Is this the NBL's most improved player?

It may be only one game into the NBL25 season, but Adelaide local star Lat Mayen is relishing his new opportunity of being back home.

Mayen was a standout in the 36ers' loss to Sydney on Sunday, scoring 23 points on 82 per cent shooting and hitting all his three-point attempts.

“A very underrated player,” 36ers sharpshooter DJ Vasiljevic said post-game about playing alongside Mayen.

“He’s the one guy I voted for to win the Most Improved Player.”

Arriving back home in Adelaide after two seasons in Cairns, many expected Mayen to make a jump in his production when given more consistent opportunity.

Across 22 games last season, he averaged 7 points, but showed that with more court time, he can deliver. He scored in double-figures eight times and all of those came when he was on the court for more than 20 minutes.

“He comes in and does the work. Him and I come in before practice every day to put the work in,” Vasiljevic said.

Mayen was a player that Cairns coach Adam Forde didn’t want to lose in free agency, but understood that the idea of him playing back in Adelaide in front of friends and family would be hard to match.

With Adelaide’s first game of the season at HoopsFest, Mayen didn’t have to wait long to put on a show with his people in the crowd.

“He had his family here (in Perth). So there was a little extra edge for him to play in front of them,” Vasiljevic added.

All eyes now turn to this weekend’s game where Mayen will suit up against his former team and his close mentor on the opposition sideline.