Past and future NBA players have blessed the Australian hardwood over the years with the likes of Xavier Cooks, LaMelo Ball, Dylan Windler, and this season’s addition of Montrezl Harrell to name a few; and now it's Tacko Fall's turn.
The New Zealand Breakers (NZB) were steaming with excitement to announce last week that the former Celtics Centre and NBA fan favourite signed on with the team.
Source: Bleacher Report
One problem. The Breakers have already maxed out their number of overseas imports. So what does this mean?
Long story short, Fall is only playing three games for the Breakers during their USA tour next month with no import restrictions. Initially this was the case, but according to ESPN Journalist, Olgun Uluc there is some recent buzz going around that the Breakers are pushing to keep him on the roster for the remainder of the season; unlikely in my opinion.
Uluc states that the Breakers are "treating the the situation with a level of seriousness and will put legitimate consideration into keeping Fall beyond those preseason games."
He goes on to say that "at the same time, the Breakers have opened the NBL regular season 2-0 ahead of those NBA preseason games, so there's also a sense of not messing with something that, at least right now, is working."
I think it would be incredible if Fall was to join the NBL for the remainder of the season, however I just don't see it as a possibility right now. My mind might change after his performance in these preseason games.
The tour takes Fall and NZB to face NBA moguls Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, and Utah Jazz over an intense six days.
A quick yet powerful burst for Fall who hasn’t played in the NBA since 2022, but saw a G-League appearance without getting resigned and has played in China (CBA) and Puerto Rico since. While his tumultuous NBA career was riddled with injuries and long stints on the sideline, he still remains a league legend and is adored by fans globally
I remember the hype Tacko Fall generated; I was fired up! The next Yao Ming type player who quickly stole fans hearts while making the entire league look microscopic. On top of his physical attributes is a kind soul and an intelligent man, he’s even written a book! Unfortunately, at the time, his NBA run wasn’t meant to be.
But what could this next step mean for both Tacko and the NBL?
While it’s only three games, this tour will open maximum opportunity for Fall to get back into the game he loves, against some tough competition. But he must perform.
Fall only played 37 games over three seasons in the NBA averaging 2.2 PPG at 67% from the field and 2.4 TRB with career highs of:
Points: 6
Rebounds: 10
Blocks: 4
Assists: 2
Steals: 1
Albeit low stats, he did only average 6.2 minutes per game. Since then he has dominated the CBA averaging 25 minutes per game. Hoping for more game time with the Breakers, we should see a new and improved Fall with elevated averages and securing some technical NBA career highs (maybe a new free throw technique too); we’ll just have to wait and see.
The Breakers aren’t so roomy in the big department with current team scoring leader Sam Mennenga, Dane Pineau, and former Toronto Raptors power forward Freddie Gillespie. After Mennenga’s 22-point, 7-rebound performance in the opening round of the NBL25 season then backing it up as the starting big over the weekend, both Gillespie and Pineau could see restricted court time.
Fall will most likely see some major minutes in the centre position, and with Mennenga’s confidence and comfort with the ball outside the key as a shooting big, a little Centre/Forward duo might emerge nicely; I’m excited to see some magic.
The Breakers aren’t afraid to shoot the ball from the perimeter either, revolving most of their plays around the three ball which can clearly be seen in their opening game this year hitting eight threes in the first 20 minutes. Parker Jackson-Cartwright showed his dynamic shooting from mid-range during round 2, having the commentators saying that “the mid range shot is not dead, I don’t care what the entire of Australian Basketball think”.
With a much taller option inside to work off, I’m sure we can expect some fresh and dynamic plays both in the paint and from deep.
Coach Koponen is optimistic heading into the USA Tour claiming the relatively new team have a lot to learn and work on but that “the biggest quality of this team is they really bring the work every day.”
“These are the best players in the world" stated Coach Koponen. "We take the competition for what it is, and we go out and we play like we play.”
They just have to keep up the hustle for all four quarters.
Perhaps with some NBA wisdom and experience on the team for three games, the New Zealand Breakers could be, as Mennenga put it, “a dangerous team”.
On a side note, Fall will technically have a record-breaking debut into the NBL being the league's tallest player in history at 229cm, just surpassing Brisbane Bullets Chuanxing Liu at 225cm. Rocco Zikarsky is close behind at 220cm just to give some perspective.
Overall, this is a smart move from Fall and the New Zealand Breakers in strategically positioning the new and improved Tacko back into the NBA spotlight whilst exposing the talent we have here in Australia and how well we can integrate with international talent. Overseas presence in the NBL is super strong right now and it’s only getting stronger.
Catch Tacko Fall and the New Zealand Breakers on ESPN and KAYO:
Vs Utah Jazz
Saturday 5th October
Vs Philadelphia 76ers
Tuesday 8th October
Vs Oklahoma City Thunder
Friday, 11th October
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