United elevate emerging big

From a training player with Melbourne United last season, the club have now signed Nicolas Tata as their nominated replacement player for NBL26.

The Melbourne-born big-man played for the Nunawading Spectres in the NBL1 South competition - where he averaged 6.4 points and 5.2 rebounds. His strongest performance was a huge double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds in July.

“This really is a dream of mine,” Tata said.

“To play for Melbourne United, my hometown team, means the world to me. I will do whatever I can to help us compete for a championship.

“Since coming into the program, I really feel like I’ve taken strides towards becoming the best version of myself on the basketball court.

“Putting in the work alongside some of the legends of our sport, I’ve learnt what it takes to play at the highest level, and I’m going to continue putting in that work to stay ready for whatever the team needs from me.”

Head coach Dean Vickerman added, “Tata is a player we’ve seen tremendous growth from across his time with the program.

“He is a truly unique athlete for his size and is capable of playing the way we want to at the NBL level. He can make plays above the rim and has developed his ability to defend out on the perimeter.

“Having him on the roster as the NRP provides us great insurance at the big-man spot.”

Tata joins Chris Goulding, Shea Ili, Milton Doyle, Finn Delany, Tyson Walker, Kyle Bowen, Tanner Krebs, Fabijan Krslovic, Tom Wilson, Dash Daniels, Malith Machar, Campbell Blogg and Tom Koppens as signed players for NBL26.