Hot wings challenge: The two-way talents coming out of contract

The opening 14 rounds of the exciting Hungry Jack's NBL26 season have highlighted numerous trends, including the importance of two-way wings.

As it currently stands, the competition's top four side, Adelaide, South East Melbourne, Melbourne and Sydney, all have a plethora of kinds of players on the roster.

From Adelaide's Flynn Cameron and Isaac White, to South East Melbourne's Angus Glover and Melbourne's Shea Ili and Tanner Krebs, all those teams are stacked with local wings who are making an impact this season.

The exact same thing can be said for Sydney duo Jaylin Galloway and Bul Kuol, with the latter catching the eye of one former NBL MVP.

"Bul Kuol's been outstanding this season," Derek Rucker said on The Marketplace.

"When you look at his net rating, he is the leading guy among all these two-way wings. He's around the mid-20s, which is sensational, especially considering he got off to a bit of a slow start.

"When you break it all down, Bul Kuol is sort of at the head of the class in terms of that profile of wing players that [every team wants]. I like wings that can get out and defend, shoot the three.

"It's indicative the fact that three of the leading teams in the competition right now, Melbourne United, the South East Melbourne Phoenix, and the Sydney Kings all have great depth in those wing spots."

As such, NBL champion Pete Hooley knows how hotly contested some of these off-contract wings, including the likes of Kuol, Krebs and Glover, will become the end of the NBL26 campaign.

"Teams around the league are seeing how important these sort of wings and off-ball guys, who, when your primary guys get doubled or when they draw attention, [are dangerous] when the ball is kicked out to them," Hooley said.

"These are the guys who are going to be shooting a lot of the shots and also have to sometimes guard the best player on the other team.

"When you look at the skillsets of these guys, you want them to be spot-up shooters for the most part, who can be the point-of-attack defender.

"You want to be able to plug and play these guys, allowing you to widen the floor for your best players.

"These are guys who can make or break your season and are really important to the makeup of your team."

Round 14 of the NBL26 season resumes on Saturday night when Brisbane hosts Melbourne from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.