NBA Draft

Close to Home: Alex Toohey's Path to NBA Rooted in Australia

Alex Toohey has the chance to be the next member of the NBL Next Stars program to make the jump to the NBA.

Nick Crain

Close to Home: Alex Toohey's Path to NBA Rooted in Australia
Close to Home: Alex Toohey's Path to NBA Rooted in Australia /
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“It might not look too flashy, but I keep it simple and do what I do well, trying to use my size to my advantage,” Alex Toohey told Draft Digest last week when asked to describe his on-court game.

At 6-foot-7 with perimeter skills, it’s no surprise that Toohey is primed for a breakout season in the NBL Next Stars program. Although he was initially committed to play for Gonzaga this season at the collegiate level, he will instead take the floor with the Sydney Kings who have won back-to-back league titles.

Many of the players in the modern game that possess the level of versatility that Toohey has grew up as guards but hit growth spurts and kept some of those skills. That’s not the case for him though, as he actually grew up being one of the taller players of his age group, which resulted in most of his time being spent in the frontcourt.

Luckily for Toohey, he grew up in Australia where developing a well-rounded game is an emphasis early on. Despite playing quite a bit of center and forward, he still had the luxury of doing many other things on the court, including bringing the ball up the floor at times.

“I think Australia is just so big on playing different positions and being well-rounded basketball players,” Toohey explained. “Just being able to shoot, being able to pass, being able to dribble the ball. And obviously watching NBA highlights, you always look at the cool dribble moves, and the wings are probably the most exciting players.”

Although Toohey grew up playing a variety of sports, including cricket, the pivotal point in his basketball career was committing fully to hoops when he was invited the NBA Academy in Canberra and the Australia Centre of Excellence there. Formerly known as the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport), the Centre of Excellence has been around since the 1980s, but has more recently become an even better talent development hub with the addition of the NBA Academy, which is under the same roof.

This wasn’t unfamiliar territory for Toohey, who is actually from Canberra where these facilities are.

The NBA Academy program generally kicks off for athletes in their mid to late teens, who are then invited to come live on the campus.

“We’ve got five basketball courts there for us to use, and then full size gym, eating facilities and living accommodation. And that's kind of similar to a college in America,” the Australian prospect said of the campus.

Toohey spent more than two years in this program, where he had access to nutritionists, a dining hall, strength programs, a coaching staff, 24/7 gym access, psychologists, counselors and much more. It truly was like being part of a college program, if not better.

“Off the court, just being able to be a kid, they put a lot of activities on for the guys,” Toohey said of the perks when not focusing on the game. “So everyone's always got something to do. They're never just sitting in their room. And we share rooms with each other, so you'll be living with guys from all over the world. We get to be exposed to different cultures, and getting used to that a young age I think is important in basketball.”

Given the quality of this program, it’s easy to see how Toohey has evolved into such a skilled player. This was further quantified when he received the offer from Gonzaga to come play for one of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the world.

However, Toohey opted change paths and stay closer to home and join the increasingly popular Next Stars program. Players like him are hand-picked by a panel of experts to be appointed by the NBL, which has really opened the door for many athletes in the past few years making the transition to the NBA after just one year.

“I think it's just a great spot to develop. I think it'll ultimately help me if I do go to that next level,” Toohey said of the program.

It has served as a player development program to fast track NBA prospects like RJ Hampton, LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey and Ousmane Dieng who have all heard their names called in the first-round of the NBA Draft over the past few years.

For Toohey, there was a variety of reasons this was the right move for him personally.

“Looking at the NBL, how it's growing in Australia and seeing how many more kids are getting involved in basketball was something that was cool. Then meeting with the guys behind Next Stars and seeing their philosophy and how much they're invested and care about their program and how much they want to put guys on the best platform to be wherever they want to be. So I think meeting with them and understanding the Next Stars Program and the kind of opportunity that came up at the Kings is something that I couldn't really say no to. So I grabbed it with both hands.”

Toohey has already kicked off play with the Kings, with a preseason slate and NBL Blitz behind him. Next, he’ll be playing for a competitive Sydney team in the regular season that has an ownership group including  Andrew Bogut and is seeking a third consecutive championship. This will prove to be a great opportunity to play meaningful basketball against some of the best competition in the world outside of the NBA.

“It’s been good,” Toohey said of his time on the court thus far. “We had a pretty a pretty deep preseason, so at the start was it kind of getting some bumps out just used to the physicality, to the speed and playing how coach wants. Now I think just competing every day and playing against bigger guys and working on my body. I think now I'm getting used to that a lot more and starting to read the game a lot better. I'm starting to feel comfortable in the whole system.”

As good as Toohey already is, he is very self-aware of what he needs to improve on. He’s already pinpointed several things he would like to make an effort to develop over the next year, including becoming a more legitimate threat from the 3-point line. Adding consistent perimeter shooting will change the way teams defend him, which will ultimately also help him get to the rim more easily where he can use his length to finish. On the other end, Toohey indicated that lateral quickness, perimeter defense, and switchability onto smaller players is his focus.

Toohey is very into film and loves the game of basketball. He enjoys watching players of different positions in effort to develop different things of his own. While he doesn’t model his game after any one player, he mentioned Bogdan Bogdanovic, Austin Reaves and Josh Giddey as guys he enjoys watching to try to emulate.

From here, it’s all about getting to the NBA. He has exactly what it takes to get there with his positional size and skillset. Given the experience he’ll gain in the NBL this season against developed adults, he should be even more ready to make that jump in the near future.

He also has his sights set on playing for the Australian national team, which is one of the most talented squads in the world. He made his senior team debut in 2021 and was part of the Boomers’ 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifying team. The next step for him will be establishing himself as a cornerstone piece of that squad in the future. Toohey went to the same school that Patty Mills went to, so he’s always looked up to him growing up.

While Draft Digest already has a scouting report that breaks down Toohey’s game, we asked him to describe it to someone who has never watched him play.

“I'd say I'm a versatile wing that can make plays for teammates. I shoot the three, I’m able to guard multiple positions on defense. I always stay calm and composed and never trying to rush too much,” he said.

One of the more underrated draft prospects in this upcoming class, Alex Toohey has really positioned himself for a breakout season with the Sydney Kings as part of the NBL Next Stars program. His archetype is extremely valuable in the modern NBA and he should only improve his draft stock over the next year. 

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Nick Crain
NICK CRAIN

Nick is co-founder and lead draft analyst for Draft Digest. A credentialed NBA reporter for over five years, he's covered the league for various outlets including SLAM and Forbes.

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