Feb 12, 2026, 08:00 PM ET

The first half of the 2025-26 campaign has delivered a bit of everything for the Australians in the NBA: breakout seasons, expanded roles, season-ending injuries and, in some cases, uncertain futures.

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On one side of the coin, Josh Giddey is playing the best basketball of his career, Dyson Daniels has been forced to recalibrate midstream after a franchise-altering trade in Atlanta, Jock Landale has turned opportunity into production, while Josh Green is playing a role in the league’s fastest-rising, emerging team.

Of course, there’s also been significant adversity. Johnny Furphy and Kiwi big-man Steven Adams saw promising seasons cut short, while a handful of Australians are navigating the precarious reality of two-way deals and free agency.

With the All-Star break offering an opportunity for those around the NBA to catch its collective breath, here’s where every Australian — and the lone Kiwi — stands as the league turns toward the stretch run.

Josh Giddey — Chicago Bulls

Entering the All-Star break, this is unquestionably the best individual season of Josh Giddey’s career.

This was the first season where Giddey would come out of the gates with the keys to a team, and things started unbelievably well, with the point guard averaging close to a triple-double as he led his Chicago Bulls to a 6-1 start to the season. The Bulls looked like the surprise of the East and Giddey worked his way into very, very early MVP discussions.

Of course, reality would then set in. While Giddey would keep up his productive ways — he’s averaging 18.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game; all career-highs — the Bulls came back to earth, with the 23-year-old also being forced to manage a hamstring injury to start this calendar year. The Bulls enter this break out of the play-in, sitting in 11th place in the East on a 24-31 record, and seem primed to be among those teams preparing to tank the rest of the way.

As for Giddey, there have been enough indicators for the Bulls to continue to see him as a primary piece going forward, and as someone who’ll likely outplay his new four-year, $100 million deal. There’s an added force to Giddey’s game, where he’s using his strength to put heat on the rim more than we’ve seen in the past; he’s top-five in the NBA in drives per game, and is averaging a career-high 5.2 free throw attempts a contest. If it weren’t for Giddey’s hamstring injury, combined with the Bulls’ volatile play, then we probably would have seen the Australian suiting up for this All-Star Game; still, if he continues on this trajectory, then that’s likely where we’ll see him sooner than later.

Chicago enters the break at 24-31, 11th in the East and drifting toward lottery positioning. Whether Giddey continues to log heavy minutes on a team incentivised to slide down the standings remains unclear. What is clear: he looks every bit like a foundational piece, and his new four-year, $100 million deal already appears team-friendly if this trajectory holds.

Josh Giddey entered the new NBA season armed with a monster contract extension with Chicago Bulls Zoe Davis/Getty Images

Dyson Daniels — Atlanta Hawks

It’s been quite a fluctuating season for Dyson Daniels, where he’s dealt with everything from a role change, a trade of the Hawks’ high-profile star, and some early shooting jitters. It’s culminated in the 22-year-old playing effective basketball in stretches, but it took some time to get there.

Fresh off signing a new four-year, $100 million extension with the Hawks — and on the back of a Most Improved Player award — Daniels opened the season in somewhat of an identity crisis. He still remained one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders, but his three-ball deserting him meant questions regarding his role moving forward arose, particularly because the Hawks — who had high expectations after a big off-season — were losing games. That feeling was exacerbated because Daniels’ production and impact improved meaningfully when Trae Young was out of the lineup, so something seemingly had to give.

Well, when Young was traded to the Washington Wizards ahead of the trade deadline, there was a clear opening as the point guard spot for Daniels to step into and thrive in. In 21 games since the trade, Daniels is averaging 11.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game, running the offence for a Hawks team that is now winning games more regularly than it once was, with those numbers up from the first 32 games of the regular season, much of which was with Young in the lineup.

Despite some of the volatility around Daniels over the first half of this season, he’s been able to build into being a relatively effective player, and has leant into the increased minutes at the point, where he’s demonstrated a developing, impressive floor game. The scoring output is down due to the three-point struggles — he’s shooting 13.5% from downtown, on 1.4 attempts per game — and that’s definitely something that needs remedying, but he’s shown enough creation chops to make the Hawks front office feel comfortable about handing him the team’s point guard duties for the time being.

The next step is making sure that added usage impacts winning, with the Hawks currently on a 26-30 record — sitting in 10th place — are looking to overcome their inconsistencies and rise in the Eastern Conference.

Jock Landale — Atlanta Hawks

There’s no two ways about it: Jock Landale is in the midst of his best career in the NBA to date.

It began with the Memphis Grizzlies, where Landale saw an opening at the five-spot — injuries to key centres meant potential opportunity for the Victorian — and made the most of it. In 45 games with the Grizzlies, Landale averaged 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds (3.1 OFF), and 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 38% from beyond the three-point line; proving to be a consistent producer, with the floor spacing emerging as something new to the big-man’s arsenal.

Landale’s expiring contract made him an ideal trade target for a team aiming to win games, so he was eventually traded to the Hawks (via the Jazz), where he’d aim to provide a similar impact while affecting winning in the process.

Of course, Landale’s debut with the Hawks is now stuff of legends. He did the six-hour drive from Memphis to Atlanta, then earned the start the following day, posting a tied career-high 26 points, to go with 11 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks — hitting a new career-high five three-pointers — to lead the Hawks to a win in his first game with the franchise. The 30-year-old projects as a backup centre to Onyeka Okongwu but can of course start in a pinch and be effective in that role, too.

His minutes are up this season, so Landale is averaging career-highs in almost every statistical category, and shooting the ball, on volume, with an impressive level of efficiency: 40% from three-point land, on 2.9 attempts per game. He’s a key part of the Hawks’ rotation as they aim for a playoff spot, and is working his way toward being quite a sought-after free agent; there’s a heap of value in high-motor, high-character bigs who can stretch the floor.

Jock Landale [C] has joined Boomers teammate Dyson Daniels at the Atlanta Hawks Justin Ford/Getty Images

Josh Green — Charlotte Hornets

It was a late start to the season for Josh Green, and, while the numbers aren’t likely to ever jump off the page, he’s made an immediate impact for a Hornets team that’s surprising everybody right now.

Green was still recovering from shoulder surgery when the season began, so he was forced to watch from the sidelines as his Hornets got out to a less-than-promising start to their 2025-26 campaign.

The Hornets were 7-17 when Green made his season debut. Going into the All-Star break, they’re 26-29. That means they’re 19-12 with Green back in the lineup; and, while that’s not necessarily causation, the Australian has still made a clear impact for the Hornets’ new defensive identity as the team has gotten healthier.

Green is averaging 4.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game on the season, while shooting a career-high 44% from beyond the three-point line. What’s interesting is: when he was first dealt to the Hornets, there was some hope that Green could absorb extra usage on a lowly team, and show more than the three-and-D player he was boxed in as during his time with the Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately — or fortunately — the Hornets have emerged as a reasonable team as they build around the likes of Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, and Miles Bridges, so Green has naturally fallen into being that high-impact ancillary wing who can plug and play.

While it’s not ideal for those of us who want to see what the 25-year-old’s ceiling is, situations could be worse than being in the rotation of a team that’s won 10 of its last 11 games and is working their way up the East.

Johnny Furphy — Indiana Pacers

With the Pacers in the midst of a ‘gap year’, Furphy — a second-year wing — was reaping the rewards of a team that had a smattering of available minutes up and down its roster. The 21-year-old was averaging 5.1 points and 4.4 rebounds, in his 18.4 minutes per game, and even earned himself 21 starts in the 35 contests he took part in.

Unfortunately, what was looking like an important developmental year for Furphy came to a screeching halt, with the Australian suffering a season-ending ACL injury that would, of course, rule him out for the remainder of the season.

It’s a particularly tough break because the Pacers made a deal ahead of the trade deadline that signalled they’d be among the teams tanking the rest of the way, which would’ve warranted even more minutes for the developing Furphy.

Assuming Furphy’s rehab follows the timeframe we usually see from ACL tears, the hope is that he will be ready to return to action by the early-to-midway point of the 2026-27 regular season.

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Johnny Furphy exits the game with an injury

Johnny Furphy exits the game after suffering an injury in the third quarter vs. the Raptors.

Tyrese Proctor — Cleveland Cavaliers

It’s been an eventful rookie season for Sydney’s Tyrese Proctor, as he’s ridden the wave with his Cleveland Cavaliers team that’s fluctuated.

As the Cavaliers dealt with injuries early in the season, Proctor earned himself minutes, and made the most of them. There was a 17-point showing in early November — that remains his career-high — as Proctor experienced some extra usage with Darius Garland sidelined. There have naturally been some low-minutes games and a handful of DNP-CDs, but Proctor has largely been part of Kenny Atkinson’s rotation through his first season thus far.

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Proctor has shown off the self-creation and shot-making that made him a draftable prospect, with the maturity to adapt to the speed of the game, which is thanks in large part to his three years at Duke. Over his 39 games, Proctor has averaged 4.9 points and 1.4 assists per game, shooting 35% from 3PT.

There’s a chance that things swing away from Proctor as the Cavaliers enter the pointier end of their season. The team’s trade for a healthy James Harden, as well as Dennis Schroeder and Keon Ellis, has taken away a lot of those backcourt minutes, so there’s an expectation Proctor’s minutes will diminish as a result of that.

Joe Ingles — Minnesota Timberwolves

In evaluating Ingles’ season to date, it’s important to understand the context of the role he signed up for. It’s, in effect, a no-minutes role that requires him to be a good team and bring leadership to the table, with a sprinkling of high-stakes inbounds passing.

Ingles has played in just 18 games this season, and averages 4.0 minutes a contest, all of which have effectively been in garbage time. The impact the 38-year-old provides can’t really be quantified, so his counting stats are redundant when analysing his imprint on the team.

Ingles is a leader in the locker room for a Timberwolves team that’s currently fifth in the West, sitting on a 34-22 record.

Steven Adams — Houston Rockets

Adams is another case of someone who was playing really good basketball — for one of the best teams in the West — before an untimely injury brought his season to a sudden end.

The 32-year-old suited up in 32 games for the Rockets, and played a primarily role in Ime Udoka’s team leading the NBA in rebounding. at 49 boards per game. The Kiwi centre guided that part of the Rockets’ identity, averaging 5.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, while among the league’s leaders in offensive rebound percentage.

Unfortunately, you can probably see where this is headed. At the end of January, Adams underwent season-ending surgery on his left ankle, due to an injury sustained the previous week in a matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Adams is contracted to the Rockets through the 2027-28 NBA season.

Steven Adams of the Rockets. Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Matisse Thybulle — Portland Trail Blazers

We haven’t had the privilege of seeing much of Matisse Thybulle this season.

He played four games in October for the Trail Blazers, before suffering a thumb injury that required surgery. That was supposed to have Thybulle out for four-to-six weeks, but the Boomers wing has also been experiencing right knee tendinopathy, so his return to play has been pushed back, and it’s unclear when he’ll return to action.

Danté Exum — free agent

This season has effectively been a wash for Exum. The 30-year-old came into his ninth NBA campaign off the back of an offseason procedure on his right knee, which subsequently needed follow-up surgery that ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

To add insult to injury, the Dallas Mavericks dealt Exum and his expiring contract to the Washington Wizards ahead of the trade deadline. The Australian was eventually waived, becoming a free agent.

It caps off a tumultuous last two seasons for Exum, who was a key player for the Mavericks during their 2024 NBA Finals run, but has since dealt with injuries that have seen him miss significant time.

Duop Reath — free agent

A third season with the Portland Trail Blazers was always going to be difficult for Duop Reath.

The Australian Boomers big-man had shown flashes over his two previous campaigns, but was entering this season behind Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III in the rotation, while the Trail Blazers were also naturally going to favour their new draftee, Yang Hansen.

Reath earned minutes throughout the start of the season, and was admirable — averaging 6.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game — but, with the development that he would undergo season-ending foot surgery, the Trail Blazers opted to trade his expiring contract ahead of the deadline.

Reath was traded to the Hawks, and subsequently waived. He’s now a free agent.

Two-way players

Rocco Zikarsky — Minnesota Timberwolves

Zikarsky signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves after the franchise drafted him with the 45th overall pick, and the Australian big-man has been extremely productive in the G-League thus far.

The 7’3 centre played exclusively for the Iowa Wolves this season, averaging 15.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. He’s also shooting 2.8 three-point attempts a contest — on 25.5% 3PT — which is an element to his game we didn’t see during his time in the NBL.

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The Timberwolves are in win-now mode, with Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid eating up the entirety of the minutes at the centre spot, so it’s difficult for the younger Zikarsky to crack that rotation this season. Still, it’s worth noting he’s still just 19, and proving to be extremely effective in the G-League.

“He’d be a top-20 pick in this year’s draft,” one NBA scout told ESPN.

All things considered, it’s been a positive, promising, and encouraging season for Zikarsky thus far.

Alex Toohey — free agent / Golden State Warriors

We should all prepare for next season to, in effect, be Alex Toohey’s rookie season.

The 21-year-old was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 52nd overall pick and signed a two-way contract, but was dealing with knee soreness through much of the leadup to the regular season. It was soon determined that Toohey would require right knee surgery, so he underwent that and was subsequently waived. There’s an expectation he’ll remain with the Warriors moving forward.

Luke Travers — free agent

The start of Luke Travers’ season was with the Cleveland Cavaliers — the team that drafted him in 2022 — where he was on a two-way deal, and he was largely contained to the G-League. He averaged 15.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game for the Canton Charge, and would play in a handful of games for the Cavaliers to start the season.

Unfortunately, the Cavaliers were forced to waive Travers following a multi-team trade which saw them absorb a two-way contract. Travers remains a free agent, and is hoping to find another two-way deal for the remainder of the NBA season.

Lachlan Olbrich — Chicago Bulls

Olbrich has been one of the beneficiaries of the Bulls’ decision to lean toward tanking, along with playing within a big-man rotation that’s been unpredictable.

It’s meant Olbrich — who was drafted by the Bulls with the 55th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft — has played a handful of games for the franchise to start the season, and shown glimpses of the parts of his skillset that are transferable. In 17 games with the Bulls, the 22-year-old is averaging 1.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, but his mobility, ability to get out of screens quickly, and work-rate have all stood out in his minimal minutes.

With the Bulls trading away Nikola Vucevic, and not having a heap of frontcourt depth on its roster, look for Olbrich to absorb even more opportunities as the season progresses, and as the team rises up the lottery.