Teenage NBA prospect Luke Paul hopes to follow in the footsteps of Josh Giddey and LaMelo Ball after signing a multi-year contract with the NBL Next Stars program.
A 198cm point-guard from Perth, Paul is the youngest ever athlete to join the Australian league's highly respected development pathway at 16 years, 10 months and 29 days.
He will work with NBL officials to determine which team he will join for the next two seasons, before becoming eligible for the NBA draft in 2028.
"It's a dream come true. To sign a contract at 16 is pretty cool," Paul said.
"I'm very excited and can't wait to get started."
The Next Stars program has paved the way for 11 players to be drafted directly from the NBL to the NBA over the past six years, including high-end picks Giddey (No.6, 2021), Ball (No.3, 2020) and Alex Sarr (No.2, 2024).
Dash Daniels and Karim Lopez are projected to add their names to the growing list at the NBA draft in June.
"The NBL Next Stars program is a pathway that's proven to get players to the NBA," Paul said.
"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."
Paul is a product of the Willetton Tigers and Perth Wildcats academy programs, and is currently part of Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence in Canberra.
An outstanding performer at junior international level, he led Australia to gold at last year's FIBA U16 Asia Cup, earning MVP and All-Star Five honours in the process.
Paul was also named in the All-Star Five at the FIBA under-17 Oceania championships, held in Samoa last month.
The 16-year-old is set to feature for Western Australia Metro in the under-18 national championships in April, and is expected to be a key part of Australia's 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 recruitment manager 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."
