The NBL 2023-24 season is in the homestretch rounds. We appreciate your readership this far as we seek to update you on all NBL perspectives in 2024 and beyond in real-time. 

We believe, our authoritative glimpses into the NBL24 action have crucially impacted our readers’  attention and knowledge of the league that is exponential, growing and likened to the Americas NBA, going by the competitive features, highly anticipated pre-season drafts, and athletic robustness of all the players taking part. 

If you are yet to get the loop we invite you to the wider and influential Australian basketballing news family. For sure you’ll be astonished by the exciting basketball news you crave if you’re into the game. 

Generally, with little ado, this is our weekly coverage of the talking points of this week’s/round games. For your information, the regular NBL 24 season fixtures kicked off on 18th September 2023 and runs up to 18th February 2024. 

Round 15 fixtures took place between Wednesday, January 10 and Sunday, January 14, 2024, with eight matches played on various grounds. Fortunately, you can catch all the NBL24 round 15 updates here, but here is a sneak peek into the league standings and results. 

After Sunday evening’s clash between Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers, here is how the league standings look. 

With only 5 rounds/game weeks to conclude the season, Melbourne United’s first-position grip is getting stronger. In fact, their win over NZ Breakers on January 12, at the iconic TSB Stadium, Plymouth (82-81) is our highlight of the round, showing the team’s undying robustness and ability to win tournament-defining matches. 

As is the norm of the Australian Basketball News Site, we give you a 360-degree view of the thrilling matches in each round with unparalleled highlights of the moments that mattered. This is the reason we’ve remained a reliable and highly sought-after basketball news platform in Australia, a position we seek to embolden with cutting-edge updates, keeping ahead of the curve. 

United’s Single Score Win Over NZ Breakers Ignites Early NBL24 Hopes 

The match between NZ Breakers and Melbourne United on January 12, 2024, will be remembered for long in the league’s history. United fought tooth and nail escaping blow after blow until Matthew Dellavedova’s clutch-free throw secured the winning score in the epic 82-81 win over the Breakers. 

Riding high on last season’s grand finalist’s spirit, the NZ Breakers staged a memorable fight against the current league leaders at the sold-out TSB Stadium in Plymouth. 

Breakers footing into the game in the first quarter was impressive courtesy of the 21-year-old Lithuanian Next Star Mantas Rubstavicius who stamped his authority with a whopping 11 points to his name. Overall, the quarter’s score was on Breaker’s side with 22 against 17. Their fans and coach were all ecstatic as they easily seemed to be cruising into the top six. 

United were missing influential starting rooster players; Jo Lual-Acuil and Shea Ili, but eventually, their Captain Chris Goulding stepped up just in time. 

Melbourne United’s Chris Goulding of United shoots at goal during the round 15 NBL match between New Zealand Breakers and Melbourne United at TSB Stadium, on January 12, 2024, in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

The captain hit the United’s only 3-pointer of the half to make 13 points at half-time. Nevertheless, NZ Breaker’s forward Anthony Lamb was an influential player masking Goulding’s points with three triples, and 14 points, which placed his team ahead with 44 against 39 at half-time. 

The fixture was getting more intense in the third quarter as both teams were level, each with 62 points. However, it was United Dellavedova who leveraged the opportune foul by the Breakers’ guard Will McDowell-White to break the deadlock. 

He skillfully rose above everybody to make it look like he was about to unleash the best shot of the game with two free throws. Nevertheless, he made the initial free throw and intentionally avoided the second one, creating the chance for the Breakers’ Guard Zylan Cheatham to grab the rebound. 

Contrary to Cheatham’s expectation that he would call a timeout, a regular occurrence in the NBA matches, the match time expired and United remained a clear distance in the third quarter with a 16-5 point margin. 

Overall, Goulding went on to finish the match with 24 points for his team while Dellavedova managed 14 points and 10 assists. Other players with stellar performances during the duel included Luke Travers; 13 points and 11 boards, and Ariel Hukporti: 12 points, and 3 rebounds within 32 minutes. 

Speaking in a post-match interview, United’s coach Dean Vickerman was delighted and proud of his team’s performance, describing the victory as a ‘gutsy win’. 

United’s guns are now trained on the 16th round fixtures with a date with JackJumpers on Friday, January 19, where they will be seeking to extend their wonderful winning streak as they embolden their ‘title favourites’ tag. 

Sarr’s Injury Update: Will It Affect His Promising Draft Stock?

Alex Sarr In Action Against Sydney Kings, December 1, 2023 at RAC Arena.

In other news, Alex Sarr, the Perth Wildcats Next Star injury came as disappointing news to fans and his coach, John Peter Rillie. On a brighter side though, a renowned ESPN draft expert of many years, Jonathan Givony, argues that Sarr’s hip injury is less likely to impact his NBA draft rankings negatively. 

On December 28, 2023, Sarr suffered a hip injury while playing against Adelaide 36ers and has undergone various physical rehabilitation stages. A decision on whether he will participate in Saturday’s match against South East Melbourne Phoenix is yet to be made pending a re-evaluation report. 

Sarr has stood out in the NBL24 performances and he currently leads the pack of other mock NBA draftees with experts keeping their fingers crossed hoping the injury won’t aggravate. 

Givony opines that despite the injuries affecting Sarr and Nikola Topic; another draft lottery pick with impressive stats, the net effect on ‘Draft Stock’ is unnoticeably minimal.