A basketballer from country Western Australia is set to join the increasing number of Australian players on the sport’s biggest stage after landing a deal with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC). 

Geraldton’s Alex Ducas has been signed on a two-way deal with the Thunder in the NBA at the conclusion of this week’s NBA Draft.

The 22-year-old played college basketball for St Mary’s Gaels in the NCAA for the past five seasons after taking up the option of a fifth year offered to athletes due to COVID impacts.

He also represented Australia at junior level and played for the Boomers in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup and the qualifiers for the World Cup in 2023.

The signing maintains the franchise’s Australian connection, after high-profile guard Josh Giddey was traded to the Chicago Bulls.

It caps off a high-profile draft week for Australian basketball, with Perth Wildcats import Alexander Sarr taken by the Washington Wizards at pick two, and Victorian Johnny Furphy drafted by the Indiana Pacers.

Fears injury would derail chance

His father, Aaron, said Ducas had completed trials with the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics before injuring his quad.

When the call came from OKC, Mr Ducas said his son feared not being able to trial would jeopardise his chances. 

But they asked him to jump on the plane anyway and did rigorous testing and evaluation. 

“He met with management and all the coaches,” he said.

“They had a real big long discussion about his skill and what he could bring to OKC.”

Anxious wait after draft

Team officials told Ducas to stay tuned to the draft but his name wasn’t called. 

A contract offer came by phone 30 minutes later, with Ducas’s mum, with him in the US, relaying the good news to family back in Geraldton.

“Obviously, myself and the dog were pretty excited, we’re jumping up and down in the room … everything that we’ve sort of dreamed upon doing had finally come to fruition,” Mr Ducas said.

He said the signing was a dream come true after regular 900 kilometre round trips from Geraldton to Perth for state training as a junior.

“Alex always said that was his goal, his dream to be able to play in the NBA,” he said.

“The early morning wake-ups, the five o’clock, six o’clock trainings where sometimes he didn’t want to get out of bed and didn’t want to do that sort of thing, and then now all that extra hard work is finally coming to fruition, so yeah, he’s living the dream.”

The 6’6″ (2-metre) perimeter shooter and solid rebounder made his mark early in his college career starting more games for St Mary’s as a true freshman than anyone since countryman Matthew Dellavedova.

In 2023, he broke the college record for number of games played for the Gaels.

In his last college season, he averaged 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.7 steals, and 2.4 three-pointers per game.

Ducas is the second basketballer from Geraldton to make it to the NBA with Ben Pepper signed to the Boston Celtics at number 56 in 1997 but never hit the court.