After a long season within their conferences, the best of the best emerged at the National Finals.
To outperform your opponent on this level is an achievement, given the fatigue players face after a long season and going up against teams you’ve not previously faced.
We’ve seen the likes of Frankston’s Lachlan Barker, Geraldton’s Johny Narkle and Knox’s KJ Feagin receive further opportunities within the NBL after their spectacular National Finals performances.
NBL1 National Game MVP KJ Feagin is proving is worth in the #NBL24 preseason ? pic.twitter.com/SHE25iwIhZ
On the women’s side, we’ve seen multiple local and international players use the event as a springboard to further success. An example, Warwick’s Leonie Fiebech and Bendigo’s Amy Atwell dominating their respective National Finals, and representing their home nations in this year’s Paris Olympics.
With the NBL and WNBL seasons looming, let’s take a look at some of the standouts from this season’s National Finals.
Bendigo Braves: Megan McKay
While she is a conference MVP, National Finals Championship Game MVP, and an NBL1 South and National Champion – her comeback on the Sunshine Coast might be one of her biggest achievements yet.
Before the National Finals, her last game for Bendigo was May 8th, before missing the rest of the season for personal reasons.
In her return to the court, she dropped 35 points and 18 rebounds over the NBL1 West champions, the Rockingham Flames – leading her team to the Championship Game before losing to Waverley.
Over three games she averaged 21.6 points and 14 rebounds in only 27.3 minutes per game – being named to the All-Star Five as a result.
The 27-year-old is not rostered for this coming WNBL season and still has plenty to provide with the amount of roster spots still yet to be filled.
Knox Raiders: Austin Rapp
Before the age of 20, Austin Rapp already has quite the basketball resume.
With seven games of NBL experience under his belt, he’s already claimed back-to-back NBL1 National Championships, an NBL1 South championship, being named the 2024 NBL1 South Youth Player of the Year and led Victoria to gold at the U20 National Championships in February.
At this year’s National Finals, he progressed into a major two-way threat for the Raiders – spacing the floor as a stretch five and was critical in protecting the paint against Mackay in the Championship Game.
With an average of 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2.6 assists, two blocks and 1.6 steals across three games, Rapp showed his versatility across the board against the best teams in the country.
Related: Dream farewell to Knox for Portland-bound Rapp
With his debut collegiate season with Portland starting in December, make sure to keep an eye on his progress as he could be one of the next best NBL big men in the coming years.
Mackay Meteors: Emmett Naar
Arguably the biggest standout from the National Finals was former Illawarra Hawk Emmett Naar.
Emmett Naar is putting together one hell of an audition to get back on an NBL roster. He had 13pts-10reb-13ast yesterday, and 18pts-5reb-13ast today, leading Mackay (who are without their 3 NBL players, against teams with imports playing) to a spot in the NBL1 National Finals. https://t.co/2rwNRC6c5y
— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) August 17, 2024
Last playing in NBL22, he spent this past season with the Mackay Meteors acting as the lead playmaker for their stacked roster with Todd Blachfield, Isaac White and Luca Yates.
Going into Nationals, Naar became the go-to player for the Meteors, elevating his team to the Championship Game against Knox.
In a three-point loss, Naar was outstanding with a triple-double of 21 points, 18 assists and 10 rebounds. For the tournament, he was named to the All-Star Five with an average of 17.3 points, 14.6 assists and 8.3 rebounds.
With a current lack of local talent who are elite playmakers, keep an eye on Naar to see if he will find a home within NBL25 this season.
Southern Districts Spartans: Peata Manumaleuga
With Abby Cubillo unavailable, the 17-year-old Peata Manumaleuga stepped up and provided some much-needed playmaking for the Spartans.
With only three games and a combined 6.73 minutes across the regular season, to play almost 20 minutes against a championship team would be daunting, to say the least.
However, she’s starting to get used to the biggest stages. Coming off a third-placed finish with Samoa in June’s FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup: Division B, where she averaged 13.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Off the bench, she scored three points with three rebounds, two assists and a steal against the Lions. While she didn’t make a field goal, her aggressive drives allowed for free throws and playmaking opportunities – providing her invaluable experience for a long career ahead.
Central Districts Lions: Lilly Ritz
Coming off a massive season in NBL1 Central, Lilly Ritz went up another level in this season’s National Finals.
She started the tournament off with a statement win, scoring 23 points with 22 rebounds, five steals and four rebounds over the Southern Districts Spartans on Friday night.
While on Saturday, she continued her double-double streak with 10 points and rebounds against the defending champion Bendigo Braves.
With player availability issues throughout the season, Lilly Ritz was able to step up when it mattered most – delivering the club their first title and making conference history a week later with Central’s first Nationals Finals win.
