Is Prather Brisbane's missing piece?

One of the most successful imports in the modern era of the NBL is back in the competition, and he’ll touch down on December 27 ready to contribute to the continued rise of the Brisbane Bullets.

Casey Prather was confirmed as an injury replacement signing by the Bullets, in place of DJ Mitchell, who will now miss the remainder of the NBL24 campaign with a hip injury.

Prather won three championships in four seasons between 2016 and 2018, and is one of just a handful of players to win back-to-back titles with different teams, which he did in 2017 with Perth and 2018 with Melbourne.

The only other two players to have achieved that feat are Matt Garrison with the Hawks and 36ers in 2001 and 2002, and David Stiff with the 36ers and Kings in 2002 and 2003.

NBL analyst Liam Santamaria believes if the All-NBL First Team calibre Prather can return to his best, he raises the ceiling of the Bullets dramatically.

“The Casey Prather we saw in the NBL who won three championships in his first three years in the league, that guy is exactly what they need. Do they get that guy? I’m fascinated to see,” Santamaria told NBL Now.

“Certainly myself and everybody else on Brisbane island are hoping they do.

“I’ve already been pretty high on this team. I’ve always felt like they were a top four team. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster and they’ve lost some games they probably shouldn’t have and as a result they’re not really in that kind of picture right now.

“I think this is a good move that puts them back into that area as a team hat has the potential to really mix it with the big boys when push comes to shove at the end of the season.

“Hopefully it doesn’t take him too long to assimilate and get comfortable so they can win enough games to be in that mix, so they can get that done.”

Prather, now 32, spent three seasons at Hapoel Eilat in Israel, but only took to the court for one of the three seasons he was with the club.

Back-to-back season-ending knee injuries meant he missed the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with the club, and that the last full season in which he was fit and healthy was his Israeli League MVP season of 2021.

His former Melbourne teammate and current NBL analyst Peter Hooley floated the idea of teams recruiting Prather during free agency, and Santamaria says Brisbane had been talking to the wing as far back as the off-season.

“Justin Schueller knows Casey Prather well. He was part of that coaching staff that worked with Casey to win that 2018 NBL championship and they’ve been staying in touch,” Santamaria revealed.

“They were talking in pre-season I’ve since found out, but Casey wasn’t quite ready to go at that point as he’s getting himself back and right after back-to-back knee injuries, but apparently he is right, right now.

“He’s been working out, he’s been working on his body and he’s ready to go.

“[It’s] super-exciting to have him back in the league, that record of winning three championships in your first three years is pretty remarkable, unprecedented stuff in NBL history and it’s awesome to have him back in the league.

“Hopefully we see him back up at his very best.”

Development player Matt Johns had been elevated to the roster prior to Prather’s signing.

The Bullets will clash with the 36ers on Christmas Eve at 2pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo Sports.

Prather will then arrive in the country on the same day as Brisbane’s next home game, which is set for December 27 against New Zealand.