The NBL’s pool of emerging talent has never been stronger, with rising stars like Karim Lopez (New Zealand), Owen Foxwell (South East Melbourne), and Dash Daniels (Melbourne) leading the charge.
At the same time, NIL deals — which can turn teenagers into millionaires overnight — are creating a challenge for the league in retaining its future stars.
For many young players, seeing contract figures they could have only dreamed of would be hard to resist. But financial gain isn’t always the best move for long-term development.
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That’s where the Next Stars program offers an alternative, prioritising player growth and NBA readiness over immediate money. While the NIL route is tempting, each prospect must weigh the pros and cons – and not every player is chasing instant financial reward at the start of their career.
The Next Stars program and the NBL will need to remain innovative to compete with the lure of college money. Yet the league’s track record of developing young stars — including players who have followed in the footsteps of LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey — provides a compelling blueprint for future talents weighing the choice between college and the professional path.
WHAT IS NIL?
Introduced in 2021, NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) rights allow student-athletes in the U.S. college system to legally earn money while competing.’
Before this change, players couldn’t make a single cent from the revenue they helped generate, a major issue in an industry valued at more than US$20 billion.
Today, colleges operate with rapidly increasing NIL budgets, with this season’s cap sitting at roughly US$31.4 million per school. The scale of the money available is staggering – especially when you consider there are over 350 division one schools for a theoretical $11 billion.
Not all schools can pay up to the cap, and the money is spread across multiple sports (and football draws most of it), but it’s still a lot.
For example, the 2025 No.1 NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg earned an estimated US$42 million in endorsements alone through deals with New Balance and Fanatics, highlighting just how lucrative the space has become for elite young athletes.
On the lower end of the NIL scale, Sunshine Coast–born Oscar Cluff is earning upwards of AUD $2.9 million this season, placing him well above some of the highest-paid athletes in other major Australian sporting codes. It highlights just how staggering the money in the NIL system has become.
Giddey denied call in heartbreaking loss | 00:45
HOW A VIDEO GAME PAVED THE WAY FOR THE HISTORICAL NIL DEAL
Prior to 2021, the NCAA had one strict rule: college athletes could not earn money from their sport. Even if a player’s name and likeness were generating millions, they wouldn’t see a single cent. Sponsorships and endorsements were strictly prohibited.
The system began to change in 2009 when EA Sports released NCAA Basketball ’09. Former UCLA champion Ed O’Bannon noticed his likeness was being used in the game without his permission, sparking a legal battle. O’Bannon became the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA and the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), representing 20 former college athletes, including NBA legends Oscar Robertson and the late Bill Russell, who won 11 NBA championships.
Five years later, in 2014, the court ruled that the NCAA’s longstanding ban on athlete compensation violated antitrust laws, awarding $42.2 million to the plaintiffs in a landmark decision.
Over the following years, pressure from athletes continued to mount, culminating on July 1, 2021, when the NCAA officially implemented its NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) policy, fundamentally transforming the college sports landscape.
What began with one player and a video game grew into a movement that empowered athletes and changed the game forever.
Fan ejected after clash with Giddey | 00:46
NEXT STARS VS NIL
The NIL system isn’t for everyone and despite the massive money on offer, some still question why certain prospects choose not to take the college route.
Created to give elite young athletes the chance to compete against fully grown, battle-tested professionals in one of the top leagues in the world, the Next Stars program offers a different kind of development pathway.
Debuting in the 2017–18 season, the Next Stars initiative has already produced several standout names, including:
LaMelo Ball, Illawarra Hawks (2019–20)
Josh Giddey, Adelaide 36ers (2020–21)
Alexandre Sarr, Perth Wildcats (2023–24)
The program now features prospects like Dash Daniels and Karim Lopez, both projected to be selected inside the top 25 of the latest ESPN Mock Draft.
While the salary gap between NIL deals and Next Stars contracts is enormous, many argue that the on-court experience gained in the NBL is far more valuable than a quick million-dollar payout to play against peers their own age, which could potentially slow down their growth as a player.
The NBL covers all Next Stars salaries – which do not count against team salary caps – though the exact figures remain undisclosed.
NEXT STARS EXAMPLES
The 18-year-old Mexican-born Karim Lopez and 17-year-old Dash Daniels are two of the brightest young prospects in the NBL, both choosing the Next Stars pathway to fast-track their NBA ambitions.
Lopez’s decision has proven particularly smart, with the New Zealand Breakers guard now projected to go 11th overall in the latest ESPN NBA Mock Draft. In his second season with the Breakers, he has made a significant leap from NBL25, averaging 10.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting a career-best 49.2% from the field. His three-point shooting has seen the biggest improvement, rising from 30.8% to 40.4%, a development NBA teams highly value. While he may have received college offers exceeding US$1 million, Lopez chose to prioritise his long-term NBA goals – and the results speak for themselves.
Similarly, Dash Daniels, the younger brother of NBA star and 2025 Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels, is already making waves with Melbourne United.
At just 17, he turned down offers from top U.S. programs including Louisville, LSU, Florida, and SMU to follow the Next Stars route.
His brother Dyson is proof that college isn’t the only path to the NBA, having been drafted No. 8 by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2022 without playing a single college game. Dash is currently projected to go 22nd in the draft, with a potential top-20 selection by season’s end.
Despite his age, he is already one of the league’s best on-ball defenders, averaging 5.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.9 steals in just 16.5 minutes per game.
OUTSIDE THE NEXT STAR PROGRAM
There is no shortage of Australian talent in the NBL outside the Next Stars program, and many of these players have had opportunities – or near opportunities – to pursue the college route.
For some, it’s a choice. For others, eligibility complications close that door. But one thing is clear: the NBL is now producing enough high-level young talent that players do have pathways to those massive NIL deals if they want them.
Perth Wildcats rising star Ben Henshall is a prime example. He re-signed with the club on a two-year deal after complications with his eligibility at Texas Tech – a program prepared to offer him upwards of US$800,000, truly life-changing money.
Yet at just 21, Henshall’s journey is far from over. After withdrawing from the 2025 NBA Draft, he’s committed to developing his game before giving it another shot next year, aiming to showcase his growth at the NBA Draft Combine.
South East Melbourne guard Owen Foxwell is another standout. Now in his fifth NBL season at just 22, he’s enjoying one of his best campaigns to date.
Earlier this year, he earned an invitation to the prestigious Adidas Euro Camp, a proving ground for some of the world’s top young prospects.
Foxwell is hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow Australian guard Taran Armstrong, who turned two strong seasons with Cairns into a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors – proof that there are multiple roads to the NBA beyond college or the Next Stars program.
Foxwell re-signed with the Phoenix earlier this year for two seasons – but his goal to be called up to the NBA is still something in his future plans, and now thirteen games into the current NBL season, he is averaging career-high 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists a game.
His stock has never been higher.
Earlier this year, NBL CEO David Stevenson discussed the Next Stars program versus the college NIL route in an interview on NBL Now, highlighting the value the program offers to aspiring future stars.
“It’s a genuine [Next Star] pathway to the NBA,” he said.
“It continues to be a great success. The fact that NBA teams come out [here] and spend so much time here and scout them, and ultimately draft them, says how much they value and appreciate the development pathway for players playing in the NBL.
“Those players could easily go and make more money in college in NIL”
“If you’re after short term money, yes college is a pretty good option. If you’re in for a long-term career that involves the NBA, then I think the Next Stars is the best place for you.” he said.
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