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Sep
NBL Blitz
Middle management: Blitz will unearth bargains
Illawarra Hawks star Tyler Harvey reacts during the Round 16 NBL clash against the New Zealand Breakers at WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong on January 11, 2026. Photo: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images
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Kendric Davis misses the Blitz entirely. The players you need to watch are ones nobody owns (yet)
- Kendric Davis is out of the entire Blitz with a passport issue
- 47 players sit between $150,000 and $280,000, the least-owned band
- Ultimate Guide to mastering SuperCoach NBL Classic
Sydney Kings superstar Kendric Davis ($436,000) won’t be at the NBL27 Blitz in Bendigo starting on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
The 27-year-old American NBL26 champion and Grand Final MVP is supposedly working through passport issues, which is frustrating the Kings’ front office. His ETA is unknown.
Davis is not the player the Blitz was ever going to teach you anything about. He averaged 42.03 points a game last season – nobody needs five days in Bendigo to work out what he does.
But every other import will be there except the Perth Wildcats point guard – because they still don’t have one and, in reality, the players you actually need to see to build out your SuperCoach NBL team will be on the floor.
Forty-seven of the 142 players in SuperCoach NBL are priced between $150,000 and $280,000. That is a third sitting in the middle of your salary cap.
Average ownership of a premium player above $280,000 is 9.2 per cent – just hours after SuperCoach NBL launched today.
For a cheapie under $150,000, it is 3.8 per cent. For the mid-tier, it is 4.0 per cent, barely above the bargain bin, despite these being players with real NBL scoring histories rather than guesses.
Coaches are loading up at both ends and hollowing out the middle. It is an understandable instinct, and it is where the Blitz can pay for itself.
The cap makes the middle unavoidable in any case. 10 players, $2 million, and the four most expensive men in the game cost $1,694,700 between them. That leaves $305,300 for six, and the six cheapest players in the competition cost $351,000.
You cannot field the top four. You are $45,700 short, and there is no way to close it, so every serious team must be built around the band that has yet to be heard.
1990 NBL MVP Derek Rucker said on NBL Now: "When you look at the Blitz, like often people are like, the Blitz means nothing.
"That's crazy because the Blitz does mean something. If you have an eye, you can understand how they want to play. Are the players responding to the coach?
Are they executing? Who's got the jump early in the season?"
WHO TO WATCH AT THE BLITZ, AND WHEN
Tyler Harvey ($271,700) is the clearest example in the competition. The now-Australian Illawarra Hawks guard averaged 26.19 points across 31 games last season and is owned by just 1.1 per cent of coaches – 26 points a game is premium production, and so far he’s not being bought. He plays Adelaide 36ers on Thursday and Melbourne United on Sunday.
His new teammate, Milton Doyle ($274,700), averaged 26.48 from a full 33 games and is owned by 1.4 per cent.
Sam Froling ($228,200) is the mid tier's most-owned player at 17.5 per cent, off 22.0 from 15 games. He is the exception that shows the rule: coaches will buy the middle when they have already seen the player.
Tanner Krebs ($150,300) is the interesting one. He sits at the very bottom of the band, is owned by 19.5 per cent and averaged 14.48 last season. His South East Melbourne side plays Sydney on Wednesday and Brisbane Bullets on Saturday, and those two games will tell you whether the ownership is smart, part of the herd or a solid bench back-up.
For newcomers, Skylar Mays ($277,000) already has 22.4 per cent ownership and no NBL history, which means his price is a judgement rather than a calculation. Watch him against the Kings on Wednesday.
One-time NBL1 all-time single game scorer Elijah Pepper ($202,700) averaged 19.55 across a full season for Perth Wildcats and is owned by 3.2 per cent. He plays Cairns Taipans on Wednesday and Melbourne on Friday.
Jaylin Galloway ($196,400) is already the most-owned genuine mid-tier bargain at 12.0 per cent. Everyone is expecting his role to expand under Adam Forde at the Cairns Taipans. Supercoaches are too.
Nick Rakocevic ($188,400) averaged 18.17 points and is owned by 5.8 per cent. Adelaide play Illawarra on Thursday and Cairns on Saturday.
Two veterans worth a look for very different reasons: Matthew Dellavedova ($221,300) averaged 21.33 for Sydney and is owned by 0.8 per cent. Isaac Humphries ($265,300) put up 25.58 across all 33 games for Adelaide at 2.6 per cent ownership. Delly is trying to make the Australian Boomers 2027 FIBA World Cup team and 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games team … and let’s be honest, Delly being Delly, you always get everything he’s got.
NBL Blitz 2026 — the full fixture
| Wed 2 Sep5:30pm AEST | Cairns Taipans | Perth Wildcats | CNS v PER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 2 Sep8:00pm AEST | Sydney Kings | South East Melbourne Phoenix | SYD v SEM |
| Thu 3 Sep5:30pm AEST | Brisbane Bullets | Tasmania JackJumpers | BNE v TAS |
| Thu 3 Sep8:00pm AEST | Illawarra Hawks | Adelaide 36ers | ILL v ADL |
| Fri 4 Sep5:30pm AEST | New Zealand Breakers | Sydney Kings | NZB v SYD |
| Fri 4 Sep8:00pm AEST | Perth Wildcats | Melbourne United | PER v MEL |
| Sat 5 Sep5:30pm AEST | South East Melbourne Phoenix | Brisbane Bullets | SEM v BNE |
| Sat 5 Sep8:00pm AEST | Adelaide 36ers | Cairns Taipans | ADL v CNS |
| Sun 6 Sep2:30pm AEST | Melbourne United | Illawarra Hawks | MEL v ILL |
| Sun 6 Sep5:00pm AEST | Tasmania JackJumpers | New Zealand Breakers | TAS v NZB |
THE WARNING NOBODY HAS GIVEN YOU
Here is the thing to carry into the Blitz, and it matters more than any single pick.’
Kendric Davis is out of the entire tournament; Keli Leaupepe is selectable right now, but he’s out for the season. If you are building a team this week and you have Davis in your calculations, be open to changing your mind … over and over.
The Blitz is not just an audition for form. It is the only place this fortnight where you can see with your own eyes who is fit, who’s working their way into the starters, and who is actually getting minutes under a new coach off the bench.
Eight of Brisbane's 15 players have never played an NBL game; there are multiple new imports to run the rule over.
Thirteen days after the last Blitz game, the season starts and your team locks in.
Watch the middle.
