Perth Wildcats selected for inaugural G League Fall Invitational

Following the success of last year’s pre-season games against French side Metropolitans 92, which included San Antonio Spurs-bound No.1 pick Victor Wembanyama, the Wildcats will become the first Australian NBL side to take on the Ignite.

The games take place at The Dollar Loan Center on September 6 and 8 as part of a nine-day trip to Nevada as preparations ramp up for the 2023-24 NBL season.

It will be the first glimpse Wildcats fans get of several exciting recruits including highly-rated NBL Next Star talent Alex Sarr, a projected top-20 2024 pick from France who’s the younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder’s Olivier Sarr.

Fellow NBA draft prospect David Okwera, two-time NBL most improved player and Phoenix Suns Summer League signing Keanu Pinder, Basketball Without Borders Global Camp participant Dontae Russo-Nance and NBA Global Academy tournament representative Ben Henshall are some of the other new faces set to debut for the club in the G League Fall Invitational.

Wildcats General Manager of Basketball Operations Danny Mills was thrilled for the 10-time NBL champions to get the opportunity to represent WA and the league on a global stage and hoped for it to become an ongoing collaboration.

"We are thrilled to have been invited to travel to Las Vegas in early September to compete in a two-game series against G League Ignite,” Mills said.

“Taking our team and the organization to play on a global stage is an integral part of our long-term strategy as a club. We are incredibly excited and grateful that G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Ignite GM Anthony McClish have provided our club this opportunity to represent the city of Perth, the state of Western Australia and the NBL in what we hope is an ongoing collaboration."

NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim welcomed the Wildcats.

“The international presence within the G League grows stronger each year, and with these preseason games against a storied and successful program in the Perth Wildcats, we’re excited to continue to showcase some of the best young prospects and top talent from around the globe,” Abdur-Rahim said.

“If last year’s games are any indication, this will be another competitive and electrifying pre-season.”

It’s the first time the Wildcats have played in the United States since taking on Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets in October 2018.

The Ignite’s upcoming roster includes 2023 McDonald’s All-Americans Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland, NBA Academy graduates Thierry Darlan and Babacar Sane, five-star prospect Tyler Smith, international standout Izan Almansa, London Johnson and Dink Pate.

The program’s four 2023 NBA Draft prospects were all selected in this June’s draft, making it 10 players drafted across three seasons.

Broadcast information will be announced at a later date.

The Wildcats’ regular-season campaign gets underway against Tasmania JackJumpers at RAC Arena on September 29.