Last night Jock Landale notched up 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals to guide the Australian Boomers to a 97-59 victory over Argentina and a place in the Olympic Basketball semi-finals.
He celebrated this morning with signing his name on a multi-year NBA contract.
Australian center Jock Landale — the 2021 NBL Grand Final MVP — has agreed to a two-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs, his agent Sammy Wloszczowski of @SIGSports tells @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 4, 2021
Plans were underway for Landale to play in the NBA summer league but with his high-level play for Auralia during the Olympics under the watchful eye of Boomers assistant coach Matthew Neilsen, who is also the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs G-League, the Spurs jumped at signing Landale before the rest of the NBA were able to make their move.
Landale has been on NBA radars for some time but had previously refused any training camp and or two-way contract deals. Instead, he chose to play internationally, first in Serbia, then Lithuania before COVID-19 struck resulting in him playing at home in Melbourne last season.
Landale had been offered a mid-season deal to play in the NBA but also turned that down to chase an NBL title with Melbourne United.
During the Olympics, Landale has stepped into the role of starting centre after a neck injury was sustained by teammate and Toronto Raptors big man Aron Baynes.
Landale has averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists for the Boomers over four games and with the Australian Boomers scheduled to meet Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and the USA in Thursday’s semi-final match up, the stage is set for Landale to show what he can do against NBA talent.
Earlier this year Landale shared what he thought he could bring to an NBA team.
“I think, going into an NBA team, they… will be like: ‘get out there, defend, run hard in transition, rebound, and shoot open shots’. That’s the kind of basketball I think I can really excel in and do at a high level.” said Landale.
The Geelong product played collegiately at St. Mary’s and has played for the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks in Summer League.
Landale spent last season with Melbourne United where he averaged 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game and led the team to an NBL championship, collecting NBL Grand Final MVP along the way.
The San Antonio Spurs have completed their roster with Landale’s signing, only 2 two-way spots remain. Landale is expected to see opportunities immediately in San Antonio with Spurs having only Thaddeus Young and Jakob Poeltl at that position currently.
Congratulations to Australian superstar @JockLandale who is joining the San Antonio @Spurs!
A big time, well-deserved move to the @NBA for Jock! #SIGFam pic.twitter.com/wsK28oOqmM
— SIG Sports (@SIGSports) August 4, 2021
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
