Perth’s 451-game NBA veteran says five days of preparation and full-court defence set the NBL apart<\/p>\n
Perth Wildcats<\/a>\u2019 451-game NBA veteran Brandon Knight ($277,000)<\/a> has revealed that \u201cthe level of detail and competitiveness\u201d in the NBL is superior to the NBA.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a good question,\u201d 34-year-old Knight said when asked about the difference between the NBA and NBL after the 5-2 Wildcats took care of NBA gap-year star Cole Anthony ($300,000)<\/a>\u2019s Melbourne United<\/a> 103-102<\/a> in Round 6 in Perth on Friday night.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say the level of detail and competitiveness, because there aren\u2019t as many games.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you play 82, there are some games, unfortunately, where you just don\u2019t have it.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this league, that\u2019s not a thing from what I\u2019ve seen thus far.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s every possession. We talk about pick-up points \u2013 you\u2019re picking up full court. When I was in the NBA, I don\u2019t know how many times I picked up full court.<\/p>\n \u201cTo transition to this and be picking up full court \u2013 and not just the point guard. Sometimes you have a point guard in the NBA pick up. For us, it\u2019s all five up the floor, all five making it tough, playing hard.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of talented guys in the NBA and a lot of talented guys here, but the level of detail, I would say, has been a lot higher thus far.<\/p>\n \u201cThe level of competitiveness, even early in the season \u2013 if you guys have been paying attention, there have been some crazy blowouts in the NBA to start the season.<\/p>\n \u201cNot to say that can\u2019t happen here, but the intensity here is very high.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s no disrespect to the NBA. Great league, but the amount of games and travel can really wear guys down.<\/p>\n \u201cHere, we\u2019ll start preparing for a team five days in advance and drilling their stuff. When we get to the game, you can tell we\u2019ve been preparing for them.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s a little bit different. In the NBA, you might have Portland, Sacramento and Golden State all in one week, so you\u2019re switching things continuously.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can see that in the game plans as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Knight, taken 8th by the Detroit Pistons in the 2011 NBA Draft, played for six NBA teams during his nine-year career. He faced United\u2019s marquee star point guard, Anthony, 26, in just his third NBL game.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat player, very dynamic,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been preparing for not just him, but the way they play, all week.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of great guards in this league, him being one of them.<\/p>\n \u201cI never really look at individual matchups because there are so many layers to the game. When you try to make it individual, you can lose sight of, \u2018Hey, did Elijah Pepper ($202,700)<\/a> get a shot in the last four minutes? How\u2019s Dylan Windler ($271,100)<\/a> feeling? How\u2019s Kristian Doolittle ($317,500)<\/a> feeling? How are the guys on the bench feeling?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m too wrapped up in a one-on-one matchup, that can take away from the collective of what I\u2019m trying to accomplish for our team.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the league and where it\u2019s going. Those matchups are important and get highlighted, but a lot of times I just come out and play.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s KD, Cole, whoever it may be \u2013 Bryce, when we get the chance to play them again \u2013 it\u2019s less about the matchups and us just trying to get wins. I\u2019m trying to do something special as a collective.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the individual matchups, but we don\u2019t win that game unless everybody does their part. I\u2019m not in a position to shoot that shot at the end unless everybody does their part.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a collective thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Knight\u2019s revelation is further proof and validation of the success of the NBL Next Stars program<\/a>. Since 2019, only Duke University and the Kentucky Wildcats have produced more NBA Draft picks than the NBL Next Stars program.<\/p>\n Since 2019, Duke has sent 24 players, including Tyrese Proctor<\/a>, to the NBA, and Kentucky 19, while the Next Stars program has developed 16 NBA Draft picks.<\/p>\n Almost one in six NBL27 players (eight Australians and 15 imports) have suited up in the NBA. Joe Ingles ($300,000)<\/a> (750) has played the most, followed by Sydney Kings<\/a> NBL26 champions<\/a> Matthew Dellavedova ($221,300)<\/a> (479) and Torrey Craig ($290,400)<\/a> (458), Knight (451), Brisbane Bullets<\/a> injury replacement Raul Neto ($277,000)<\/a> (435), and Anthony (355).<\/p>\n Combined, all 23 have played 90 seasons and 3,634 games.<\/p>\n 23 NBL27 players have played in the NBA, 3,634 regular-season games across 90 seasons between them, and 9 of the 10 clubs have at least one. Joe Ingles leads on 750 games, then Matthew Dellavedova on 479 and Torrey Craig on 458. Since the season started, 8 have risen in SuperCoach price and 12 have fallen.<\/p>\n How to read this table<\/p>\n NBA is career regular-season games, with the number of seasons in brackets. Every player on the NBL27 rosters was checked, and a match only counts where the NBA record\u2019s date of birth is the same as the NBL\u2019s, so a namesake cannot slip in. Brisbane\u2019s Jaylin Williams is not the Jaylin Williams who played for Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n The price in each player\u2019s link is his SuperCoach NBL start price. Now is his price going into Round 6 and Change is the difference, green for a rise and red for a fall. Brandon Knight, Raul Neto and Mangok Mathiang joined the game during the season, so their start price is their entry price.<\/p>\n SC pos is the position SuperCoach lists. NBL 25-26 is the player\u2019s SuperCoach average last NBL season with games in brackets. A dash means he did not play in the NBL last season, not that he averaged nothing.<\/p>\n