{"id":886718,"date":"2026-09-10T09:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T09:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/886718\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T09:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T09:08:15","slug":"nbl-2026-jai-faale-wont-join-sydney-kings-as-nbl-next-star-basketball-news-signing-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/886718\/","title":{"rendered":"NBL 2026: Jai Fa\u2019ale won\u2019t join Sydney Kings as NBL Next Star, basketball news, signing, highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a potential deal that would have seen the NBL add its 28th Next Star to the program and a fifth for the Sydney Kings, but for fans of both the league and the reigning champions, that move will no longer happen.<\/p>\n

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Fox Sports Australia can confirm Victorian guard Jai Fa\u2019ale was on the verge of becoming the league\u2019s latest Next Star, with the 18-year-old entering negotiations to join the program ahead of the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n

Jai Fa’ale in action for Victoria Metro at the 2025 Basketball Australia Under-18 National Championships. Picture: Taylor EarnshawSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

However, league sources have confirmed the deal will not go ahead after both parties mutually agreed not to proceed, meaning Fa\u2019ale will not join the Next Stars program for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

Fa\u2019ale, who turned 18 last month, would have entered the league already established on the international stage, having helped Australia win gold at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup last month, while also gaining plenty of experience playing against grown men in the NBL1 East.<\/p>\n

Jai Fa’ale in action for Victoria Metro at the 2025 Basketball Australia Under-18 National Championships. Picture: Taylor EarnshawSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

The deal would have seen Fa\u2019ale join Cairns Taipans Next Star Luke Paul in the program; both young prospects developed at Basketball Australia\u2019s Centre of Excellence.<\/p>\n

Fa\u2019ale\u2019s progression toward becoming a professional basketball player began to gain serious momentum after developing as a talented young guard through the Diamond Valley Eagles VJBL program before joining Basketball Australia\u2019s Centre of Excellence ahead of the 2025 NBL1 East season.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: JackJumpers set to lock in championship coach as historic partnership continues<\/a><\/p>\n

Most recently, Fa\u2019ale played 16 games in the NBL1 East, averaging an impressive 21.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 48.5% from the field.<\/p>\n

He then carried that form onto the international stage at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup, averaging 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 44.3% from the field throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n

Jai Fa’ale was named in the FIBA Asia Cup All-Star Five in India last month.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

His performances earned him a place in the tournament\u2019s All-Star Five alongside Australian teammate Yahya Basaran, who was named tournament MVP as the Emus captured their third consecutive U18 Asia Cup gold medal.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: An ex-$54m NBA star is in NBL in his prime. The truth behind move … and what Ingles is really like<\/a><\/p>\n

Had the deal gone ahead, Fa\u2019ale would have followed the same pathway as several former Sydney Kings Next Stars, including Brian Bowen II (2018-19), Didi Louzada (2019-21), Makur Maker (2021-22) and Alex Toohey (2023-25).<\/p>\n

Brian Bowen II (2018-19), Didi Louzada (2019-21), Makur Maker (2021-22) and Alex Toohey (2023-25).Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Instead, one of Australian basketball\u2019s most talented young guards will now take a different path as he weighs his next move in his rapidly developing career.<\/p>\n

For now, while a move into the Next Stars program is off the table for the 2026-27 season, the future remains bright for Fa\u2019ale as he continues his rise through Australian basketball.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a potential deal that would have seen the NBL add its 28th Next Star to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":886719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-886718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/886719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=886718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=886718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}