It’s common to see NBA scouts and executives at the pre-season NBL Blitz, and NBL CEO David Stevenson believes the proximity between the Blitz and recently announced HoopsFest could ensure scouts remain in Australia to better assess NBL talent.
Stevenson told Code Sports there are early indications the Blitz will return to the Gold Coast this year, while the inaugural HoopsFest will see the entirety of the NBL’s opening round played in Perth.
Jaylin Galloway made the leap from the NBL to a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks this season, while Next Star Alexandre Sarr looms as the likely number one pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
“It is very deliberate for us to make sure that the Blitz comes into the HoopsFest, so ideally those scouts stay and come to both events,” Stevenson said.
“We were amazed by the amount of NBA scouts that came to last year’s Blitz. Each one that I spoke to absolutely loved the experience and that they could see all of the players in a pretty condensed way.
“Then when they come to HoopsFest and see them playing for regular season games, hopefully [it attracts more scouts].”
For the full story head to >> Revealed: Discussions underway to bring Seattle Storm to Australia as part of WNBL pre-season games.