Former King praises NBL to NBA pathway

The pathway from the Sydney Kings to the NBA has just seen a new set of footprints. Jaylin Galloway is the latest in a line of players to make their way from the back-to-back reigning champions to the Association following his signing of a two-way deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Galloway has followed the likes of Xavier Cooks, Jae’Sean Tate, Isaac Humphries and Didi Louzada as players to have recently made the jump across the pacific.

It has been reported the contract is a two-year, two-way deal, and the Kings will retain Galloway's NBL rights for the next three seasons.

The Kings have been possibly the biggest proponent of the NBL to NBA pathway, but Galloway’s signing to the 2021 NBA champions has followed a rapidly emerging theme that’s happening throughout the competition.

“There’s no question that 20 years ago this just doesn’t happen, and that is a credit to the league to be able to be in a position where, arguably, players were as talented 20 years ago, maybe not as athletic, but the eyes just weren’t there,” former King Brad Rosen told NBL Media.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Welcome to Milwaukee, Jaylin Galloway! <a href="https://t.co/UDKs087yMq">pic.twitter.com/UDKs087yMq</a></p>&mdash; Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1764358458927710241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“Now if you play well and do what you have to do, there’s a spot in the NBA. Kids are coming through saying ‘I can play in the NBL and go to the NBA’.

“As an ex-player, that wasn’t even in our stratosphere. These guys like Shane Heal and Andrew Gaze who did go to the NBA were the greatest ever, and even when you’re that good you may not get there. But you look at it now and it’s phenomenal, it gives me goosebumps to think about how guys can say ‘I want to get to the NBA, so I’ll play in the NBL and if I’m good enough I’ll get there.’

“It’s great for the league, it's great for the Kings as an organisation, and it’s just going to keep going.”

Rosen played with Shane Heal at the Sydney Kings. Heal eventually made 51 career NBA appearances with Minnesota and San Antonio.

It’s more than fair to say Galloway is a talent that has been fostered in the NBL, and fostered by the Sydney Kings. The 21-year-old made his debut for the club back in NBL21, and has since gone on to appear 76 times for the organisation.

The ability that has always set Galloway apart from others in the competition is his sheer athleticism, but as he’s progressed through his career he’s added different components to his game in order to become an NBA-level talent.

“I think he is readymade for the NBA. I’ll give him credit that his athleticism has always been there, but he’s knocking down that three-ball at a better clip now,” Rosen said.

“He’s improved every year and this year he just went ‘bang’. He’s got a great body for basketball, his pace of the game is brilliant, and in the open court he’s just unstoppable in this league, and in the NBA he could be just as unstoppable, I’m so excited for him – and I don’t want to disrespect anyone else who’s come out of the league – but I can’t think of someone who’s come out of the league with Jaylin’s level of athleticism.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is there a better in-game dunker in the league right now than Jaylin Galloway?! ? <br><br>Watch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL</a> live on ESPN! ? <a href="https://t.co/6Vo2i4C1WF">pic.twitter.com/6Vo2i4C1WF</a></p>&mdash; ESPN Australia &amp; NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1746417578430410983?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“We’re not talking about a crappy team here, we’re talking about a team that is fighting for an NBA championship this year. For me, it’s them and Boston out of the east and that’s going to be an amazing series, but it just shows the faith these NBA clubs have in our league, and in this case in Jaylin Galloway. It’s not a mistake they’ve signed him for two years, they see what this kid can do and have got plans for him.

“Obviously he’s got a bit of work to do but I think he can dominate in the G-League and I don’t think it’ll be long until he’s up there.”

Although the Kings’ season ended in ignominy with their Play-In Qualifier defeat to New Zealand and eventual parting of ways with head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah, Galloway’s rise is yet another talent development case study the organisation can hang its hat on.

The season didn’t always look like it was going to turn out this way for Sydney though. 10 games into the campaign they sat prettily in the upper echelons of the ladder with a 7-3 record – and the highly-anticipated three-peat looked to be on.

Rosen believes the shoulder injury suffered by Galloway six games into the season could have caused an initial wobble in a season that eventually derailed.

“If you look at the start of the season when the Kings were 7-3, I don’t want to say he was the best player but he was damn close to it. They were humming off the back of him getting downhill and hitting his shots, and he was really igniting the Kings," Rosen said.

“It’s almost wrong to say I’m proud of him, but as an ex-King and an NBL person I am proud of what he’s done, because what does it say to the next generation? Work hard, anything is possible.”