We took the NBL's own list of Next Stars, 25 alumni and the two players in the program this season, and matched each one against every pick of the 2019 to 2026 NBA drafts and his NBA regular-season record. The program has run since 2018-19, with a roster spot at every NBL club set aside for a Next Star.
How NBL Next Stars have done in the NBA
Josh Giddey, the No. 6 pick in 2021 after one season with the Adelaide 36ers, has played the most NBA games of any Next Star, 334 for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Chicago Bulls. LaMelo Ball, taken third by the Charlotte Hornets in 2020 after one season with the Illawarra Hawks, has 303 and the highest scoring average, 20.8 points a game.
Ten of the 13 players drafted straight from the NBL have reached the NBA. The other three are Alex Toohey, waived by the Golden State Warriors after a knee injury without playing for them in 2025-26, and the two picks from June, Karim Lopez and Malique Lewis. Two players who were never drafted also got there on two-way deals: Brian Bowen II, the first Next Star, with the Indiana Pacers, and Trentyn Flowers with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Bulls.
The honors are concentrated at the top. NBA.com lists Ball as the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year and a 2022 All-Star, the only Next Star with either honor.
- LaMelo Ball: Rookie of the Year in 2020-21, All-Star in 2022, All-Rookie First Team.
- Josh Giddey: All-Rookie Second Team in 2021-22.
- Alex Sarr: All-Rookie First Team in 2024-25, after going No. 2 to the Washington Wizards, the highest any Next Star has been drafted.
- Ousmane Dieng: NBA champion with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2024-25.
- Ariel Hukporti: NBA champion with the New York Knicks in 2025-26, after going No. 58 in 2024.
Ten alumni are on NBA rosters for 2026-27, according to NBA.com. Ball is with the Minnesota Timberwolves after a June trade, Giddey with the Bulls, Sarr with the Wizards, Dieng with the Milwaukee Bucks, AJ Johnson with the New Orleans Pelicans, Hukporti and Rayan Rupert with the Philadelphia 76ers, Rocco Zikarsky with the Timberwolves, Toohey with the Warriors and Lopez with the Memphis Grizzlies.
How many NBL Next Stars have been drafted
Sixteen of the 25 alumni hold an NBA draft pick, but three of them did not come from the NBL. Didi Louzada (No. 35 in 2019) and Justinian Jessup (No. 51 in 2020) were drafted before their first NBL game, and Mojave King went No. 47 in 2023, after a year with the G League Ignite.
That leaves 13 taken in the draft right after their last NBL season, the same count the league gives for players drafted directly out of the program. Seven went in the first round and four in the lottery: Sarr at No. 2, Ball at No. 3, Giddey at No. 6 and Dieng at No. 11. The other six were second-round picks.
At least one Next Star has been drafted in each of the last seven drafts, 2020 to 2026. The 2024 draft was the biggest, with four: Sarr, AJ Johnson at No. 23 to the Milwaukee Bucks, Bobi Klintman at No. 37 and Hukporti at No. 58. The only year without one was the first: Bowen went undrafted in 2019 after his season with the Sydney Kings.
In June, the Detroit Pistons took Lopez at No. 21 for the Memphis Grizzlies, the highest-scoring draft-eligible Next Star in the program's history at 11.9 points a game in his second season with the New Zealand Breakers, and Lewis went with the final pick, No. 60, to the Bucks via the Wizards.
Every NBL Next Star: draft pick and NBA games
| Next Star | Next Stars seasons, NBL club | NBA draft: year, pick (team) | NBA games | NBA team, Oct. 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Bowen II | 2018-19, Sydney Kings | Not drafted | 12 | No |
| Didi Louzada | 2019-20 to 2020-21, Sydney Kings | 2019, No. 35 (Atlanta Hawks, traded to New Orleans Pelicans) | 12 | No |
| LaMelo Ball | 2019-20, Illawarra Hawks | 2020, No. 3 (Charlotte Hornets) | 303 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| RJ Hampton | 2019-20, New Zealand Breakers | 2020, No. 24 (Milwaukee Bucks, traded to Denver Nuggets) | 170 | No |
| Terry Armstrong | 2019-20, South East Melbourne Phoenix | Not drafted | 0 | No |
| Josh Giddey | 2020-21, Adelaide 36ers | 2021, No. 6 (Oklahoma City Thunder) | 334 | Chicago Bulls |
| Justinian Jessup | 2020-21 to 2021-22, Illawarra Hawks | 2020, No. 51 (Golden State Warriors) | 0 | No |
| Mojave King | 2020-21 to 2021-22, Cairns Taipans, Adelaide 36ers | 2023, No. 47 (Los Angeles Lakers, traded to Indiana Pacers) | 0 | No |
| Makur Maker | 2021-22, Sydney Kings | Not drafted | 0 | No |
| Nikita Mikhailovskii | 2021-22, Tasmania JackJumpers | Not drafted | 0 | No |
| Ousmane Dieng | 2021-22, New Zealand Breakers | 2022, No. 11 (New York Knicks, traded to Oklahoma City Thunder) | 166 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Tom Digbeu | 2021-22, Brisbane Bullets | Not drafted | 0 | No |
| Ariel Hukporti | 2022-23 to 2023-24, Melbourne United | 2024, No. 58 (Dallas Mavericks, traded to New York Knicks) | 79 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Rayan Rupert | 2022-23, New Zealand Breakers | 2023, No. 43 (Portland Trail Blazers) | 155 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| AJ Johnson | 2023-24, Illawarra Hawks | 2024, No. 23 (Milwaukee Bucks) | 77 | New Orleans Pelicans |
| Alex Toohey | 2023-24 to 2024-25, Sydney Kings | 2025, No. 52 (Phoenix Suns, traded to Golden State Warriors) | 0 | Golden State Warriors |
| Alex Sarr | 2023-24, Perth Wildcats | 2024, No. 2 (Washington Wizards) | 115 | Washington Wizards |
| Bobi Klintman | 2023-24, Cairns Taipans | 2024, No. 37 (Minnesota Timberwolves, traded to Detroit Pistons) | 20 | No |
| Mantas Rubstavicius | 2023-24, New Zealand Breakers | Not drafted | 0 | No |
| Rocco Zikarsky | 2023-24 to 2024-25, Brisbane Bullets | 2025, No. 45 (Chicago Bulls, traded to Minnesota Timberwolves) | 5 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Trentyn Flowers | 2023-24, Adelaide 36ers | Not drafted | 8 | No |
| Izan Almansa | 2024-25, Perth Wildcats | Not drafted | 0 | No |
| Karim Lopez | 2024-25 to 2025-26, New Zealand Breakers | 2026, No. 21 (Detroit Pistons, traded to Memphis Grizzlies) | 0 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| Malique Lewis | 2024-25 to 2025-26, South East Melbourne Phoenix | 2026, No. 60 (Washington Wizards, traded to Milwaukee Bucks) | 0 | No |
| Dash Daniels | 2025-26 to 2026-27, Melbourne United, South East Melbourne Phoenix | Withdrew in 2026 | 0 | NBL, current Next Star |
| Noa Kouakou-Heugue | 2025-26, Perth Wildcats | Not drafted | 0 | No |
| Luke Paul | 2026-27, Cairns Taipans | Not yet eligible | 0 | NBL, current Next Star |
Next Stars who were not drafted
Nine of the 25 alumni were never drafted. Two of them still played in the NBA, Bowen and Flowers, and the rest built careers elsewhere: Izan Almansa returned to Real Madrid, Mantas Rubstavicius to Zalgiris Kaunas and Noa Kouakou-Heugue left the Perth Wildcats for Elan Chalon in France.
Makur Maker went the other way, back into the NBL with the Illawarra Hawks this season. From the early years of the program, Terry Armstrong now plays in North Macedonia, Nikita Mikhailovskii in Russia and Tom Digbeu in France.
NBL 2026-27: this season's Next Stars
The NBL27 season tipped off on Saturday, Sept. 19, with Melbourne United against the Adelaide 36ers at John Cain Arena at 7:30 p.m. AEST, followed by the Perth Wildcats against the South East Melbourne Phoenix at RAC Arena. The NBL schedule has every game and the NBL ladder the standings.
Two players are in the program this season. Dash Daniels, the younger brother of Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, withdrew from the 2026 draft and moved from Melbourne United to the Phoenix for a second Next Stars season. On opening night he had a career-high 24 points and 12 rebounds as the Phoenix won by 21 in Perth.
Luke Paul signed in January at 16 years, 10 months and 29 days, the youngest player the program has signed, and chose the Cairns Taipans. He has not yet played for them because of a preseason ankle injury, and on Oct. 1 he committed to Duke for 2027-28, after this NBL season. Lewis is back in the league as well, signed by Cairns as an import after the Bucks took his draft rights.
We measured the NBA's No. 1 draft picks and the WNBA's No. 1 picks the same way, and the 2026-27 NBA schedule shows when each Next Star's team plays.
NBL Next Stars: frequently asked questions
How many NBL Next Stars have been drafted into the NBA? Thirteen were drafted straight from the NBL, from LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton in 2020 to Karim Lopez and Malique Lewis in 2026. Counting three more who were drafted before or after their NBL stint, 16 of the 25 alumni hold an NBA draft pick.
Who is the highest-drafted NBL Next Star? Alex Sarr, taken No. 2 by the Washington Wizards in 2024 after a season with the Perth Wildcats. LaMelo Ball went No. 3 in 2020.
Have any NBL Next Stars won an NBA championship? Two: Ousmane Dieng with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2024-25 and Ariel Hukporti with the New York Knicks in 2025-26.
Who are the NBL Next Stars in 2026-27? Dash Daniels with the South East Melbourne Phoenix and Luke Paul with the Cairns Taipans.
How this was built: the 27 players come from the NBL's official Next Stars list at nextstars.com.au, as of Oct. 4, 2026. Draft picks come from Wikipedia's pages for the 2019 to 2026 NBA drafts, checked against NBA.com's player pages and the NBL's own count of players drafted directly. NBA games are regular-season games through 2025-26 from each player's Wikipedia statistics table, checked against NBA.com's scoring averages. A player counts as drafted directly when he was picked in the draft that followed his last NBL season as a Next Star. Honors and current teams are NBA.com's, with the years of each honor from Wikipedia.