The new NBL season is underway, and there are plenty of players ready for a breakout campaign.
Here are the top ten.
1. Dejan Vasiljevic, New Zealand Breakers
Last season was rough for DJ. He lost his starting spot at Adelaide and averaged 10.9 points, down from 18.1 the year before. Now he has a fresh start in New Zealand on a one year deal. The Breakers ranked second last in the league from three, and he is a career 38% shooter from deep. Round 1 showed the fit. He dropped 24 on 8 of 14, with 6 of 10 from three, in a 95 to 81 win over Illawarra. Give him a full season of green lights and the 18-point scorer is back.
2. Josh Oduro, Melbourne United
Oduro is a 206cm American big who spent last season on a two way deal with the Pelicans. In the G League he averaged 15.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in 43 games. United signed him to anchor the defence, and he has looked the part. In four preseason games he averaged 16.8 points and 8.8 rebounds. In the opener he scored 14 on 5 of 6 shooting in under 20 minutes before fouling out. Give him more minutes and the numbers will jump. He also ranks sixth all time in blocks at George Mason.
3. Luke Travers, Melbourne United
Travers is home after two years with the Cavaliers. He played 24 NBA games, mostly in garbage time, but he was a monster in the G League. With Cleveland he averaged 17.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 36 games. He is 25 and 198cm, and Coach Jacob Chance wants a versatile perimeter player who can play guard or wing. In four preseason games he averaged 17.3 points and 10.5 rebounds. In his last NBL season with United he put up 12.4 points and 7.6 rebounds on 52% shooting. Now he is back with a bigger game and a bigger role.
4. Elijah Pepper, Perth Wildcats
Pepper averaged 10.5 points last season, but that number hides a big jump. Through Round 11 he was at 7.3 points in 12.5 minutes. After that he averaged 13 points in 29.6 minutes. He then won the 2026 NZNBL MVP with the Wellington Saints at 28.7 points a game. He also scored 32 with eight threes against Syria, the highest scoring game by an Australian in World Cup qualifiers. With Ben Henshall and David Duke Jr gone, the scoring load is his. He opened the season with 19 points against South East Melbourne, and there is a lot more to come.
5. Makuach Maluach, Sydney Kings
Maluach went from fringe player to rotation piece last season. He averaged 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds, started 14 of 38 games and made the Most Improved shortlist. He scored 23 in a closeout win over Perth in the playoffs. The Kings locked him in on a two year deal. With Jaylin Galloway and Bul Kuol gone, minutes are open on the wing. At the Blitz he averaged 16.5 points on 59% shooting in 18.4 minutes. Those minutes are about to grow.
6. Taran Armstrong, Tasmania JackJumpers
Armstrong is from Burnie and is the first born and bred Tasmanian to sign as a rostered JackJumper. Two seasons ago at Cairns he averaged 17.1 points, 4.7 assists and 4.6 rebounds in 19 games. A Golden State two way deal and a season in Dubai followed, where he barely played and averaged 2.8 points in 11 games. The Warriors still gave him a qualifying offer. Now he is the focal point of Tasmania's offence with import Bryce Hamilton out injured. Expect that 17 point form to come back.
7. Arnas Velička, Brisbane Bullets
Velička was the LKL MVP last season. He led that league in assists at 7.1 and in index rating, and he averaged 14.4 points while shooting 41% from three. Brisbane finished 6 and 27, so there is plenty of room for him to run the show. At the Blitz he had 34 points, 20 assists and 9 steals in two games, including 13 assists and 5 steals against Tasmania. He will have to earn attention in a league full of star point guards, but he is set to do it pretty quick smart.
8. Keanu Pinder, Cairns Taipans
Pinder is 31 and back in Cairns after a season in Japan. At Akita he averaged 16.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 45 games. Two seasons ago at Perth he put up 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds. Cairns won only 9 of 33 games last season, and he rejoins coach Adam Forde and star Jack McVeigh to fix that. In Round 1 he led the Taipans with 27 points, five rebounds and four assists, a reminder of what we missed for a year.
9. Lamar Patterson, Illawarra Hawks
Patterson is 35 and he can still score. He is a two time All NBL First Team player who averaged 21.4 points in his best NBL season. Across 111 NBL games he averages 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He was the 2025 NBL1 North MVP at 28.8 points a game. This year he averaged 23.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Ipswich Force, who reached the Grand Final. He signed with Illawarra as an injury replacement, so his minutes depend on who is hurt. But if he gets his shot, Lamar will be one of the bright lights of the NBL.
10. Bul Kuol, Adelaide 36ers
Kuol is a 201cm wing who represented South Sudan at the 2024 Olympics and won Rookie of the Year in 2022. In 133 NBL games he averages 9.5 points and 3.2 rebounds. In Paris he averaged 13.0 points and shot 73% from three in three games. He won the 2026 title with Sydney, then signed a two year deal with Adelaide to add length on the wing around Bryce Cotton. The catch is his knee. He tore his ACL in January and is still listed out with no return date. His big year may come later in the season.
