Rising Aussie stars join NBL as development players

THE young talent coming from the Australian basketball system continues to grow on a yearly basis, and there are a new crop of promising prospects set to join the premier men’s competition for next season.

The National Basketball League (NBL) will welcome the services of Kye Savage and Luke Fennell for the 2023/24 fixture, with the players joining as development players after promising start to their young careers.

Savage will be joining the Brisbane Bullets, after signing a three-year deal late last week. He will be a development player for the first two seasons, with a team roster option on the third and final year of the deal.

The combo guard has been extremely exciting throughout his junior career, and has plenty of potential to become a big name player in Australia. Hailing from Tasmania, Savage joined the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (BA CoE) in the National Basketball League (NBL)1, and has been putting together some standout performances of late.

Most recently, he put up 20 points against the Norths Bears in the latest round of the NBL1 East Men’s season, proving himself as a handy scoring option on a side that is full of young talent.

He is always an offensive threat, given his strong combination of scoring off the dribble, particularly inside and from mid-range, while he can knock down catch and shoot triples with ease as well, which is a solid foundation for a guard.

On the other hand, Fennell will be joining the SEM Phoenix on a one-year development player deal, in one of the most exciting additions of the off-season.

The six-foot-five guard has already proven himself as one of the nation’s top prospects with excellent performances at junior level, and will thrive on a roster that has recently become riddled with stars such as Nathan Sobey and Derrick Walton Jr. These big name guards will give Fennell plenty to learn as he looks to continue his exciting journey.

Having recently joined the NBA Global Academy, the guard can occupy either backcourt spot, with an elite ability to get downhill and attack the rim with pace. He is one of the best prospects born in 2006, and will only improve on an NBL roster.

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