Canberran NBL rookie Alex Toohey calls for Sydney Kings games in the capital

The 19-year-old Kings recruit is thriving in the NBL environment after joining the iconic Sydney team as part of the domestic league's Next Stars program, which could launch him to the first round of the NBA draft as soon as next year, just as it did for Josh Giddey in 2021.

But Toohey - who describes himself as a "Canberra Milk Kid" on his Instagram - hasn't forgotten his roots.

"I'm talking to our management to get a game down there at some point," Toohey told The Canberra Times.

"I think that'd be cool to show how much Canberra loves basketball and how serious we take it."

The reality of achieving such plans is a little uncertain though with the AIS Arena still not set to be reopened until next year.

Australian Sports Commission chief executive Kieren Perkins also said progress on the necessary $10 million refurbishment to make the arena available for use again was moving at an "epically glacial pace".

A few months ago Toohey was playing in the semi-professional NBL1 East competition for Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence team, based at the Australian Institute of Sport.

Now he's playing in front of the ever-growing, loud NBL crowds wearing purple and gold for Sydney, facing off against top talent in one of the strongest basketball leagues in the world.

It was exactly the type of challenge the young Boomer wanted from the NBL after back-flipping on his commitment to play US college basketball for Gonzaga.

And he's even gaining invaluable experience off the court, too. Just last week Toohey was rubbing shoulders with basketball royalty, Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen, a former NBA teammate of Australian great Luc Longley, who is a part-owner of the Kings.

"That was absolutely surreal," Toohey said.

"It's really hard to describe the feeling when there was someone like that at practice.

"The air kind of got sucked out of the room. I got to talk to him and he was a great guy. He knows a lot about the game, but also how much he knew about the NBL was cool to see.

"Luc having the connection with Scottie and having him watch our training was definitely something a lot of people can't say they've had happened to them."

Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah has been impressed with Toohey's performances to date, despite being just three games into his NBL career, and revealed in pre-season that NBA scouts had already been asking about the Canberran.

"Coaches have given me a lot of confidence as a shooter, being able to trust my jump shot and my offence to get myself good looks, and also being able to defend in multiple positions," Toohey said.

Helping him prepare for the year Toohey took a pre-season trip to Los Angeles to complete an intensive program with renowned basketball trainer Jordan Lawley.

Toohey shared the court with NBA stars like Bulls star Zach LaVine and said the training was the perfect lead-up to his Kings debut.

"It was really good heading over there, hanging out with NBA players and getting used to that environment," he said.

"I couldn't tell you how much value that added to my game and how much I learned.

"I saw the way guys like Zach handle themselves, how serious every training repetition is, and how every single little advantage counts and how they pride themselves on that."

Toohey has had a big role with the Kings early, averaging nine points and over five rebounds a game in Sydney's 2-1 start.

While he's yet to declare for next year's NBA draft, if Toohey continues to develop and emerge on scouting radars, he won't rule out putting his hand up.

"I'm just taking it one game at a time, and focusing on the NBL season. That's what's going to help me with the decisions in the post-season," Toohey said.

"It's been a jump go into professional environment with the physicality something that I've had to get used to, but I feel pretty comfortable with that now, and that I can really play my own game.

"Everything is going well so far, so I feel like I've made the right decision to come to the NBL and I'm looking to see where it takes me."

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