Top Australian junior basketball prospect Dash Daniels has signed with Melbourne United in a major coup for the NBL as part of the Next Stars program.
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The 16-year old Daniels, younger brother of Aussie gun and Atlanta Hawks’ Dyson Daniels, is being touted as a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
He knocked back big US college offers from the likes of Louisville, LSU, Florida and SMU as well as other NBL teams to link up with United for the 2025/26 season.
Daniels follows in the footsteps of lottery picks Alex Sarr, Josh Giddey, LaMelo Ball and Ousmane Dieng by joining the NBL Next Stars program, which now has two potential 2026 lottery picks along with New Zealand Breakers’ Karim Lopez.
He’ll also be hoping to emulate the pathway of current Knicks big and former United player Ariel Hukporti.
“I feel great. Signing my first pro contract, it’s a dream come true, and I can’t wait to get started,” Daniels said.
“I’ve grown up in the Australian programs, so I know the style of play and the brand of basketball. Melbourne United, I play very similar to them, they take pride in their defence, and they love to get up and down the court, which is what I like to do.”
In a similar mould to older brother Dyson, 21, already one of the best defenders in the NBA , the 6-foot-6 Dash is also highly regarded for his defence and versatility, while seen as more of a playmaking guard with greater offensive gifts.
“We do have our similarities and differences,” Dash said of Dyson to ESPN.
“We both love playing defence, getting steals, reading what the offence is doing, being able to jump the lanes, and being in the right help positions. We both get out in transition, get to the mid-range floater game, and are aggressive getting on the rim.
“I play a little bit more with the ball in my hands, create for teammates, use more on-ball screens, and beat my defender off of a quick first step.”
The youngster from Bendigo has been growing his game at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra over the past 18 months and has been a regular member of junior national teams.
Daniels represented Australia at the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup game, where he led the tournament in steals per game (3.6). He was also named Player of the Tournament at Australia’s 2024 U18 National Championships.
“The recruitment of Dash has been ongoing for a while now,” United coach Dean Vickerman said.
“Once we knew that he had interest in the Next Stars program, we knew it could be a really good fit. We’ve got a great relationship with the Daniels family, and it’s been amazing to see the type of basketball Dyson has been playing.
“It’s really exciting to have him join the club. He’s really young, but I think his body is certainly ready for the NBL. As a guard that can really defend and live a lot of our qualities, I think he’ll be great for us.
“As we did with Ariel (Hukporti), we want to create an environment where he is comfortable and that will help him develop during his time here. The Next Stars program is a proven pathway to get top players into the NBA and we’re ecstatic to be part of it once again.”
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