Seventeen-year-old guard Luke Paul of the Cairns Taipans has announced his commitment to Duke University, taking a major step towards a career in the NBA. The 201cm player will head to the United States at the end of the 2026-27 NBL season to join the Blue Devils for their 2027-28 college basketball campaign.
Paul is widely considered a potential first-round pick for the 2028 NBA draft. He revealed his decision on Friday, saying a single phone call with Duke's coaching staff was enough to convince him.
"I want to go to a place that is going to help me develop my player performance and get me to the next level, which is the NBA," he told ESPN. "After the call with coach (Jon) Scheyer, it just felt like a place where it was going to be home for me."
Paul became the youngest athlete to sign a multi-year deal as part of the NBL's Next Stars program earlier this year. The programme has produced several NBA draft picks, including Josh Giddey, LaMelo Ball and Alex Sarr. Paul is yet to debut for the Taipans in the NBL, recovering from an ankle injury suffered in pre-season, and was named to the FIBA U17 World Cup All-Star Five after helping Australia win bronze in July.
