Star power: Sam Young (right) with Sydney Kings coach Shane Heal.
The mantra at Memphis for Sam Young was "Grit and grind". When he was at Indiana it was "Blue collar, gold swagger". So which catchcry will he bring to the Sydney Kings?
"I'll work on that," said the biggest name ever to grace the NBL. "I got you, I'll work on it."
The A-League has Alessandro Del Piero. Rugby league has, at least for now, Sonny Bill Williams. And now Australian basketball has a marquee of its own.
You only had to watch Young for half an hour of Kings practice at the Norths Basketball Stadium on Monday to realise he was something special. Despite still being jetlagged after arriving late last week, the 28-year-old showed all the skills you would expect of a man who has played 249 NBA games. Shooting and dunking over teammates he was still getting to know, Young is here to entertain.
"Oh yeah, that's a priority," said the 198cm American. "I want the fans to be excited. I want the fans to go home with something to talk about at the end of the night. That's a part of why we watch basketball and play the game.
"The fans come and spend their money to watch us play, so we should give them something to cheer about, to look forward to."
The fans will be in for a treat on Sunday. Young's NBL debut will be against table-topping Perth, matching him up against Wildcats star and NBA aspirant James Ennis. Two of the most exciting players in the NBL's history on court at the same time.
"I just know he was the guy on the pre-season roster at Miami," Young said of Ennis. "He had a good summer league, can shoot the ball pretty good, is pretty athletic. About 6'7, 6'8, wiry. Other than that, that's all I know about him. I haven't seen him in person but I'll watch a lot of tape on him before that game to work out the things we want to know."
There is another piece of tape worth watching. It's of Young, marking Miami megastar LeBron James in a play-off game. The Pacers swingman gets in the face of the NBA's biggest name, refusing to take a backward step.
Asked if he expected to dominate the NBL, Young replied: "I think I'll be able to put my team in the best possible situation that they could be in."
Poll: Where should the NBL's next expansion team be based?
- Western Sydney
9%
- Melbourne
12%
- Brisbane
40%
- Newcastle
3%
- Gold Coast
3%
- Christchurch
2%
- Canberra
6%
- Wellington
4%
- Hobart
6%
- South-East Asia
15%
Total votes: 1200.
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Poll closes in 20 hours.
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