Josh Childress says he would love to return to Australia but NBL teams have said he is too old.
Childress joined Aussie Hoopla from Japan and discussed leaving the Sydney Kings, his time spent playing in the NBA, preparing to play in Ice Cube’s upcoming “Big 3” competition and his hopes to return to play in the NBL.
“I’ve had some initial talks with some of the teams in the NBL but it seems the consensus now is that I’m a bit old” said Childress.
Josh Childress was co-captain of the Kings when he left in 2015. He first signed with the Texas Legends D-League before trying out with a number of NBA teams where he played well but ultimately wasn’t able to sign a long-term deal.
Childress spoke about how he has spoken with the Kings recently and although he couldn’t commit to the Kings last year due to his NBA aspirations he is glad the new management is doing a great job promoting the game in Sydney.
He says he left the club with an understanding that they had to move forward due to the scheduling of the league with other import players and he totally agreed that was the right move for them.
“I met with the (Kings staff) in Las Vegas, I really enjoyed my time in Sydney and spoke about coming back (last year), but I wanted to be all in for my NBA trial so I did what I felt was right in my heart and the Kings had to finalise the roster and do what’s best for them” he said.
But now, having given one last NBA spot his all, he would love to return to the NBL and has taken the comments about him being “too old” to heart and will be using it as fire to prove doubters wrong.
“That fires me up mentality because, baring injuries, I’m a year out from producing some pretty good statistics in that league (the NBL)”
The Kings had to cement their roster in August last year which meant they wouldn’t be able to hold out for Childress. They ultimately signed Michael Bryson, Greg Whittington and Josh Powell as imports, a combination that had mixed results.
Once Childress had exhausted any NBA opportunities in November he signed with Japanese team SAN-EN NeoPhoenix. He has been putting up 19 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists during his time in the land of the rising sun and has the NeoPhoenix on course for post season success.
“I’m carrying the same (NBL) kinds of statistics over to where I am now, so for someone to call me old is a punch in the gut”
The last season Childress’ spent with the Kings saw him average 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in comparison.
Once Childress has finished his season in Japan he will join a host of NBA legends in the Big 3 basketball competition which has been created by rapper and movie star Ice Cube and is administrated by former Sydney Kings coach Joe Connelly.
Before joining the Kings Josh Childress spent 8 seasons in the NBA, playing alongside many of the competitors in the Big 3 League. Over 391 NBA games Childress averaged 9 points, 5 rebounds and 1.6 assists and is arguably the most successful NBA player to ever play in the NBL.
The league features legends of basketball like Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving as players and coaches. Former NBL stars Childress, Al Harrington and Shane Heal have been invited to be a part of it.
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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.
