Ex-NBA guard stunned by NBL intensity

Brandon Knight has seen plenty in his professional career. The 451-game NBA veteran has played for six NBA clubs and suited up in four countries: the United States, Puerto Rico, Greece and now Australia. He isn’t easily impressed.

Yet three games into his NBL career, he’s already found something he rarely saw in the NBA: a league with no nights off.

“When you play 82, there’s just some games, unfortunately, that you just don’t have it,” Knight said. “In this league, that’s, like, not a thing.

“From what I’ve seen thus far, it’s like every possession.”

Knight believes the talent in the two leagues stacks up, but says the NBL has the edge in some key areas.

“A lot of talented guys in the NBA, a lot of talented guys here, but the level of detail, I would say, has been a lot higher thus far,” he said. “The intensity here is very high.”

That was on full show at RAC Arena on Friday night. With Perth trailing by one and 19 seconds remaining, Knight stood his ground to draw a charge from fellow former NBA guard Cole Anthony, wiping off a layup that would have put Melbourne United up three and fouling Anthony out of the game.

Knight then made United pay at the other end, nailing a mid-range jumper with 8.4 seconds left to seal a 103-102 win.

The charge was no coincidence. Coach John Rillie had been “harping all week about being over the lane line”, Knight said, and it’s that level of preparation that has stood out most since his arrival.

“Here, we’ll start prepping for a team five days in advance and start drilling their stuff,” he said. “When we get to the game, you can tell that we’ve been preparing for them.

“It’s no disrespect to the NBA, great league, but the amount of games, the amount of travel can really wear guys down. In the NBA, you might have Portland, Sacramento, Golden State all in one week.”

That intensity carries through to the defensive end, where Perth pressures the ball the length of the floor.

“When I was in the NBA, I don’t know how many times I picked up full court,” Knight said. “Pickup for us is all five up the floor.”

After being eased in across his first two appearances, Knight burst into life against United with 20 points on 53 per cent shooting from the field.

He has found his feet quickly in Perth, but insists there’s more to come as he gets to know his new teammates.

“I’m still very much learning, and learning on the fly,” he said. “But it’s good when you can learn and win.”

The Wildcats are back at RAC Arena on Wednesday night to host the Sydney Kings in an Ignite Cup fixture from 9.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.