Alex Toohey was struggling with a major career decision; stay in the NBL? Or make his NBA dreams come true, at just 20 years of age?

After a productive first season as a Next Star with the Sydney Kings, Toohey was projected by many draft analysts to be selected as a second-round pick. But it never got to the stage.

Toohey made an early, mature decision well beyond his years and decided that staying in the NBL for one more season could catapult his draft stock.

“If you get to the NBA, and say I was a second-round pick, if you are not getting playing time and not getting developed, then one or two years later you can fall out of the NBA and it can be hard to get back in,” Toohey told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“I didn’t want to mess around with my foundations as a basketball player, I wanted to solidify that I can excel in this league (the NBL).”

Of course, there's still plenty to play out, but Toohey's decision to be patient and measured has so far proven spot on. 

Now projected as a possible top-30 pick by The Athletic’s senior writer Sam Vecenie, he's shown everything NBA scouts want to see in the first half of this NBL season – averaging 9.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals.

With his most recent game against the New Zealand Breakers, scoring 21 points to go with 11 rebounds, Toohey took more massive strides.

With scouts watching Australia closely, can Toohey join fellow Next Star Rocco Zikarsky in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft?

“It’s about trusting myself and trusting that I’m getting better each day and understanding that when it comes to those decision-making days closer to the draft, that’s when it really counts,” Toohey added.

The Kings will host the Illawarra Hawks on Christmas Day, with tip-off from 8.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN, 10 and 10 Play.

Read more here >> Million-dollar decision: Why Alex Toohey waited to nominate for the NBA draft