OVER the course of the off-season, the Brisbane Bullets were one of the most active teams in the National Basketball League ahead of the upcoming 2025/26 fixture, loading up on talent to flip around their fortunes.

Following a disappointing campaign where they finished in eighth place, it was wholesale changes for the Bullets, making a head coaching change and looking ultra aggressive in the player market in a bid to return to the postseason.

Now armed with an import trio that could tear the competition apart, the Bullets have built a balanced roster and will be among the contending sides in the coming months, having impressed in the preseason of late as well.

Brisbane Bullets

Roster

Alex Ducas, Callum Dalton, Casey Prather, Jack Purchase, Jacob Holt, Javon Freeman-Liberty, Jaylen Adams, Jensen Bradtke, Mitch Norton, Sam McDaniel, Taine Murray, Tohi Smith-Milner, Tristan Devers, Tyrell Harrison

While a lot of the bones of last year’s roster is there, the top up of talent for the Bullets will prove the difference if they are to get the job done. With an NBL Blitz win already under their belt, they will be hoping their import trio of Adams, Prather and Freeman-Liberty can translate that form to the regular season.

Key player – Jaylen Adams

Adding a former NBL Most Valuable Player was a huge coup for the Bullets, who added the A-grade talent required to win a title in this competition. The former Sydney Kings point guard joins the team after a solid campaign with the team from the Harbour City, and will be hoping to return to the form that saw him crowned as the competition’s best player. During the 2021/22 season, Adams averaged 20.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists in a championship-winning season. If he can get back to that level of production, it could result in the same level of team success.

Key to success – Getting the most out of their import trio

Along with Adams, the Bullets retained Prather – who really found his best in the final month of last season – and added Freeman-Liberty. The latter brings NBA experience and showed his ability to be an elite scorer in the G League over the past couple of years, impressing in last night’s Blitz outing by leading the team in scoring. All three players were influential on the offensive end, showing that if they all fire on the scoring front (with Adams taking on more of a passing role), it makes the Bullets tough to stop, so if this is replicated in the home and away fixture, a finals spot could await.

In a sentence

The Bullets look new and improved ahead of the 2025/26 NBL season, and if their imports can fire along with their established local talent, they could return to the finals for the first time in seven years.