‘I better see you in the NBA real soon’: Aussie teen makes big impression on basketball stars

Australian teenager Dash Daniels took a big step towards the NBA by impressing in Melbourne United’s historic clash with the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

While Zion Williamson and the Pels scored a 107-97 win at Rod Laver Arena in the first game played by an NBA team in Australia, Daniels, 17, showed the sellout crowd of 14,880 why he’s a serious chance of being picked up in the NBA draft as soon as he is eligible next year.

The Bendigo-raised guard came off the bench early in the first quarter and finished with 11 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes. More importantly, his defensive display caught the eye of the Pels, the same club his brother Dyson began his NBA career with.

Williamson, who shone in the first half with 15 points before sitting for the second stanza, wasn’t shy about his message to the young Aussie.

“I told him I better see you in the NBA real soon,” Williamson said.

Daniels, who is part of the NBL Next Stars program, enjoyed the love shown to him by Williamson before and after the game.

His comfortable and courteous nature with fans and media also suggests he’s ready for the NBA spotlight.

“That’s the ultimate goal; to try and get to the NBA in the next couple of years,” Daniels said.

“To have the opportunity to play against the Pelicans and them coming to Australia has been awesome, not only for me but for the whole of Australia as well.

“It’s a great experience to see what they are like and showcase my talents as well.”

Pels coach Willie Green is a hard taskmaster, but he praised Daniels, noting the similarities to Dyson, who the Pelicans traded to the Atlanta Hawks before last season.

Dyson went on to win the NBA’s most improved player award, and could soon receive a lucrative long-term deal from the Hawks.

“His defensive instincts are very similar to his brother,” Green said.

“He picks up full court, has long arms, has great size, is physical and caused some havoc for us defensively. He’s a really good player.”

Daniels has watched closely and trained extensively with Dyson and his trainers in recent years, and his work ethic stood out this week as this masthead watched him complete an individual workout at Courtside Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon after a full morning of United’s training.

Daniels doesn’t have to rush to the NBA as he will be eligible for the draft for several seasons starting from next year, but United coach Dean Vickerman warned fans to take their chance to see the young star play live while they can.

“Every game so far this year, we believe there’s just been really, really good growth for Dash, and I thought it was a massive growth again tonight,” Vickerman said.

A further comparison could be drawn between Daniels’ performance and that of Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears, 18, who was the seventh pick in this year’s draft and played his first minutes in their NBA line-up in this game.

Fears struggled with Daniels’ defence and shot three of 15 from the field, finishing with seven points and five turnovers in 22 minutes. But Fears, who wears number 0 – as in “zero fears” – was praised for his aggression by Green.

So, if Fears was the seventh pick in this year’s draft, it’s not unreasonable to think Daniels – if his development continues this NBL season – could be a top-10 pick in next year’s draft.

NBA scouts rarely get to see draft nominees performing against NBA teams, so the footage of this game will likely push Daniels up the draft rankings. Fellow NBL Next Star Malique Lewis will get the same opportunity when his South East Melbourne Phoenix side plays the Pelicans at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday at 2pm.

Zion gives Aussies a ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment

Every rookie has their welcome to the NBA moment and Australian fans got theirs at Rod Laver Arena on Friday night.

Zion Williamson has provided newcomers plenty of them in his short career and the New Orleans Pelicans superstar gave Australia its introduction to live NBA action when he took flight and dunked home an alley-oop pass late in the first quarter.

A capacity crowd of 14,880 filled Rod Laver Arena and roared their approval as the power forward finished a tidy pass from Saddiq Bey as his Pelicans handled NBL club Melbourne United 107-97 in the first NBA game in Australia.

The Pelicans played the second unit for much of the second half and final quarter and United import Milton Doyle (25 points) had a three which could have brought his side within a point of their NBA opponents with three minutes to play, but it just missed.

United put on a strong display and were praised by the Pelicans for their passing and organisation; United coach Dean Vickerman said he felt a duty to make an impression.

“Hopefully, we’ve done enough to say to the NBA “it’s worthy of bringing more teams back to Australia for these games,” Vickerman said.

“That was a responsibility that I felt tonight for the NBL and for Australian basketball to do a really good job on home soil and get other people that get an opportunity to play an NBA team.”

As expected, Williamson played 15 minutes, had 15 points and five assists and didn’t return after half-time, he hopes to play a few more minutes in Sunday’s game against the South East Melbourne Phoenix at RLA, but that will come down to his coaches as these are his first games of the new season.

Fans chanted “We want Zion” in the final minutes which drew a smile and laugh as the Pelicans reserves played out the game.

“I felt great. Just when I got my second wind, I was done for the night,” Williamson said. “I’ve been saying it a lot. I feel embraced, and I love it. I love it.”

Australians have lobbied the NBA for more than 15 years to bring a game Down Under from Luc Longley and Andrew Bogut to NBL owner Larry Kestelman, who successfully convinced the Pelicans to make history – and they will make some more of it when they finish their visit against South East Melbourne Phoenix at RLA on Sunday at 2pm.

The fans lucky enough to secure seats on Friday night got to see one of the NBA’s best players in Williamson, they got to see potential all-star in Trey Murphy III (18 points in 18 minutes) and a spirited display from United who were playing without captain Chris Goulding and only had point guard Shea Ili for the first half before he was managed in the second half.

The Pelicans were without star forward Herb Jones who hurt his left ankle at training on Thursday, Pelicans coach Willie Green wasn’t sure if Jones could play on Sunday.

But he was sure about how much his team enjoyed the experience.

“It was electric, the fans were in tune. They were engaged. It was really a great platform to come here and be able to play against high-level competition,” Green said.

“It’s fun getting out there playing in front of these fans.”

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.