About

The Next Stars program is an innovative player development program unique to the Australian NBL, in which the top young, NBA draft eligible talent from across the globe can fast-track their professional development.

The Next Stars program has been running in an official capacity since the 2018-19 season and, in its time, has seen eight players drafted to the NBA - with three of those being lottery picks.

The recruitment of American prospect Terrance Ferguson by the Adelaide 36ers first lit the spark for the program, after the heavily recruited high school prospect elected to turn professional as opposed to go through the traditional collegiate program.

Following his sole season with Adelaide Ferguson was selected with the 21st pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and has gone on to play over 200 games in the NBA, and was named a G-League champion in 2022.

NBL24 is set to play host to the second largest class of Next Stars in competition history with seven players currently signed on with different NBL sides for the upcoming season, however with Tasmania, Adelaide and South East Melbourne still possessing scope to recruit some of the top young talent in the world, that number could still yet grow.