyes will be on Adelaide's Robert Franks, after he missed the 36ers' pre-season games. 

The former Bullet experienced a strange off-season, as he changed NBL clubs, but has landed in Adelaide ready for a big year. 

South East Melbourne forward Mitch Creek will also miss the Blitz with an ankle injury of his own.

The Phoenix linchpin and former Brooklyn Net sat out of his side's two opening pre-season fixtures, but is likely to return to the court in time for the first game of the season.

The Wildcats have a number of injuries they’re currently dealing with, but coach John Rillie says he’s expecting a full roster available following his side’s opening pre-season wins over Adelaide.

Import TaShawn Thomas suffered an ankle injury in Perth’s second clash with the 36ers and looked to be in obvious pain immediately afterwards, but Wildcats coach John Rillie said he'd be available come the Blitz. 

Teammates Majok Majok, Corey Shervill and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Jesse Wagstaff played no part in the two contests, but Rillie expects the trio to be ready for Darwin. 

At the Bullets, Aron Baynes missed both fixtures against Melbourne United, but will hope to make his return, while Nathan Sobey is hoping to play "some minutes" as he recovers from a knee injury. 

Clint Steindl has been sidelined with a knee injury

After starring for the Darwin Salties in NBL1 North this off-season, Melbourne United's Makuach Maluach gets the chance to play in front of his former home crowd in an NBL uniform.

The exciting forward averaged over 24 points and seven rebounds on almost 50 per cent shooting to lead the Salties to the qualifying final, and after playing his first season of professional basketball in Finland last year, his jump into the NBL is exciting. 

After falling out of love with the game before continuing his college career, Lat Mayen will have his first chance to prove himself against the bigger, stronger bodies of men's basketball at the Blitz.

With Adam Forde looking to position Cairns as a go-to destination for emerging young talent, Mayen joins the likes of Sam Waardenburg, Keanu Pinder and Bul Kuol in looking to make an impact in Far North Queensland.

Should Forde remain true to his word, then Mayen should be afforded ample opportunity to impress in the Blitz.

Last year’s NBL Finals MVP Xavier Cooks was one of a number of NBL players to take their talents overseas this offseason. However, while many elected to chance their hands at the NBA Summer League Cooks took the more traditional route of heading to the NZNBL.

His game looks to have come along in leaps and bounds during his time with the Wellington Saints, as he walked away with the league MVP and a position in the All-Star Five for his performances.

Cooks’ athleticism at both ends of the court was a key factor in Sydney’s run to the NBL title last season. If he can continue his form from the NZNBL through the Blitz and into the main season he could, and whisper it quietly, make a case for MVP honours.

After being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the recent NBA Draft, Luke Travers looks to be the man leading the way for emerging Australian talent in the NBL this season.

Sent back to complete another season with the Wildcats before linking up in the NBA next year, Travers impressed in the Summer League while wearing the wine and gold colours of Cleveland, and John Rillie has said the young star’s confidence is at a level he’s never seen before.

If you couple in Travers’ Boomers debut in the recent FIBA qualfiers, the mulleted young star must be on cloud nine. Here’s hoping he can continue his fairytale off-season with a good showing at the Blitz.

Luke Travers is one of a number of young Australian stars who will look to make their mark at this year's NBL Blitz.

While they’re an unavoidable part of sport, nobody likes to see players suffer a serious injury, much less two. The ability of Illawarra’s Dan Grida to battle back from back-to-back ACL ruptures has been one of the best stories this off-season.

Still just 24 years of age, Grida’s best seasons are almost certainly in front of him, but seeing the 2019 Rookie of the Year third-place finisher back on the court will be a sight for sore eyes for Hawks fans.

While his reintegration into games will likely be slow and steady, it’ll be great to see him back out there.