Celebrating The Irrepressible Exploits of Shea Ili In NBL22
The NBL22 season, just like the NBL21 season, was stacked full of kiwi players. Nineteen different dudes across seven different teams. You tune into a random quarter of that season between any two random teams and more likely than not you were going to see a New Zealand baller doing something cool. Although if we’re being totally honest about it... still wasn’t quite the season that it could have been. A few too many NZers found themselves as depth players or had down years compared to last time.
Finn Delany had a drop-off, for example. Found himself getting fewer post touches and his three point shot disappeared, shooting just 29.7% from deep for the season. Tom Abercrombie didn’t even play half the games due to injury. Rob Loe got iced out of the Breakers rotation for long stretches while Isaac Davidson may have been elevated to the main roster this term but only played 10 total minutes.
Reuben Te Rangi’s offensive production was pretty bad, shooting 25% from deep with his team managing an offensive rating of a mere 85.1 points per 100 possessions while he was out there. Still delivered strong enough defence and leadership that SEM Phoenix have re-signed him but not his best campaign by any means. Jordan Ngatai was similarly rough offensively without being on the same level as a defender. Tohi Smith-Milner was good in short bursts but hardly played. Dion Prewster was seen even more sporadically, only getting 57 mins in total. Some harsh yarns in there.
However there were more promising tales for a few development players. Sam Timmins, Hyrum Harris, Brayden Inger, and Taane Samuel all showed some lovely signs when they were able to strut their stuff. Timmins and Harris have already been re-signed for next season with full roster status. Harris won Adelaide’s Most Improved Player award.
Similarly Jack Salt was given the Brisbane Players’ Player of the Year nod for his contributions on and off he court (on the court he averaged 10 mins for 2.9pts/2,7rebs). Not a big playing role by any means but an important presence in that squad which is awesome. His teammate Tyrell Harrison took another steady step forward in his development too. Jarrod Kenny provided his standard veteran goodness for a struggling Cairns team.
And let’s certainly not overlook Tom Vodanovich certainly had his moments for a Sydney Kings team that just swept their way through the playoffs to win the NBL22 title. His opportunities shrunk as rotations shrunk in the postseason stuff, though he did average 11 mins per game during the regulars with a decent rebounding rate and a positive net rating. Only shot 20% from threes... but he then made 3/4 in the finals. Tommy V had a DNP and a three-minute outing in the semis against Illawarra but the lower-scoring, defensive-minded Tasmania JackJumpers offered a more inviting style of game for Vodanovich. Here were his Finals box scores...
G1 (W 95-78) – 4:47 MIN | 4 PTS (1/1 3PT, 1/1 FT) | -4 +/-
G2 (W 90-86) – 9:46 MIN | 5 PTS (2/2 FG, 1/1 3PT) | 2 REB | 1 TO | +11 +/-
G3 (W 97-88) – 8:51 MIN | 5 PTS (1/4 FG, 1/2 3PT, 2/2 FT) | 3 REB (2 OFF) | 2 PF | +12 +/-
Let it be known that he was out there for a lot of the fourth quarter of the game three clincher too as the Kings took a close game and blew it out in their favour on the way to trophy time. Another kiwi champion in the NBL, get in there.
But there three guys stand out above the crowd for kiwi contributions to NBL22. First is Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa. After impressing as a DP last time, he was given a two year deal by SEM Phoenix and he simply continued on with his upwards trajectory. IML played in every game for the Phoenix, averaging 28.6 minutes, 8.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. Shot 34% from three point range. Needed to boost his 38% two-pointer success but always played quality defence, bringing big energy and setting standards with the ol’ one-percenter plays. Had some excellent games down the stretch too albeit not quite enough to get SEM into the playoffs.
Then there’s Yanni Wetzell, whose magnificence with the Breakers at times single-handedly carried them through a terrible season (he top scored in three of their five wins). To save writing the same thing twice, here's a Wetzell excerpt from the Breakers write-up we chucked out recently...
Wetzell averaged 17.7 points per game shooting a spectacular 59.4% from the field. Not a three point shooter at all but he doesn’t mind a pop from the mid-range and is a really good finisher around the rim. Chuck in some lovely rebounding to the tune of 8.4 per game (3.0 of them offensive, another huge aspect of his game) plus better than an assist (1.3), steal (1.6), and block (1.1) per game. He’s got great feet defensively and great strength too. A fantastic campaign from him... aptly rewarded with an early departure a couple of games before the end in order to take up a deal with Spanish EuroLeague club Saski Baskonia.
Incredibly, Wetzell had a +16.0 net rating for a Breakers team in which zero other players were in the positives at all. Cannot wait to see what he delivers in the EuroLeague next season... and in the Spanish Liga playoffs for that matter. Due to start in about a week. Even playing for the wooden spooners, Yanni Wetzell still did enough to be nominated for Most Improved Player at the league awards, although Keanu Pinder (Cairns Taipans) ended up winning that one ahead of him. Wetzell’s biggest drawback probably being the definition of the award. A really impressive rookie season with South East Melbourne last time around not leaving him enough room to improve enough on top of that in order to take home the trophy. Ah well.
Bringing us to the MVP of the kiwi contingent: Shea Ili. Once released by the Breakers after they chose to prioritise RJ Hampton as a Next Star instead, now one of the most important players for a Melbourne United team that won the championship last season and had the best regular season record of any team this time around... only to fall 2-1 to the Tasmania JackJumpers in the semis despite winning game one.
It was a bummer way for the United season to end. Coach Dean Vickerman’s crew were poised and ready to go back to back and if they’d done so then Shea Ili would have been a huge part of it. But a lack of scoring depth, particularly after Chris Goulding got injured, exposed a few dramas against a Tassie team that wasn’t going to give them an inch defensively. Neither team scored 80 in any of the three games. United were dragged into a heaving slugfest and the championship repeat got away from them.
So it goes... but they went down fighting with Shea Ili leading from the front. Having come off the bench in all but three of the first 25 games, he started the last three of the regulars and then each of the three finals games. In the deciding game three, Ili played a shade under 30 minutes scoring 18 points on 7/10 shooting with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. An outstanding individual performance in a must-win game. He was massive. Set a tone with his energy and desperation. Left absolutely everything he had out on the court even if it was ultimately in a losing battle. Don’t think his coach didn’t notice either. This was an unprompted bit of praise from the press conference afterwards...
Dean Vickerman: “The man next to me, Shea Ili... it looked like there were some really tired bodies out there and he was one of them but he just absolutely never quit. Whether that was taking 2-3 people on to get to the rim. Whether that was defending at a crazy high level. Or just bouncing out of nowhere to give us an extra possession on a rebound. I though he was exceptional tonight.”
Superb from Shili... and also a natural extension from an excellent regular season in which he played all 31 games for Melbourne with per game averages of 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.4 steals. No empty minutes either, this was for a team that went 20-8 in the regular season. Ili is a guy who does a little of everything rather than a heap of one thing so not a volume scorer (don’t need to be in a team with Chris Goulding and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr) but he certainly took his chances shooting a remarkably good 41.3% from three pointers across the campaign – a figure that actually improved in the playoffs where he hit a cheeky 4/9 of them. 41.3% was third best in the entire NBL amongst players who took as many or more attempts as Ili (33/80).
Going by the always reliable Spatial Jam numbers, Shea Ili had an Offensive Rating of 117.6 and a Defensive Rating of 100.2. That’s a Net Rating of +17.4 and if you’re wondering where that ranks amongst the entire NBL then here’s your answer: third amongst all players who logged at least 100 total minutes and first amongst players who played more than 510 mins. Shea Ili played 732 mins. To borrow a phrase that Steven Adams’ coach often uses about his own kiwi tone-setter, it’s not the volume of stats that lead the way for Shea Ili but the way in which he “impacts winning”.
His teammates know all about it. Jack White, who is about to head off to NBA Summer League, has talked about “idolising” Shea Ili’s defensive abilities. About looking up to him and wanting to learn as much as possible. When Jo Lual-Acuil Jr was asked about Shea Ili taking his game to another level he came storming out to bat for his guy in emphatic fashion...
Jo Lual-Acuil in February: “I know I hear a lot of people talking about defensive player of the year, but I feel like Shea can be in that conversation every single year. I feel like he’s a little bit disrespected in that aspect. He’s definitely the best defender in the league and people really need to start recognising that and give him his props. He’s been doing that now for three years. I feel like he’s flying under the radar and I feel like you guys need to respect him a little bit more. He’s an elite defender in this league.”
Say it louder for the folks in the back, jerry. Sure enough, when the NBL Awards shortlists came out there was double reward for Shea Ili who was named in the top three for both Sixth Man of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Then the winners were announced and hey would you look at this...
Sixth Man of the Year. Joins Phill Jones (2008-09) and Reuben Te Rangi (2018-19) as New Zealanders to have won that awards. Goes on the mantelpiece next to the Most Improved award that Ili won in 2017-18 back when he was with the Breakers. Ili won with a pretty solid lead in the voting results too: 59 votes, comfortably ahead of Xavier Rathan-Mayes (43 votes) and Clint Steindl (25 votes). However Jo Lual-Acuil (All-NBL First Teamer, second in MIP, and third in MVP) would’ve been pretty pissed despite his own haul because his Shili comments didn’t quite have the desired effect. This is what happened in the DPOY voting...
Damian Martin Trophy for the Best Defensive Player:
Antonius Cleveland (Illawarra) – 47 votes
Shea Ili (Melbourne) – 46 votes
Xavier Cooks (Sydney) – 24 votes
One measly vote’s difference. Mate, what a stitch-up.
Ah but having said that being one vote away from DPOY still makes it pretty obvious that you belong amongst the very best defenders in the competition. The reputation has been established. Needless to say he subsequently cleaned up at the Melbourne United awards where he was Defensive Player of the Year (of course) as well as getting his second SHARE Award. What’s a SHARE Award, you ask? It’s an anagram for Selfless, Hard, Accountable, Relentless, Execute – core cultural values identified by the club, and the dude who best exemplifies them each season gets a trophy. This is the second time that Shea Ili has won it.
It also says something that Ili was the dude that Coach Dean Vickerman took with him to the press conference after Melbourne United’s semi-final elimination...
This right here speaks volumes too...
It’s kinda crazy to roll through all this glory and think of the progress that Ili has made over the last five years. The emergence of his jump shot in particular, that was something that held him back when he was first elevated to the starting five at the Breakers – and probably played a big part in them being willing to release him – and now here he is shooting at one of the best success rates in the whole damn league. Not a massive volume shooter from range but that’s not his role so no dramas. The bloke has always been a tirelessly terrific defender but now he’s at a level where he’s getting league-wide recognition. Just listen to the glowing way that teammates and coaches talk about him as if they believe he can walk on water.
Also, just quietly, look at the state of the Breakers organisation and how much they could use someone of Ili’s exact qualities to set an example, provide some leadership, and play a bit of defence. Melbourne and NZ met in the semis five seasons ago right around the time of the Breakers ownership change. Consider the complete opposite trajectories that the two clubs have been on ever since. Probably not a coincidence that Shea Ili went in a particular direction.
But we’re not here to talk about the Breakers. This article is dedicated to Shea Ili and the outstanding NBL season that he just produced and while bigging himself up isn’t exactly in the dude’s comfort zone, it feels appropriate to finish on a quote of his from that elimination press conference. He was asked about his emergence and first he shouted out his coach, then he shouted out his teammates, then he humbly called himself a role player just trying his best to do his job. There is not a professional basketball team on the planet that isn’t improved by having a personality like that in the squad.
Shea Ili: “Umm, yeah. It’s credit to Deano and the coaching staff for trusting in me and credit to the boys for kinda getting me in spots where I can just play my role. I always say I’m the greatest role player because whatever you ask me to do, I try go out there and do it. But, yeah.”
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