The NBA’s regular season is now over with all attention turning towards the post-season and there are still seven Australians in with a shot at championship glory.
Of course, some of them may see limited minutes and potentially none at all while Ben Simmons has already been shut down for the remainder of the season at Brooklyn.
But a few young stars on the rise and older veterans will play key roles for their respective teams down the stretch.
Here foxsports.com.au looks at all the Australians in the NBA, including those who won’t figure in the post-season, and what is next for each of them.
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Gobert takes swing at teammate! | 00:24
JOSH GIDDEY (Oklahoma City, play-in tournament)
This time last year Giddey was conducting his first-ever exit interview, reflecting on a positive step forward for the Thunder as a whole along with personal goals of his own after an impressive rookie year.
Three-point shooting was a big part of that, with the Australian describing it as a “swing factor” that could help take his game to the next level in his sophomore season.
So, Giddey put in the work with the Thunder’s new shooting coach Chip Engelland and it showed — draining 32.5 per cent of his 3-point attempts, up from 26.3 per cent last season.
Those numbers don’t tell the full story either as Giddey struggled early in his second year, shooting just 23.8 per cent from deep in November before gradually improving his shot.
Of course, there were a few shooting slumps now and then for the 20-year-old but it was clear he was better prepared to mentally manage those periods and not let them impact his confidence.
Giddey also found new ways to score, most notably driving towards the rim with more aggression and scoring 69.5 per cent of his points in the paint (up from 59.3 per cent last season).
“It can’t be a sometimes thing,” Giddey told reporters last month.
“It has to kind of has to be an every night thing and I think for me I pick and choose a little bit. I think being aggressive and being aggressive smartly doesn’t mean you’re jamming the ball in every time but I think there’s times in the past where I’ve been too passive, just diverting to others.
“I think I’ve got to keep my foot on the gas and that doesn’t mean scoring or making a play every time, just keeping the unit on the floor in attack and playing aggressive, because I think that’s when we’re at our best.”
Giddey is just one part of an exciting young core in OKC, headlined by first-time All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, second overall pick Chet Holmgren and rookie revelation Jalen Williams.
DYSON DANIELS (New Orleans, play-in tournament)
Unfortunately for Giddey, if he and the Thunder are to progress through to a second play-in game it will come at the expense of longtime friend Daniels.
Oklahoma City and New Orleans will face off for the right to play the loser of the Lakers-Timberwolves game, with the winner to then book a spot in the playoffs against Denver.
Daniels isn’t seeing the 21-odd minutes on the court he was averaging back in January but he’s still getting into the double digits constantly due to his elite defence.
There is still plenty of room for improvement on the offensive end for Daniels, a pass-first guard who at times passes too much and needs to be a bit more selfish as a scorer.
Obviously that’s not a bad problem to have though and is something Giddey has also started to really improve on in his second year in the league.
Either way, Daniels is going to get minutes on his defence alone, with great instincts on the glass and in passing lanes while his playmaking on the offensive end is also a plus.
Interestingly Daniels was not the first player subbed in for CJ McCollum against the Timberwolves on Monday, with Josh Richardson instead the man brought in.
Daniels didn’t end up playing any minutes so it could just be that coach Willie Green decided to give him extra rest for the playoffs.
Green was full of praise for Daniels earlier in the month when speaking to reporters at training, describing the 20-year-old as “extremely mature for his age”.
“You can tell his foundation is solid,” Green said.
“He comes in the next day like it didn’t happen. He learns from it, he’s there watching film, he’s here early continuing to work on his game and to put in the work with our performance team as well.
“He gets back on the floor and just does it again, all over again. We trust him, I’m sure he trusts us but he puts in the work and that’s what’s important.”
JOSH GREEN (Dallas, eliminated)
It was an interesting season for Josh Green, who both flashed his enormous potential in stages and also the same limitations that have been holding him back since his rookie season.
Green’s best performances came in the games without either Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving on the court, recording three-straight 20-point games earlier in March.
Neither Doncic nor Irving were available then as Green stepped up to fill the void, although the Mavs lost two of those three games on their way to missing the play-in tournament.
It was a bitterly disappointing end to the season for Dallas and left Green without a chance to really prove himself in the playoffs, having seen his minutes drained in the post-season last year.
Much of Green’s development next season will depend on how he learns to play with two ball-dominant guards, regardless of whether it is Irving and Doncic or new teammates.
‘It’s fun’ Green on career, Kyrie Irving | 03:36
“It’s a hard situation,” Green said in his exit interview on Monday.
“Two of the best players in the world. There is no reason to complain about who you’re playing with, it’s about making sure it works and it’s definitely challenging but it’s nothing to do with them.
“It’s for me to figure out what I can do and still be the same and have the same aggressiveness and I feel like over the last couple of games I started figuring out what I needed to try do.”
At times Green was hesitant to back himself, be it shooting the ball or driving towards the rim, although the entire team struggled to build chemistry in the wake of the Irving deal.
Green is extension-eligible this off-season and the Mavericks made it clear they view him as an important part of their future when they traded away Dorian Finney-Smith, their best perimeter defender.
Speaking to foxsports.com.au last month, Dallas Morning News reporter Callie Caplan said she believes Dallas should make it a “huge priority” to extend Green.
“I view Josh as the Mavericks’ third-most important player behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and I think the team’s executives and coaching staff think the same,” Caplan said.
“Dallas should make it a huge priority to extend Josh’s contract this season to secure his long-term future on a deal that he could likely outplay over the next couple of years.
“The Mavericks then can use Josh as a centrepiece for another blockbuster trade or continue to pace his development so he can be a championship-level starting role player in the near future.”
Green sinks ABSURD 4-pt buzzer beater | 00:47
BEN SIMMONS (Brooklyn, playoffs)
Now this could’ve been something. Ben Simmons vs Joel Embiid. Brooklyn vs Philadelphia.
If the reception towards Simmons was so frosty during the regular season, you can only imagine what it would’ve been like in the playoffs.
But unfortunately the theatre that could’ve been will remain a hypothetical with Simmons shut down for the rest of the season late last month due to a lingering back issue.
Simmons will still have to deal with a barrage of boos when Brooklyn travels to Philadelphia but at least he’ll be on the bench, likely joined by teammate Patty Mills. More on that soon.
As for Simmons’ future, his new agent Bernie Lee told The New York Post’s Brian Lewis that he expects his client to be back in Brooklyn next season.
“Without getting into specifics, what I’ve learned in all these conversations is that what Ben experienced here is considered to be part of the recovery from his previous procedure,” Lee said.
“The NBA schedule is obviously rigorous and not forgiving to the need for patience at times, and Ben made every effort to be available to help his team in every way as much as he could.
“This step at this point in time is being taken in partnership with the team to support Ben, to allow him to really get himself physically prepared to begin the start of next season — in an effort to lead the Nets in the way he’s shown over the course of his young career he’s capable of doing.”
Denver’s Michael Porter Jr., who had a microdiscectomy of his L3-L4 discs while in college, said patience is needed with expectations of the Australian and his explosiveness in particular.
“People are so hard on Ben Simmons,” Porter Jr said.
“But I know what he’s going through as far as he’s able to play right now, but he’s not back to Ben Simmons, and it’ll take awhile for him to have all the explosiveness.
“I watched a little highlight video from a couple years ago — he’s just flying down the lane. He’ll get that back, but it just takes time. Anything with the back, it just inhibits a little bit of explosiveness.”
PATTY MILLS (Brooklyn, playoffs)
If recent games are anything to go by, Simmons will be joined by Mills on the bench.
Of course, a player of Mills’ experience can still have an invaluable impact on an otherwise young Nets squad with his locker room presence alone.
But on the court though the Boomers hero has struggled for regular minutes outside of a few isolated appearances in the past month.
Mills played 35 minutes in Brooklyn’s 134-105 loss to Philadelphia on Monday, putting up 12 points after shooting 3-for-11 to go with two rebounds, two assists, a steal and four turnovers.
The 34-year-old made the most of an opportunity against Milwaukee early last month though, chipping in 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench.
It was Mills’ first appearance in nine games for the Nets, with the veteran otherwise becoming somewhat of a forgotten man in Brooklyn and that is unlikely to change in the playoffs.
JOE INGLES (Milwaukee, playoffs)
Ingles is going to be an important part of Milwaukee’s playoffs rotation. How long he plays though will be largely dependant on defensive match-ups.
At this stage it’s unclear who the Bucks will get in the first round though. It’ll either be the Heat, Hawks, Raptors or Bulls dependent on how the play-in tournament shakes out.
Regardless, the 35-year-old is going to get minutes given his ability to provide spark in the half-court offence while his 3-point shooting has also gone to another level recently.
It was to be expected that Ingles would start the season slowly as he ramped up his recovery from an ACL injury, with the Australian veteran shooting 24.3 per cent from deep in February.
But Ingles quickly flipped the switch in March, starting to find his rhythm again and shooting 50.8 per cent from downtown while averaging 8.5 points.
Bucks beat writer Eric Nehm, who writes for The Athletic, described the difference in Ingles’ confidence pulling up in transition and in the pick-and-roll as “staggering”.
At this stage Milwaukee looks like the team to beat so Australia could very well have an NBA champion in Ingles by the end of the Finals.
JOCK LANDALE (Phoenix, playoffs)
In the Western Conference though, Landale and the Suns appear the most likely to be challenging Ingles and the Bucks for championship glory.
And a recent injury to Suns back-up centre Bismack Biyombo could see Landale take on an important role as Phoenix’s next best option behind regular starter Deandre Ayton.
Biyombo went down hard after colliding knees with Lakers big man Anthony Davis late last week, describing it as “scary” to reporters after the game.
Biyombo was rested in Phoenix’s final hit-out of the regular season with Landale getting the start in his place, although the 30-year-old is optimistic he will be fine for the playoffs.
Even if Biyombo isn’t fit to play, Landale proved in 30 and 21-minute stints against the Lakers and Clippers respectively that he can have a positive impact on both sides of the floor.
Landale had a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in the loss to the Lakers while racking up strong numbers against the Clippers, with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists by halftime.
XAVIER COOKS (Washington, eliminated)
Xavier Cooks helped take the Sydney Kings to a second consecutive title but the NBL MVP only had a few hours to celebrate before he was on a plane to Washington, chasing a dream.
That dream became a reality just three days later when Cooks made his NBA debut a couple of hours after having his first workout with the Wizards.
Cooks himself admitted to feeling like “a bloody zombie” as he quickly adjusted to it all but the 27-year-old has taken his opportunity with both hands, rewarded with his first NBA start on Monday.
“It’s a really small sample size but I’m doing pretty well,” Cooks told SportsCenter Australia.
“I’m just trying to get up to speed with the play, terminology and the NBA rules, they’re kind of different over here. But I’m enjoying the process.
“It probably took about a week [to get acclimatised]. I remember going into that game [the debut] I felt like a bloody zombie. [I was] so tired, have no idea what is going on, I kind of learned all the teammates’ names. But it was a lot of fun.”
Cooks played 10 games for the Wizards in the space of just under a month, at first only being given limited opportunities off the bench before a sudden increase in minutes.
The Australian played a career-high 38 minutes in Washington’s 114-109 loss to Houston to end the regular season, scoring 10 points to go with 14 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said he had been progressively limiting centre Daniel Gafford’s minutes in a bid to get Cooks more time on the court, with Washington’s season already over.
“He looked more comfortable,” Unseld Jr. said of Cooks after the Australian’s 10-point, nine-rebound and three-steal performance against the Miami Heat last week.
“I thought — it’s unfortunate, he didn’t get the payoff — but he had three or four potential assists where he found [someone] in the pocket, had two no-looks in the corner, obviously missed those shots.
“But that’s what we expect from him, to be a secondary facilitator playing off the roll, playing in the dunker, those kick-out passes, the rebounding piece — it’s one thing to go get it, the tip rebounds and 50-50 balls, he’s helped us in those areas.”
Cooks signed a four-year, $6.1 million contract with the Wizards that will keep him in Washington through the 2025-26 season.
While he may not be guaranteed the same big minutes next season, Cooks has certainly proved to Unseld Jr. that he will make the most of any future opportunities that may come up.
“They’ve gotten the opportunity and made the most of those minutes,” the Wizards coach said when asked about Cooks and teammates Jordan Goodwin and Quenton Jackson.
“It’s invaluable but the fact they’ve earned, it hasn’t been given. To their credit, they’ve taken full advantage of it but be proud of the fact where they were, they used the system we had in place, obviously put in a tonne of work to improve their game and understand what we’re trying to do and that allows them to plug and play from G-League to the Wizards.
“To see those guys have some degree of success is rewarding.”
MATTHEW DELLAVEDOVA (Sacramento, playoffs)
Dellavedova had been getting pretty consistent, albeit low, minutes with Sacramento in the lead-up to the playoffs.
However, the 32-year-old’s hopes of pushing for involvement in the post-season has taken a hit with confirmation he suffered a right index finger fracture against the Trail Blazers.
The Kings announced the injury news late last month, with Dellavedova undergoing successfully surgery to address the issue and already in the process of rehabilitation.
Dellavedova is expected to make a full recovery but is out indefinitely at the moment.
The nine-year veteran has played 32 games this season with Sacramento, averaging 1.5 points 0.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.2 steals from 6.7 minutes.
MATISSE THYBULLE (Portland, eliminated)
It’ll be an unusual feeling for Thybulle this post-season, no longer at Philadelphia and in contention for the title. But for the most part, the move to Portland seems to have paid off.
Without the same expectations or pressures to perform on the offensive end, Thybulle has been given more opportunities to succeed and, more importantly, fail.
For the rebuilding Blazers, it wasn’t as important if all of Thybulle’s shots weren’t falling as was the case in Philadelphia. What’s more important is that he’s taking the shots in the first place.
Thybulle is shooting 38.8 per cent from deep off an average 3.9 attempts since making the move, up from the 32.2 per cent off 1.3 attempts that he was managing in Philadelphia.
Of course, his defence remains elite too and will continue to see Thybulle rewarded with opportunities on the court irrespective of whether he maintains his current shooting form.
As for his contract situation, Thybulle hits restricted free agency in July and is line for a qualifying offer of $6.2 million, with the Blazers holding his Bird Rights.
That means that Portland has the right to match any offer sheet that Thybulle may sign with another team as a restricted free agent.
JACK WHITE (Denver, playoffs)
Look, is White going to get any minutes for Denver in the playoffs? Probably not.
But the 25-year-old at least finished his first season in the NBA on a high on Monday, taking home defensive player of the game honours after the Nuggets’ 109-95 win over the Kings.
“I thought Jack was outstanding,” Denver coach Michael Malone said.
“He got defensive player of the game.”
White played a season-high 15 minutes, throwing down a powerful dunk to go with eight rebounds, one steal and an assist.
The Australian has been in and out of the NBA this year, playing for Denver’s G-League team Grand Rapids Gold, averaging 20.9 points and 9.6 rebounds while shooting 40.9 per cent from deep.
But coach Malone said he wanted to “make sure” White had a chance to play significant minutes against Sacramento, with Denver having already wrapped up top seed in the West.
“Jack’s been a great person to have around, he’s been back and forth between us and Grand Rapids and he deserved the opportunity,” Malone said.
“Jack had nine boards in 15 minutes… and sometimes guys have rebounds that come to them… Jack he goes out and gets rebounds, he grabs rebounds in traffic, he clears guys out of the way. I love that about him.
“Toughness, physicality and IQ, it’s in his DNA. Jack White no matter where he’s playing is going to play hard, physical and tough and he also has the ability to step outside and shoot the basketball. After the rebounding tonight, I think he’s a capable and willing defender as well.”