Cheatham open to NBL return

Zylan Cheatham made a strong impact with the New Zealand Breakers last season and he could be set to return to the league.

After spending a campaign with the Breakers, the 28-year-old was asked by Peter Hooley at the NBA Summer League on a potential NBL return, and the answer was very promising.

“Yes, there’s 100% a chance for sure,” Cheatham said of a NBL comeback.

The Brooklyn Nets Summer League recruit wasn’t able to play to his full potential at the Breakers in NBL24, as he sustained a fractured foot early on in the season, and guys were “in-and-out of the line-up," making it hard to create a strong team connection.

Cheatham averaged 15.2 points and 6.8 rebounds for New Zealand last season.

“It was a great season, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of injuries, guys in and out of the line-up, couldn’t really get into a rhythm. But I think we accomplished something to get into the Playoffs and doing something for the city,” he said.

Nonetheless, Cheatham was grateful of his time in New Zealand and is now on the radar of many NBL clubs as a free agent. 

“The NBL was a hell of an experience and I’ve got a real love for Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

“The NBL was really good to me, there’s a lot of benefits in playing there. We’ll see what happens after this (Summer League), hopefully something comes out of it but obviously I’m going to weigh up my options and see what’s best.”

Cheatham has averaged nine points in the Summer League.