Alex Toohey Comes Up Big in NBL Season Opener After a Rocky Start

The Adelaide 36ers admirably pushed the Sydney Kings - this season’s NBL championship favorites - all the way to the fourth quarter, but Next Star Alex Toohey found his groove in the final period and hit some big shots and made some big plays.

Alex Toohey / fiba.basketball

The Sydney Kings are a powerhouse this season. Jaylen Adams, Xavier Cooks, Bul Kuol, Alex Toohey, and Keli Leaupepe were their starting lineup in their NBL season opener against the Adelaide 36ers and they still got 29 points from their bench. The Kings are the championship favorites for this NBL season, and that puts a target on their back. The 36ers gave them everything they had in the opener and with the help of 13 bench points from Montrezl Harrell they had the lead until there were six minutes left in the fourth. 

Then, Alex Toohey woke up. 

After two superstar-level games at NBL Blitz, Toohey has set high expectations for himself this NBL season. In the early stages of the season opener, he seemed a bit too aware of that. With the exception of a couple of early buckets including a nice spot-up three, Toohey was more detrimental than beneficial. He forced a couple of shots and drives, bullying his way into the lane but also into traffic and without a plan for how to get out of it.

He had some tunnel vision and this led to turnovers, bad shots, and if the Kings were lucky: an offensive rebound or reset pass to the perimeter. Toohey was playing like he needed to score 25 points per game (his average at this season’s Blitz) instead of a guy who can drop 25 when you give him the opportunity to. 

This poor play was going both ways as well. Something we highlighted on Toohey following his performance at the NBL Blitz was that he had put on some bulk this summer, particularly his lower frame, but that’s currently leading to heavier strides. This is making him slower in the short term and botching closeouts. We would expect him to adjust to his newfound lower-body strength over the course of the season, but issues there were on display against the 36ers. 

He was too anxious defensively as well. On two occasions in the first half, he rushed over to help and make a play on defense, but looked for hero plays - blocks and steals. This led to cheap fouls and two and-one’s for the 36ers. After the second one, Toohey got subbed out. This isn’t Toohey’s game. He’s a good help defender usually, who knows how to get into position and force the next pass or play from the offense. He’s not a highlight reel player on that end, just a positive one. He needs to stick to that mentality and not get caught up in headlines and impressive video clips. 

But Toohey hung in there, and he’s got the trust of head coach Brian Goorjian. With the Kings trailing to the 36ers, Toohey came up with 10 points in the final frame to help his team retake the lead and walk away with an ultimately comfortable victory. He knocked down two threes, and even a tough turnaround, falling away, mid-range jumper in the final two minutes to truly seal the deal. 

As the shot started going down, Toohey’s engine on defense and on the backboards was reignited. He got two big steals, and a clutch offensive rebound and assist to Cameron Oliver on and-one that extended the Kings lead from five to eight with less than 90 seconds remaining. 

The first three quarters were rough for Toohey but in the end, he showed the numerous ways he can impact a game and help his team win: timely shot-making, defensive activity, and offensive rebounding. It’s everything you want from a high-level role player, and exactly what the Kings and NBA front offices will be looking for from him for the rest of the season.

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