Top Aussie prospect signs Next Stars deal

The Hungry Jack’s National Basketball League (NBL) is excited to announce that one of Australia's brightest young stars, Luke Paul, has signed a multi-year deal with the Next Stars program.

At just 16 years, 10 months and 29 days old, Paul becomes the youngest-ever athlete to sign with the prestigious program, eclipsing the mark previously held by Dash Daniels.

“It’s a dream come true … to sign a contract at 16 is pretty cool. I’m very excited and can’t wait to get started,” Paul said.  

“The NBL Next Stars program is a pathway that’s proven to get players to the NBA. Just being able to compete against professional players so early is going to be so beneficial for me. At this stage of my career, I want to go up against physical guys, because that can fast-track my development.”

Originally from Perth, the 6'6" point guard is a product of the Willetton Tigers and Wildcats Academy programs and is currently developing at Basketball Australia’s renowned Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Canberra.

Paul and his representatives will work closely with the NBL over the coming months in establishing which NBL team he will join for the upcoming couple of seasons, ahead of first becoming eligible for the NBA Draft in 2028.

A standout performer across the junior ranks, the talented teenager has already represented Australia at the youth level on a number of occasions. His outstanding play in the green and gold saw him receive MVP and All-Star Five honours at the 2025 FIBA U16 Asia Cup where he led Australia to the gold medal with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in the final against China. Paul was also named to the All-Star Five for the 2025 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships, which was held in Samoa last month.

The 16-year-old will play a lead role for Western Australia Metro in Basketball Australia’s U18 National Championships in April and is then expected to be a key part of the Australian team for this year’s FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey.

“Luke is a fantastic young talent who has a really bright future in the game,” Next Stars General Manager of Recruitment Liam Santamaria said.

“He possesses great positional size and plays with elite skill, smarts and feel which I believe will translate well to the professional level. He’s also a wonderful young man from a great family and it’s super exciting that he has chosen the Next Stars program as the next step in his basketball journey.

“We are thrilled to support Luke in his development and look forward to working closely with him, his family and his agent, Daniel Moldovan, to establish the NBL team he will join.”

In the meantime, Paul will continue to develop under the expert coaching of CoE head coach Robbie McKinlay and assistant coach Braden Cotter at the Australian Institute of Sport across the next six months, before stepping up to the professional level as a Next Star in the 2026-27 NBL season.

This signing marks another coup for the NBL’s globally respected Next Stars program, which continues to develop its reputation as a proven pathway for young prospects across the world.

Next Stars have been selected in each of the past six NBA Drafts, with six prospects from the program snapped up across the past two NBA Drafts alone. In total, eleven Next Stars have been drafted directly from the NBL to the NBA since 2020; LaMelo Ball (2020), RJ Hampton (2020), Josh Giddey (2021), Ousmane Dieng (2022), Rayan Rupert (2023), Alex Sarr (2024), AJ Johnson (2024), Bobi Klintman (2024), Ariel Hukporti (2024), Rocco Zikarsky (2025) and Alex Toohey (2025), with current Next Stars Karim Lopez (New Zealand Breakers) and Dash Daniels (Melbourne United) currently projected to be selected in this year’s draft, set to be held in Brooklyn in June.