The NBL built Next Stars in 2018 as the alternative to college: pay elite teenagers to play pro basketball in Australia and New Zealand for a year, then send them to the NBA draft. In the NIL era, the program now does something its founders never planned for. It keeps players eligible for college.

ESPN's Olgun Uluc laid out the change this week. Next Stars contracts are now structured so players do not earn beyond the NCAA's actual and necessary expenses standard, which protects their eligibility. Next Stars general manager Liam Santamaria described it as "broadening the pathway rather than pivoting it."

Luke Paul: Cairns Taipans This Season, Duke in 2027

The clearest example is Luke Paul, a 6-foot-6 Australian point guard. He signed with the Cairns Taipans as a Next Star and announced Oct. 1 that he will play at Duke in 2027-28, a commitment also reported by Basketball.com.au. Cairns coach Adam Forde had planned a two-year stay. Paul is 17, made the All-Star Five at the FIBA U17 World Cup in July and has since moved into the Taipans' starting lineup, according to ESPN.

From LaMelo Ball to Karim Lopez

The program's early proof came from LaMelo Ball, who played for the Illawarra Hawks, and Josh Giddey, both top-six NBA picks in 2020 and 2021. By ESPN's count, Next Stars have been drafted in each of the past seven drafts, 13 players in all, seven in the first round. The latest was Karim Lopez, the No. 21 pick in June after two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers.

The change matters because the money moved. Since the 2025 House settlement, U.S. schools can share roughly $20.5 million a year directly with athletes, and ESPN notes the biggest college packages now rival an entire NBL salary cap. The NBL's answer is not to outbid Duke. It is to be the year before Duke.

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