Your Team's Leaders for NBL23

When a team's under the pump or needs a spark to get going, who does it look to? Its leaders.

Whether it be a grit or grind type player who never takes a step back, or the type of player who can take the pressure of a make or break moment, the quality of the leadership provided within a playing group can often be imperative to any potential title success.

With NBL23 now literally hours away, NBL Media looks at who'll be leading your team in this upcoming season.

Although Adelaide hasn't officially made an announcement regarding their leadership group heading into the new season. they have a number of strong candidates running out for their side.

Their leaders last season consisted of Mitch McCarron as captain, with veteran Daniel Johnson and two-time NBL champion Sunday Dech in support.

While there's no reason the trio wouldn't be elected into these positions again this season, the 36ers have added some experience to their roster with the additions Antonius Cleveland and Anthony Drmic, while Craig Randall II and Robert Franks add even more talent and excitement to the roster.

The 36ers are expected to announce their leadership group in the coming days. 

Adelaide's NBL22 captain Mitch McCarron also recently captained the Boomers to FIBA Asia Cup glory.

The Bullets have elected to run with a three-man leadership group this season, and each player voted in brings a totally different skillset and level of experience to the group.

It's little surprise that Aron Baynes will help lead the way for the side this season. On the court he boasts over 500 games of NBA experince and has spent an extensive amount of time in the Boomers set up.

Off the court the big man looks to be leading a culture shift at the Bullets, and the vocality he brings to the side has seen him quickly emerge as the on-court instructor for the team.

Jason Cadee and Tanner Krebs round out the leadership group for the Bullets.

Cadee is one of the most experienced players in the NBL and was the sole captain of the side last season. He's rapidly approaching the 350 NBL appearance mark and he's showing no signs of slowing down.

Krebs, on the other hand, represents the emerging generation of Bullets talent. Still just 26 years of age, the St Mary's alum only entered professional basketball in 2020. His escalation into such a position of responsibility within an organisation with title aspirations speaks highly of his character and reputation within the Bullets.

Adam Forde has a modus operandi of every player taking on the responsibility of leadership within his side. No one or few individuals are responsible for taking the lead as captain.

That’s why the Taipans head into NBL23 with no set leadership group. The being said, like most teams in sports, those more experienced heads will be looked to to provide guidance to those younger players on this Taipans side.

There’s a big gulf in NBL experience in this young squad. Only three players can lay claim to have played over 50 games in the competition. Majok Deng and Mirko Djeric leading the way with over 100 each, while Keanu Pinder only crossed off his 50th game last season.

Tahjere McCall showcased his ability in the squad as a leader and even took the coaching reigns during the Blitz. The 28-year-old was the main man on the court last season, and his elevated skillset means young players will inevitably look to him for guidance.

The goal of going into the season without a set leader is almost certainly to ensure each player remains accountable for everything – and that added responsibility could help mature this young and emerging side quickly.

There’s been a changing of the guard at the top for Illawarra this season. Gone is captain and veteran presence AJ Ogilvy, in are star duo Sam Froling and Tyler Harvey who step into the leadership breach as new co-captains.

Froling has stepped up his game to become one of the star big men of the competition, and despite being just 22 years of age the added responsibility of leadership looks to be an obvious next step in his development both on and off the court.

Harvey, on the other hand, is 29 years of age and can boast playing experience from all over the world. Last season the team looked to him to provide the difference in the big moments on the court, and it’s likely they will again this season.

He came into the competition off the back of extensive NBA G-League and European experience and was named to the All-NBL first team in 2021.

Chris Goulding, 'CG43', has been 'that guy' for Melbourne United ever since the team’s inception in 2015 and he’ll continue leading the team from the front in NBL23.

Goulding has already lifted two titles as United’s captain under Dean Vickerman, with the first coming in 2018 before they once again came out on top in 2021.

The elevation of Shea Ili to vice-captain indicates the continual rise of the often underrated and understated guard.

After winning the NBL’s Sixth Man of the Year last season, Ili went back to the Sandringham Sabres in NBL1 South and won the conference’s MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Ili has proclaimed himself as “not super vocal”, but given his emergence as a top talent his leadership through example will see him act as a strong right hand man for Goulding.

Melbourne United captain Chris Goulding and coach Dean VIckerman raise the 2018 NBL Championship trophy.

The Breakers have undertaken a huge roster change this season through targeting a number of New Zealand born and raised players, and their leadership group for the upcoming season.

Breakers great Tom Abercrombie has been joined by Rob Loe, Cam Gliddon and Jarrell Brantley in the team’s leadership group.

Abercrombie and Loe both have long histories with the Breakers. The former has played for the club since 2008 and won four NBL championships with the side, however he is currently sidelined with an eye injury.

Loe, on the other hand, first played for the club between 2016-2018, before returning in 2019 after a season in Cairns.

Gliddon was one of the most sought after NBL veterans this off-season, and the former NBL Rookie of the Year and Cairns Taipans skipper will bring some highly valued experienced to a team in a state of flux.

Brantley, who rounds out the leadership group, brings arguably the highest level of playing experience to the group having represented the Utah Jazz across two seasons.

Still just 26 years of age, NBL23 will be Brantley’s first season in the NBL.

It’s a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ in Perth’s approach to on-court leadership this season, with veteran Jesse Wagstaff selected to lead the team for the third consecutive year.

The six-time NBL champion heads into the season with a Commonwealth Games silver medal in his pocket after being an integral part of Australia’s 3x3 team in the recent tournament.

Mitch Norton will remain as the team’s vice-captain as he enters his fourth season in Perth.

Star import and three-time league MVP Bryce Cotton and new signing Kyle Zunic round out the leadership group.

Cotton has been a revelation in Perth since arriving at the club in 2017 and has been named in the All-NBL First Team in every complete season he’s played for the Wildcats.

Zunic is by far the youngest member of the Wildcats’ leadership team at just 23 years of age. His elevation to the club’s leadership group arrives in tandem with his elevation to the main roster after performing well as a development player last season.

South East Melbourne has made a tweak to their on-court leadership this season and have elected to enter the season with three co-captains.

Former Dallas Maverick Ryan Broekhoff has joined existing co-captains Mitch Creek and Kyle Adnam in the role.

Broekhoff arrived at the Phoenix halfway through the 2021 NBL season and has remained with the team ever since. With 59 games in the NBA under his belt and boasting the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic as former teammates, he's one of the most experienced Australians in the competition this season.

This isn’t the first time the Phoenix have rolled with a triple-captain set up, with Kyle Adnam’s emergence into the leadership group in NBL21 following a similar path to Broekhoff. At the time he joined Mitch Creek and the now retired Adam Gibson in the role.

Adnam has been a member of the Phoenix since 2019 after bouncing around the league with Adelaide, Illawarra, Melbourne and Sydney. He was a member of United’s 2018 championship winning side.

Creek, like Adnam, has been at the Phoenix since their introduction into the NBL in 2019.

He’s led the side in some capacity in each of its NBL seasons, sharing captaincy duties with Gibson, Adnam and now Broekhoff over the journey.

Much like the Cairns Taipans, the Sydney Kings will head into NBL23 without an official captain, however Shaun Bruce and Xavier Cooks will take on the off-court responsibilities, including media commitments, that are usually reserved for team captains.

Cooks is approaching this season primed to make a bigger impact than ever before. In NBL22 he was named as Grand Final MVP and earned selection in the All-NBL Second Team, and in the off-season he earned league MVP honours as a member of the Wellington Saints in the NZNBL.

Bruce, like Cooks, has been a member of the Kings since 2019 and ticked over his 250^th NBL appearance during the finals series last year.

Dejan Vasiljevic and Kouat Noi should be able to be relied on in providing NBL experience too. Vasiljevic will be flying high after his first Boomers call-up in the recent FIBA World Cup qualification window while Noi has arrived in Sydney after three seasons in Cairns.

Like Cooks, Noi also won a league MVP in the off-season, taking out the top individual honour in NBL1 North.

Clint Steindl and Jarrad Weeks will continue to lead the JackJumpers in this upcoming season but with one small change. Josh Magette will now be joining Weeks as a co-vice-captain,

Steindl will again be the spearhead for the side, after leading Tasmania to an NBL grand final appearance in its first season in the competition. A large factor in that run was the influence of incoming co-vice-captain Magette on the group.

Magette arrived in Tasmania off the back of a long and storied career in the NBA and Europe, and the 32-year-old is the only import remaining from last season’s successes.

Steindl will miss the first part of the upcoming season as he continues to rehabilitate a knee injury, so Weeks and Magette will step up into the on-court leadership gap left by his absence.

Weeks has bounced around the NBL since his debut with the Sydney Kings in 2010, and also has experience in playing for the Boomers, having played two games in FIBA World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Iran in 2019.