'The Flight' Set to Take-Off Again in NBL24?

Could we see ‘The Flight’ take off once again in NBL24? If there’s one person who hopes so it’s former NBL MVP Derek Rucker.

‘The Flight’, otherwise known as Melbourne United import Rayjon Tucker, struggled to hit the ground running in his first season in the NBL, but as the campaign progressed he emerged as one of the most exciting – and dangerous – talents in the competition.

Tucker played in all 28 of United’s games in NBL23, and was often forced into an unfamiliar backup point guard role early in the season due to injuries to key teammates.

He averaged 18.1 points on 48.6 per cent shooting, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

“If I were Melbourne United I’d be trying to lock him up for multiple years,” Rucker said on The Marketplace. “I thought he was one of the best imports [in the league] in the second half of the season.

“He, like Tyler Johnson, really started to understand the competition.

“He’s a physical specimen of the highest magnitude, the guy can shoot the ball, he can put it on the deck, his defence is good and his athleticism is elite, NBA-type athleticism.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The ?? TOP PLAY OF NBL23 ?? has officially been decided!<br>Rayjon Tucker put Mitch Creek on a poster in Round 11 of NBL23 and you voted it as your top play of the season!<br><br>A big thank you to Tyrepower for supporting our top plays throughout NBL23.<a href="https://twitter.com/th3flighttuck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@th3flighttuck</a> <a href="https://t.co/E20MAu7WGk">pic.twitter.com/E20MAu7WGk</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1630731929262886912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

ESPN Insider Olgun Uluc reports Tucker isn’t the only import the side is interested in bringing back – and has said Marcus Lee could return to the side for next season.

Lee arrived from Manresa in the Spanish Liga ACB as a mid-season replacement for previous import Jordan Caroline, and was awarded the club’s Defensive Player of the Year award despite playing just 17 games for the season.

Across those games he averaged 8.8 points on 67.7 per cent shooting, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 0.8 steals per game.

“They want to bring back Marcus Lee,” Uluc said.

“It’s very early in the piece, and if a deal is done with Lee it would be further down the track, I’m under the impression.”

NBL free agency opens on March 30, with all team, player and mutual options needing to be confirmed by March 27.