Next Star to NBA champ: Ariel helps New York become United

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Breaking a 53-year NBA championship drought was a fairytale story for the New York Knicks and also for former NBL Next Star Ariel Hukporti.

The German centre went from running out on John Cain Arena for Melbourne United just more than two years ago to battling the superstar that is San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama in the NBA Finals and now is an NBA champion.

Hukporti's journey has been anything but smooth despite being a fan favourite as well as a favourite amongst his teammates and coaches.

The 7'0" rim protector, who signed a two-year deal with United, suffered a major setback following his first season with the NBL franchise, tearing his achilles in the preseason in the lead up to the 2022-23 season.

But through his trademark character bounced back to help Melbourne to a NBL Championship Series appearance in 2024 before being drafted later that year by the Dallas Mavericks and ending up at the Knicks.

Hukporti has been a quality third-choice centre at the Knicks behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson and played a role in New York's title victory, being sent in by coach Mike Brown for several key plays, including down the stretch in the series-clinching game five mainly to box out Wembanyama.

His journey is a true story of resilience and a significant advertisement for the NBL Next Stars program and his former United coach, Dean Vickerman, reflected on Hukporti's journey to becoming an NBA champion.

"Obviously when you see Ariel win a championship in the NBA and say 'wow man, that kid came through our program'," Vickerman said on the Cut to the Jase podcast with Jason Cadee.

"When you talk about development to say, he had some raw talent when he turned up and we helped turn him into a pro."

Vickerman said Hukporti's infectious personality was what made him such a special talent to coach.

"He was someone that every time he walked in the gym, I gravitated towards him," he said on the basketball.com.au podcast.

"I was like, I've got to go talk to Ariel.

"One because it was hilarious and two, you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth.

"He might be going to tell you about some girl he met. He got to tell you about a restaurant, he can tell you about jumping on a scooter and just riding around Docklands and doing stupid stuff.

"It was just a fun chat."