Australian Rules players with basketball backgrounds – it’s a good mix!
Could we see Australian NBA superstar Dyson Daniels make a return to the game he once dominated as a junior?
Appearing on Fox Footy commentator Mark Howard’s ‘Howie Games’ podcast, Daniels spoke about his love of Aussie Rules football.
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“I would love to come back and play some footy if something happens with basketball, I love my footy, I love going to watch it, I’ve been to a few games since I’ve been home, I’m a big footy guy,” Daniels told the Howie Games podcast.
Daniels was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft and currently represents the New Orleans Pelicans.
Hailing from Bendigo, Daniels played Australian Rules football growing up for “seven or eight years” before he had to make the decision to pursue one or the other.
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“I had a pretty good junior career… I didn’t want to give footy up. I loved footy so much, I always say, if my basketball career doesn’t work out, if I still have a little in me in the end I want to come back and play some footy,” the Australian Boomers prodigy said.
“I was definitely a mobile big, I liked to play in the ruck or ruck rover. I could go forward and kick a couple of goals every now and then.
“I was a lot skinnier; I didn’t have that football body, I was more an ‘in the air’ type of player. I couldn’t kick, couldn’t hit a target, just got it forward, as long as the ball was moving forward that’s all that mattered.”
Daniels is a diehard Richmond supporter and has been seen at numerous AFL matches since his NBA commitments wrapped up for the 2023/24 season.