The Adelaide 36ers squad that Kai Sotto will be joining in August is one of the most decorated professional ball clubs in the National Basketball League (NBL) of Australia.
Also known as the Sixers, the Adelaide franchise has won 4 championships, tied with the New Zealand Breakers as the third winningest in NBL history. The Sixers, however, have been on a slump in recent years.
Only the top 4 teams after the regular season qualify for the NBL Finals which consists of two semifinal matchups, where the two highest-ranked teams enjoy home court advantage.
After making the championship in the 2017-18 season, where it lost in the title series to Melbourne United, 2 games to 3, the Sixers barely missed out on a finals stint the following year after finishing the regular season at 5th place.
In 2019-2020, the squad once again failed to earn a finals spot as it placed 7th after the regular season.
As of Sunday, April 25, the Sixers sat at the 7th spot in the team standings of the ongoing NBL season with 10 wins and 15 losses, which means it is on the brink of missing the playoffs for the third straight year.
Sotto will have to earn his minutes in Adelaide’s loaded frontline which is anchored on 6-foot-11 Daniel Johnson, the squad’s co-captain who played for the Australian national team known as the Boomers in the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Johnson has been the model of consistency his entire career as evidenced by him making the All-NBL First Team and the All-NBL Second Team 3 times each.
He also led the entire NBL in rebounding in 2013 and 2016. He paces the Sixers in scoring this season with an average of 20.88 points.
Johnson, who played for Pepperdine University in the US NCAA, is a versatile big man who can switch between the center and power forward positions, making the possibility of a frontline team-up with Sotto an interesting proposition for Adelaide coach Conner Henry.
Adelaide’s starting power forward as of late has been Keanu Pinder, a 6-foot-9 role player who provides the hustle plays and dirty work for coach Henry.
Pinder, who is norming 3 points and 3 boards in 15 minutes of action per outing, played college basketball for the University of Arizona in the US NCAA.
Isaac Humphries, a 6-foot-11 center who was part of the Atlanta Hawks lineup in 2019, has seen action in only 13 games for Adelaide this season due to injury.
But in the games that he was in uniform, Humphries, a product of the University of Kentucky, has been a pillar of strength for the Sixers.
Humphries is putting up impressive numbers of 15.46 points, a team-leading 8 rebounds, and a league-leading 3 shot blocks per outing. Like Johnson, Humphries also played for the Australian national team in 2019.
Coach Henry employed 6-foot-8 Jack McVeigh as the team’s starting power forward in some of Adelaide’s earlier games this season. McVeigh, though, is more comfortable playing the three spot, a role he excelled in as the sixth man of the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the US NCAA.
McVeigh has been solid for the Sixers as he tops the team in three-point shooting percentage while norming 10.21 points per game.
The Sixers have two other big men who were honed in the US NCAA. These are 21-year-old 7-footer Owen Hulland and 6-foot-9 Jack Purchase. Both, however, have not cracked coach Henry’s frontline mix and have seen very limited playing time.
Sotto will not be the only teenager who will be donning a Sixers uniform next season.
Adelaide’s starting point guard is 6-foot-8 Josh Giddey who will be 19 years old on October 10, which makes him 5 months younger than Sotto who turns 19 in May.
Giddey has been tabbed as one of the best international prospects and a potential NBA first round draft pick.
Giddey joined the Sixers this season and the skillset and basketball smarts he has showcased thus far have prompted scouts to liken him to fellow Aussie Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Giddey is averaging 11.05 points, 7.27 assists, and 7 rebounds, indicative of his all-around game which could be the perfect complement to the inside presence Sotto can provide the Sixers.
Giddey made his debut with the Boomers in 2020 when he was 17 years old, making him the youngest player to join the senior squad of the Australian national senior squad since Simmons was selected a month before he turned 17 in 2013.
(UPDATE: Australian star Josh Giddey declares for NBA Draft)
Rounding out the backcourt of the Sixers are 6-foot-5 starting shooting guard Sunday Dech, 6-foot-5 point guard Alexander Mudronja, and guard-forwards Brendan Teys and Daniel Dillon who are both listed at 6-foot-4.
Dech is a South Sudanese born in Ethiopia whose family moved to Australia when he was 6 years old. The 27-year-old Dech played US NCAA Division II basketball in college before returning to Australia to pursue his professional career.
He is a two-way player who excels on both ends of the court with contributions of 9.92 points, 2 assists, and 4.64 rebounds a game this season.
Mudronja has not seen a lot of floor time this season, but is a former member of Australia’s Under-20 national team.
Teys and Dillon are two veterans in their 30s who have had to play behind American imports Brandon Paul and Tony Crocker in coach Henry’s rotation.
Teys and Dillon, though, are often called upon to provide leadership both on and off the floor. The two were named co-captains of the Sixers this season alongside Johnson.
The Adelaide Sixers will seek to improve their showing next season and Sotto will figure prominently in the team’s direction.
Sotto teaming up with Johnson and Humphries will form a triple tower that would give the Sixers an intimidating frontline.
The prospect of seeing Giddey, whose court vision and ball distribution belie his age, dishing out lob and no-look passes to Sotto will give the Sixers a teen combination that has the potential to electrify the crowd and bring in fans to the Adelaide stands.
Things may just be looking up for the Adelaide Sixers as they work their way back to NBL prominence. – Rappler.com
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