Why Baynes can't wait to watch 'unbelievable talent'

From the moment he signed with the NBL Next Stars program, basketball fans have waited patiently for Luke Paul to make his debut.

Although an ankle injury made everyone wait until Round 4, the 17-year-old prodigy's debut will finally happen on Thursday night as his Cairns Taipans take on the Brisbane Bullets.

This Cairns Convention Centre fixture marks the first of Paul's professional career, which he hopes features the NBA in the coming years.

One who knows all about making the jump from Australia to the United States is Olympic medallist Aron Baynes, who appreciates the talent of the point guard.

“The potential there is limitless,” Baynes said on NBL Now, presented by CODE Sports.

“He's already drawing comparisons to [John] Stockton, and that's singing high praises for him.

“It's going to be a whole lot of fun for us to be able to watch him; he's an unbelievable talent.

“Hopefully, we see him for a long time, [during] the short amount of time he is going to be here.”

As exciting as Paul is going to be, Baynes also knows there will be challenges that he will have to overcome this season before he heads to Duke University next campaign.

“It's going to be a bit of a different game for him, as he's stepping in there against men,” he added.

“We know he's capable, but it's about what he can do within that [setting].

“We know the expectation he's going to have on himself. It's kind of hard to find those expectations and settle yourself down a little bit.

“It's going to be fun to see those moments of brilliance and what he is capable of as a player.

“He's one of those guys [who just] ball; we saw it with Joey [Ingles] when he was younger. The game slows down for those guys.

“[I'm interested to see how] he integrates into that team, because at times, he's going to have to go out there and assert his dominance, which I know he's fully capable of doing.”

The all-Queensland clash tips off at 7.30pm AEDT on Thursday, live on ESPN.