Import Report: NBL26's fresh import faces

• Four imports have already departed in NBL26 after just six rounds
• Brisbane Bullets import Casey Prather joins the 'Cut to the Jase' podcast
• Box scores: All 165 games from the 2025-26 NBL season

After an offseason analysing and anticipating an exciting import class, it’s been a shock to the system to see a high rate of turnover amongst NBL26’s internationals.

With four recent import changes, let’s dive into what the league’s freshest faces could contribute to their teams desperate for a mid-season boost.

David Duke Jr. - Perth

After a long recruiting process, the Perth Wildcats appeared to have their answer at point guard with the signing of Mason Jones Jr just before the season started. With gaudy G League numbers and premium size and shooting ability for the NBL, Jones appeared to be a safe bet to contribute for the Wildcats, but after five games, Jones’ season was cut prematurely.

There’s no doubt that Jones’ on court production was underwhelming, scoring 11.4 points per game on 34.7% shooting as the team's hopeful number one option. Jones did not look aggressive, settling for jumpers and struggling to find gaps in the defence to attack in the half-court. What initially presented itself as unselfishness turned into an unhelpful passiveness offensively, and his defence down the other end was lacklustre.

Under different circumstances, Jones may have been afforded more rope to settle into form, particularly given his resume and late addition to the roster, but it appears more was at play. With concerns around his off-court fit with the roster and staff, it appears Jones’ exit was expedited, and very quickly Perth announced a replacement with the addition of David Duke Jr.

Given the seemingly deceptive tale of Mason Jones G League dominance, it feels dangerous to read too much into Duke’s US numbers, but it has to be noted that Duke has been a successful two-way piece across four G League seasons, averaging 19 points, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

One of the concerns heading into the NBL season with Jones Jr was whether he could function as the lead ball-handler without being considered a true point guard, and with the rotations evolving throughout his appearances, we saw a growing preference for Jaron Rillie to provide a more traditional floor general presence as the games progressed.

With that in mind, the Wildcats have fascinatingly opted for another combo guard, with Duke providing modest playmaking at the guard position in favour of more positional size and downhill aggression. A solid ball-handler with size and athleticism to get into the paint, Duke can operate on or off the ball, attacking off closeouts or handling the ball in pick and roll situations. This would seemingly encourage higher usage from the Wildcats other imports Dylan Windler and Kristian Doolittle, who has seen a diminished usage and offensive efficiency compared to his stellar NBL25 season.

The Wildcats have also seemingly conceded some spacing with the signing; Duke Jr. being 30.6% shooter from three across his G League career.

On the flip side, the Wildcats look to have made a significant defensive upgrade. Leaning further into Perth’s penchant for positional size, the 6'4" guard has length, tenacity and the ability to disrupt and from his comments at his first press conference, it appears to be his number one priority.

“I’m hoping to bring a different dynamic at the guard position. I’m definitely looking to play fast and bring some explosiveness and defensive tenacity and just get after it," Duke said in the press conference.

“Being a bigger guard and being able to cause havoc on that [defensive] end and then playing in transition is one of my strengths. I think those two are the main two things I will be able to bring to this team.

“Everybody has the potential to be a great defender. It’s about your heart and desire to want to guard for however many minutes you are going to play in that game. I feel that is an easier side to fit in other than the offence side."

The Wildcats, already sporting the league’s fourth best defensive rating, will be looking to go from good to great defensively with the move, as well as elevate their already third best offensive rebounding rate.

Where Duke Jr might bring the most material difference to the team is in transition. Sitting on the exact average PACE of 78.3, Duke’s downhill style feels like a contrast to Mason Jones' more meandering, ball-heavy half-court approach. Capable of getting deflections and turning defence into offence, Duke feels like an addition more geared towards improving the Wildcats output at the margins without bringing in someone that is going to detract from the focus of their key talents in Doolittle, Windler and Lual-Acuil.

Similar to Jones’ limited international experience, this is Duke Jr’s first international stint, leaving a level of mystery to his potential output, and like Jones, we will find out if the Wildcats decision to veer aware from traditional point guard play and into big, versatile guards will pay off.

Sitting on a 5-4 record in a post-Cotton world, the pressure is on the Wildcats to perform and the success of Duke Jr to make good on the hope that Mason Jones did during the offseason will be a pivotal part of that outcome.

Dakota Mathias - Brisbane Bullets

A big part of the Brisbane Bullets’ appeal this offseason had to do with the offensive allure of their import trio, headlined by G League bucket getter Javon Freeman-Liberty, and with 21 and 17 points in his two NBL regular season appearances, it looked like he was able to live up to his billing.

Unfortunately, despite on-court production, it was the off-court that would lead Freeman-Liberty to part ways with the team; the Bullets citing his need to return home to focus on his mental health.

While Freeman-Liberty’s loss was considerable, the Bullets have been holding fort with the support of Lamar Patterson, but now a long term replacement has been found by way of Dakota Mathias.

Mathias, a seven-year pro, brings experience, shooting and defence. Having knocked down 42.4% of his threes across two G League seasons on a considerable eight attempts per game, Mathias is a proven outside shooter and has notably translated his clip over to the international game, shooting 39% across stints in the Liga ACB and EuroCup play.

Mathias also has a strong reputation defensively, featured on the Big 10-Defensive Team multiple times as a college player.

Despite Freeman-Liberty’s strong offensive presence across his brief NBL appearance, there were questions around the on-ball co-existence between him and fellow import guard Jaylen Adams, and Mathias’ more complementary skill set looks set to impact the offensive end without convoluting the ball-handling hierarchy.

With limited athleticism, one of the main question marks offensively will be his ability to create and find open looks - with a similar shot profile of players such as Dusty Hannahs who found limited success in their NBL stopovers.

Set to join the team with the fastest pace of play in the league, expect Mathias to relish in the green light of the Bullets run and gun style, and his defence to hopefully shore up some team deficiencies on that end until the return of Sam McDaniel and Mitch Norton.

This shift in team dynamics will also put the heat on Adams to provide more consistency as the team's main ball-handler. Capable of dominant output on a good day, the Bullets appear set to lean further into Adams offensive creation, and it’ll be up to him to step up to the plate.

QJ Peterson - Illawarra Hawks

Put frankly, the bar is low for the Illawarra Hawks to improve upon the import contributions of JaQuori McLaughlin.

With modest output at the G League and NZNBL level, it was always ambitious to expect McLaughlin to fulfill expectations as a key piece to the title-reigning Hawks, and with 7.7 points per game on 21% from the field, not even his strong ties with Head Coach Justin Tatum could save him from termination.

In his shoes comes QJ Peterson; a comparatively dynamic and lethal offensive threat. An international globetrotter since his professional career started, Peterson has had stints in South Korea, the Czech Republic, Cypria, Ukraine, Denmark, Turkey and Puerto Rico, as well as three straight seasons in the Chinese CBA, where he has consistently been an 20-plus point per game scorer year upon year.

For some familiar context, Peterson teamed up with Kristian Doolittle two season’s ago in the Puerto Rican BSN - the Vaqueros guard scoring 21.8 points per game in comparison to Doolittle’s 16.3.

Peterson fits the mold of many an import we’ve seen find success in the NBL before - an undersized scoring guard with speed, scoring off the dribble, and the capability to put an offence on his back.

At 2-6 across the first stretch of the NBL season, the Hawks are in serious need to stem the bleeding and put some runs on the board before the play-in gets out of reach, and Peterson should be a clear floor-raiser. Currently sitting with the league’s third worst offensive rating, any firepower is welcome support, and Peterson’s volume scoring should pay immediate dividends to a Hawks team that has sorely missed the guard play of Davo Hickey and Trey Kell.

Where Peterson is less likely to help is on the defensive end, where with a defensive rating of 121.1, the Hawks sit in a tier only with the lowly Cairns Taipans as a sieve for scores down the other end. In that respect, best believe opposing teams will target Peterson and McGee in pick and roll play, where initial point of attack defence and deep drop coverage will both be areas to exploit.

With Hickey returning, as well as potentially Sam Froling later in the season, there is upside for this team to make a run and prove competitive when it counts towards the pointy end of NBL26 - they just need to get there.

Riding the momentum of well-fought victories against the Perth Wildcats and Brisbane Bullets across their last three appearances, there are signs of life, and given McLaughlin’s lack of production, Peterson’s proven scoring capacity should easily give the Hawks an immediate boost.

Wes Iwundu - South East Melbourne Phoenix

Out of all the team’s still tinkering with their import situations, the South East Melbourne Phoenix are in the least desperate situation of all.

Despite enigmatic forward Vrenz Bleijenbergh proving to be an unfortunate fit, and modest offensive production from both Hunter Maldonado and John Brown III, the team has been thriving.

Living up to the vision of coach Josh King, the Phoenix have been the equal best defensive team in the league with a defensive rating of 103.9. With the best of Nathan Sobey making an appearance so far this season, with a blistering 21.7 points per game including 40% from three, the offence is ticking along, aided by the pressure and resulting transition play of the supporting cast.

Sitting at 5-2 after the first stretch of the season, the Phoenix had a decision to make on their vacant import spot, and it appears their decision to bring in wing Wes Iwundu signals an intent to reward King for the team’s early success and lean even further into their defensive identity.

Iwundu, an eight-year veteran with significant NBA experience, joins the Phoenix with a reputation as a rangy defender and finisher. With a 7'0" wingspan, Iwundu is defensively versatile and disruptive in the passing lanes, looking to further enhance the Phoenix’s chaotic defensive activity and league-high 12% steal rate.

Where many teams have opted for offensive firepower, South East Melbourne are content to stock up on defensive personnel, and between Owen Foxwell, Malique Lewis, John Brown III and now Iwundu, as well as the rim protection of Jordan Hunter, the team has positive defenders to handle nearly every possible player type man to man, whilst proving to be a cohesive team offence overall.

Where the team could’ve opted for a more offensively geared support for the shot-making of Nathan Sobey, Iwundu’s offence is more rudimentary - a defence-to-offence type threat who is more relegated to spot up three’s and straight line drives in the half court.

With the team’s second top scorer currently second unit guard Angus Glover, the Phoenix appear willing to put the ball in the hole by committee. So long as they can continue dominating the defensive end and the glass, transition opportunities should continue to lift the tides offensively, but time will ultimately tell whether they can continue to rely on Nathan Sobey as their number one scoring option, given his historically offensive efficiency.

With one performance in the books - a quiet five points in 18 minutes in a blowout of the Brisbane Bullets - Iwundu is still only getting his feet wet in the NBL. Don’t expect mindblowing numbers, but Iwundu should seamlessly fall into the Phoenix system and be a safe bet to contribute to their winning formula.

About the Author

Michael Houben is an Australian basketball writer and scout based in Melbourne, Victoria. As well as covering the game as a journalist, Michael supports US colleges to identify and recruit Australian talent as the owner of Airtime Scouting, and supports grassroots athletes through Airtime Basketball.