NBL's partnership with NBA 'never been stronger'

Over the past 15 years, the NBL's relationship has continued to strengthen with the world's premier basketball competition, the NBA.

From the NBL Next Stars program, which has had 11 players drafted (including six in the first round) in recent years, to this month's historic NBAxNBL Melbourne Series featuring the New Orleans Pelicans as the first side to ever come down under, the partnership has never been better or stronger, according to NBL Group Executive Director Larry Kestelman.

In a recent interview with Clutch Points, Kestelman, who took over the NBL in 2015, explained how Australia's elite competition is the perfect pathway to the NBA, particularly via its Next Stars program.

"We have set the foundation and continue to grow a league that can help these young, high-potential athletes achieve their dreams, and that is to go top 10 in the NBA Draft," Kestelman said.

“We not only want to treat them as best we can and provide them with everything they need, but also give them global exposure. That has been the backbone of what we’ve been trying to accomplish.

“Ultimately, we do want players to achieve greatness here and be able to push forward to reach their goals. Their goals are to play in the NBA, and we absolutely push for them to get to that point. We don’t try to just hang on to everyone here and hold them down."

During the 2025 NBA Draft, NBL Next Stars Rocco Zikarsky (Brisbane) and Alex Toohey (Sydney) were selected by Minnesota with the 45th pick and Golden State with the 52nd pick, respectively.

On the latest 2026 NBA Draft mock by ESPN's Jonathan Givony, he had both Melbourne's Dash Daniels and New Zealand's Karim Lopez as top 10 picks, further highlighting the strengthening connection.

As happy as he is with the current partnership, Kestelman hopes it only continues to grow, including bringing more games to Australia.

The NBAxNBL Series drew more than 50,000 people to Rod Laver Arena for an incredible four-day event, inclusive of games and fan events.

"This was about proving that we can actually deliver a global-quality event and I think we've done it, I think they're happy and the rest is up to them," Kestelman said after the historic NBAxNBL Melbourne Series.

"[Now] we just keep growing the partnership, growing the trust and seeing where it goes."

Read the full story here >> Inside NBL’s transformation that’s forging new paths from Outback to NBA