Recapping Season Openers for All NBL Next Stars and Prospects

The NBL season officially began for the league’s five Next Star prospects: Alex Toohey, Karim Lopez, Izan Almansa, Rocco Zikarsky, and Malique Lewis. Ben Henshall, not a Next Star but still draft eligible, featured off the bench for the Perth Wildcats.

The NBL season has begun and that means we got our first look at Next Stars Rocco Zikarsky, Alex Toohey, Izan Almansa, Karim Lopez, Malique Lewis, and the draft-eligible Ben Henshall (who is not a Next Star). Most openers were quiet, with Toohey, Henshall, and Almansa putting up the most impressive stat lines. 

Zikarsky is the highest-rated Next Star. At 7-foot-3 with decent touch and scoring chops, he’s an intriguing prospect but was largely ineffective in the Brisbane Bullets season opener. In six minutes off the bench, he finished with four points and three rebounds and was a minus-seven in a 91-87 loss. Zikarsky generally looked behind in terms of processing the game, at times a full step behind the action. Additionally, he was overmatched physically and struggled to establish rebounding position with consistency. We highlighted concerns with Zikarsky’s lack of physicality earlier this summer and he did nothing to calm those nerves in Round 1. 

Karim Lopez and Malique Lewis were both incredibly quiet. In 10 minutes off the New Zealand Breakers bench, Lopez finished with one turnover and two rebounds. Lewis was more prominent for South East Melbourne Phoenix. In 17 minutes off the bench, he scored four points on 1-of-6 shooting and grabbed three rebounds. Both games were nothing to write home about, but Lewis also got to the free-throw line once. Lopez is only 17, and an adjustment period is expected for him in the early days of this season. 

Almansa finished with 10 points, one rebound, and one steal in 14 minutes off the bench for the Perth Wildcats. You can read more about his debut here. Also coming off the bench for the Wildcats was guard Ben Henshall. The 20-year-old Aussie prospect has largely flown under the radar but he impressed in the opener, finishing with 10 points and seven assists in 19 minutes. He tied for a team-high plus-15 with star guard Bryce Cotton, making sure the team didn’t miss a beat when the microwave scorer went to the bench. 

The most impressive Next Star performance came from Australian Wing Alex Toohey, picking up where he left off with his impressive showing at the 2024 NBL Blitz. Toohey finished with 15 points, three assists, three steals, and three rebounds. You can read more about his season opener here. 

There’s never a need to overreact to one game, but Toohey continues to be the most impressive Next Star, and Zikarsky is not doing his draft stock any favors with his recent play. Almansa and Henshall’s contributions off the bench likely give Perth optimism for their depth and ability to contend, and Lopez and Lewis clearly need more time. Thankfully, they have plenty.

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