Dante Exum – the 6 foot 6″ point guard from Melbourne – is the next great hope of Australian basketball and is projected to be a lottery pick if he declares for the 2014 NBA Draft.
His combination of speed, basketball IQ, scoring ability and athletic ability has some NBA scouts very excited about his star potential in an increasingly point guard-focussed NBA.
Exum first hit the national spotlight in 2011 when, at age 15, he was surprisingly selected for the Boomers training squad.
In 2012 and 2013 he gained global notoriety with his performances in youth tournaments playing for Australia and a World Select team.
In 2013 Exum played in the Nike Hoops Summit for the World Select Team and this is where he seriously sparked the interest of NBA scouts as he battled it out against other lottery prospects such as Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Jabari Parker.
With a highlights package like the one below, it is no wonder that he is drawing a lot of attention with his ability to get to the rim and score.
In the 2013 U19 FIBA World Championships, Exum was a key part of Australia’s success, leading them to the bronze medal game against Lithuania.
Unfortunately Australia was defeated 106-100 but in the loss Exum scored 28 points, dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds, further pushing his credentials to NBA scouts.
The last proper game Exum played in was the final of the 2013 Australian Schools Championship in early December, where he scored 20 points and dished out 15 assists in an 88-81 win for his school, Lake Ginninderra College.
While 20 and 15 may be a reasonable stat line, he wasn’t exactly putting those numbers up for Kentucky or North Carolina against a Duke or USC but this may end up working in his favour.
Exum has been meeting with agents in the past month with the aim of making a decision of whether to declare for the 2014 NBA Draft or attend a top level American college.
Currently Exum is not playing top level basketball as he has chosen not to play professionally in the NBL or abroad, which could either suggest he wants to avoid injuries before potential pre-draft workouts or not jeopardise his college eligibility.
In Chad Ford’s latest 2014 Mock Draft for ESPN, he has Exum going fourth to the Celtics, which is very exciting for basketball in Australia.
His last sentence in his analysis of this pick is “General Manager Danny Ainge is a fan of Exum, Rondo’s future in Boston is perpetually in doubt and while Bradley has been good, Exum might be an upgrade long-term”.
With Rajon Rondo increasingly looking likely to stay with Celtics, Boston may not be the ideal fit for Exum in terms of potential starting minutes but does that really matter right now?
Looking at all the mock drafts available online it is likely Exum will head to a team with an already established point guard if he falls in the top 10.
The Celtics have Rajon Rondo, Utah have Trey Burke (although could slot Exum in at shooting guard), Cleveland have Kyrie Irving and Denver have Ty Lawson.
Having played very little competitive basketball compared with other rookies that will have 30-40+ games of D1 college basketball under their belts by the time draft workouts begin, it could benefit Exum to start on the bench and work his way into the rigors of NBA basketball.
Exum already has high praise within the Australian basketball community but the NBA draft workouts will be his opportunity to show NBA general managers he belongs with the best.
With the signs pointing to Exum being invited to the NBA Draft Green Room in 2014 – a room for the top 10 prospect that the NBA specially invites – the NBA’s profile could be lifted in Australia to greater heights.
With Exum already appearing on The Project last year, the wheels may already be in motion for another household name for an Australian playing in the NBA.
Combined with a hopefully healthy and long playoff run by Andrew Bogut and his Golden State Warriors, increased minutes in San Antonio to Patty Mills and Exum getting drafted by a top level team in June, basketball in Australia could ride a wave of momentum that positively impacts all aspects of the game (NBL, youth development and international exposure).
I wish Exum all the best in June if he decides to declare for the draft and look forward to watching him in the NBA in the very near future.
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
If people can lose their job, and clubs can face massive payouts, due to the behaviour of coaches, it will drastically change the way sporting teams in Australia will be run.
A Serbian, a Canadian, a Slovenian and a Greek fellow walked into a bar … Well, they’ve actually walked into the NBA and now…
Nikola Jokic has scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead defending NBA champions Denver past LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers…
There will undoubtedly be upset results here and there in the NBA playoffs but there’s an overwhelming sense of fait accompli that Boston will…
LeBron James is going back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Steph Curry is headed to the games for the…
The only realistic threat to Boston’s chances of strolling through the Eastern Conference is a team that could still end up in the play-in…
