Feature image via: Kieron Place Art & Photography | Emma Hoppo
Two NBL1 stars, Alex Starling and Kyrin Galloway, have signed for the NBL25 season.
Both forwards were outstanding in the 2023 NBL1 season, as Starling won his second straight Defensive Player of the Year award while Galloway was a critical piece to Ipswich’s title run.
After his debut NBL season, Starling has re-signed with the club for a second year. After being naturalised, 36ers’ coach Scott Ninnis immediately signed Starling – who was the Finals MVP to Ninnis’ 2022 NBL1 Central championship.
“Going into this season I expect Alex will make a bigger and better impact for the club,” Ninnis said.
“He has been through his first season now and knows what to expect, so I’m really excited to see what Alex can bring to our team.”
In the 2024 NBL1 season, Starling is currently averaging a career-high 26 points, 12 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 4.1 steals per game.
On the opposite end of the country, Starling’s former teammate, Kyrin Galloway is staying North and has signed with the Cairns Taipans for the NBL25 season.
After a championship season with the NBL1 North's Ipswich Force, Galloway had his best season in the NBL. with career highs in minutes, points, rebounds and blocks in 27 games for the 36ers.
In the 2024 NBL1 season, Galloway signed with Townsville, where he is averaging 25.3 points, nine rebounds and two blocks a game for 2-2 Heat.
Joining a new-look roster for 2025, Taipans head coach Adam Forde said Galloway will have room to grow in Far North Queensland.
“To close out last season, KG showed in a small sample size of what he is capable of.
“In their last nine-game stretch, Adelaide went 6-3. KG averaged a little over 8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 25 minutes of game time, but I was most impressed by his shot-blocking. He registered a block or more in all but one of those games,” Forde explained.
“We regularly struggled with rebounding and rim protection last season, especially in pick and roll coverage. So, part of the recruitment of KG is to help fix that.
“On the other end of the floor, he is both a stretch big and lob threat which creates scoring opportunities for himself as well as creating space for his teammates."
Watch the two NBL forwards Live and Free in the NBL1 this season via NBL1.com.au, NBL1 App and Kayo Freebies.
