Casey Prather: The long road home

The return of Casey Prather to the NBL arena mid-way through NBL24 was a sight for sore eyes across the competition. One of the most exciting, electric and incredible players in the recent era of the competition was coming back – and it almost felt like he was coming home.

Prather was a bona fide star of the competition in the late 2010s. He won three titles in his first three seasons in the competition – two with Perth and one with Melbourne – and became just the third player in the history of the competition to win back-to-back titles with two different teams, and the first import to do so.

He was named to the All-NBL First Team in 2017, and returned to Melbourne for one final season in 2019 at United, however injury derailed his final campaign with the club.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The return ? <br><br>Three-time NBL Champion Casey Prather will hit the court tonight for the <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrisbaneBullets</a> and you won&#39;t want to miss it ?<br><br>Check out some of his most ridiculous plays ?? <a href="https://t.co/NBRcskvK80">pic.twitter.com/NBRcskvK80</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1740960910284619802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It was after that glory-filled four years that Israel came calling, and after he won the Israeli League MVP trophy with giants Hapoel Eilat in his first season, disaster struck.

A pair of brutal knee injuries kept him out of action for almost two years, but now he’s back on the floor, back in the NBL, and back doing what he does best. Winning.

“I had a patella tendon injury, and I came back with a fractured kneecap where I’d had the surgery,” Prather reflected with NBL Media. “The reattachment of the tendon and the rehab process just went the wrong way, so it was just two unfortunate injuries right there.

“Of course, coming off of two years of bad injury luck, it was always going to be a process of getting back out there and playing, but I think I’m doing a great job of helping the team and giving them what they need to win. There hasn’t been any expectation about how many points I’ll score or anything like that right now, it’s more so how I can help the team win.  

“Physically I feel great, mentally I feel great as well, and it’s a step-by-step process. I never expected to get everything back in one game, but I’ve always expected to come out with the attitude that I’m going to try and help the team win, and I think that’s how I’m going to get and give the most value in the minutes I’m playing.”

Prather’s recruitment to the Bullets followed the trend set by rookie head coach Justin Schueller in the off-season prior to his first campaign in charge of the side.

Prather was a known quantity to Schueller due to their time together in Melbourne, as was Sam McDaniel before he signed on with the Queensland side. Schueller had also previously worked with Josh Bannan and Rocco Zikarsky in the junior national team set-up and brought them into the fold.

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Chris Goulding and Casey Prather lift the NBL18 title for Melbourne United.

Schueller has filled Brisbane's roster with players he has an intimate knowledge of as he continues his task of not only resetting the culture after a few indifferent seasons, but of elevating the club to its first Finals campaign since 2019.

“I like to think my body of work had a part to play in that,” Prather said of his recruitment to the club. “But Justin has seen me close up and he knows the way that I work. He knows and he trusts the way I can bounce back from any adversity in any situation, and I think that had a big part to play in it.

“He knew I was going to come in, be a true professional, take care of my body and get myself back to where I needed to be, not only for the team but because I’m a competitive individual. It was a mutual thing, and I trusted that Schueller was going to have my back and not put me in situations that would be bad for me, but he would put me in situations that I can grow, I can learn, and I can help the team win.

“I think he’s done an unbelievable job at that and being able to manage both, and I’m going to try and get this guy a couple of championships, and as many championships as I can with him. He deserves it all because he’s a hell of a guy and he’s a hell of a coach.”

That brings us to Friday’s Round 20 clash between Brisbane and New Zealand. It’s already been hailed as an elimination final of sorts given the context of the season.

A win for Brisbane would lock the Bullets into the top six. A loss, and they will be watching the Sydney Kings’ clash with South East Melbourne on Saturday afternoon praying for a Phoenix win.

The Breakers have home-court advantage heading into this crucial matchup, and they’ve sold Spark Arena out for what could be Tom Abercrombie’s final home game for the club following the stalwart’s retirement announcement earlier this week.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A legend calls time ?<br><br>After 15 seasons and four titles with the <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NZBreakers</a>, Tom Abercrombie has announced his retirement at the end of NBL24 ?<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/b3E3sZeaXS">https://t.co/b3E3sZeaXS</a> <a href="https://t.co/2eQp25udtC">pic.twitter.com/2eQp25udtC</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1757205386212651299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Prather praised the impact Abercrombie has had on the Breakers, but believes for all the strategic chess moves that will be played across the game – the result will likely come down to one thing. Desire.

“First of all, Tom Abercrombie, what an amazing career for him,” Prather said. “Just all praise goes to him and being able to leave the game on his terms, and the success he’s had playing in this league has been incredible to see. I just want to congratulate him and wish him all the best after basketball in whatever he decides to do.

“To be honest, we can go through the x’s and o’s all day and every day, but at this point in the season, late in the season, it's pretty much about who wants it the most. We’re coming out of a good game; they’re putting together some great wins as well.

“We know what to expect out of this team, we’ve played them a couple of times this season and we know they’re a great team. At this point in the season anyone can beat anyone so we just have to do our job, and our job is to control what we can control, try to get better and control each possession. If we can do that, we’ll be fine.”

Tonight’s clash between Brisbane and New Zealand will tip off at 5:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo and Sky Sport in NZ.