Gattorna joins Buccaneers for NBL1 championship voyage

Sydney Kings young gun Isaac Gattorna will be looking to build off the club's championship campaign when he returns to the NBL1 West competition during the off-season.

But after five seasons with the Perth Redbacks, the exciting forward has decided to make a change of scenery and penned a deal with the Geraldton Buccaneers -- last season's men's runners up in the Grand Final.

"I’m making the move to Geraldton for a few reasons," Gattorna said.

"Firstly would be the people behind and around their program from the coach Dayle Joseph to the players - I’ve always seen the club as competitive and one of the top sides in the NBL1 West competition.

"Outside of the club's track record and professionalism, I wanted to move somewhere with little distraction for myself to work on and develop my game for the next level and Geraldton has the facilities for that."

As the Perth product alludes to, the 2023 NBL1 season looms as a big one for Gattorna, after a strong debut season in the NBL23 season. 

"Spending this NBL season with the Sydney Kings has been unreal for my development - being able to work with players and coaches of such a high calibre," the 23-year-old said.

"I’m feeling ready to put the work from that season into this opportunity with Geraldton."

Last season with the Perth Redbacks he averaged 18.33 points and 6.52 points, Gattorna has set himself a number of goals for the upcoming campaign - which tips off on Saturday, April 1 against the South West Slammers.

"The plan is to work on all aspects of my game to be ready for next season as best I can, from ball handling and shooting to the mental side of the game," Gattorna said.

"I want be as prepared as I can and get the utmost out of my ability, so never wasting an opportunity is a  big part of that.

"[Further to that] personal goals for me, I want to improve with this time in NBL1 and have the chance to showcase my ability.

"Step into and test my leadership skills now being my sixth season of NBL1 helping and showing younger players however I can.

"Team goals are as obvious as we want to win it all - that’s what we come to training for and that’s why we play.

"There’s no better feeling than seeing your hard work come to fruition and doing as a group.

"We want to be taking it to the finals without a doubt."

The NBL1 West starts March 31, see the full fixtures here.