Towering seven-foot German centre Ariel Hukporti has confirmed his return to the NBL Next Stars program for the 2023/24 season. 

One of the most exciting and impactful players to join the Next Stars program to date, Hukporti is back at Melbourne United following a devastating achilles injury, which forced him to miss the entire 2022/23 campaign.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said Hukporti’s return was further validation for the Next Stars program.

“Ariel has unfinished business. We are super excited to see him back out on the court, and I’m sure he’s going to remind us all very quickly why he’s so highly regarded and destined to make a massive impact on the game not only here, but in the NBA in the coming years,” Loeliger said.

“Ariel has grown immensely since joining our League, as a player, as a person and as a phenomenal professional athlete. The way he conducted himself throughout his rehabilitation; staying in Melbourne to encourage and support his teammates throughout the season, was exemplary and speaks to the kind of person he is.

“The pathway between the NBA and NBL is stronger than ever, and Ariel couldn’t be in a better spot to secure the NBA contract he’s long been dreaming of.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Big A is BACK!<br>We are very excited to announce that Next Star Ariel Hukporti will return to the court for the NBL24 season.<br>We can&#39;t wait to see you back out there, Ari ?<br>Full story: <a href="https://t.co/oDWSlN3LMN">https://t.co/oDWSlN3LMN</a> <a href="https://t.co/MrnhSfeNIO">pic.twitter.com/MrnhSfeNIO</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1641576039234281472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In his debut season, Hukporti led the League in defensive rating and became the only player to average more than a block per game before their 20th birthday.

“Ariel is a special talent and we're all excited to see him on the floor for United again next season,” Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman said.

“He showed that he can be an elite player of the defensive end of the floor, and we're confident he'll be able to do the same in NBL24.

“Having him come back as a Next Star has the added bonus of providing us with some more flexibility in roster building across the offseason, which is always important."

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