Melbourne United forward Luke Travers has his sights set on returning to the NBA and earning a spot on Australia's Boomers roster, the Melbourne United NBL star has said. The 25-year-old was selected 56th overall by Cleveland in the 2022 NBA Draft and developed with their G-League affiliate, the Charge, before rejoining United for the 2026 NBL season.
Travers is averaging 10 points per game across the first four matches, logging heavy minutes as the 201cm forward anchors a reshuffled Melbourne side. United have opened the season 1-3 after an injury-hit pre-season prevented the squad from building rhythm together.
Travers said he wants to play at the Olympics, win an NBL MVP award and earn another NBA chance, describing those expectations as a "scary thing" while stressing a daily-improvement approach. He pointed to new teammates Joe Ingles and Cole Anthony, along with coach Jacob Chance, as mentors during the early season.
"Obviously they've both done it at the highest level, so the talent is there, the basketball IQ as well and just to have those guys there helping us every day is great," Travers said of the two NBA veterans. Ingles, 38, is one of the Boomers' all-time greats, while Anthony was a high-level scorer in Orlando during the 2020s.
Melbourne's next opportunity to build momentum comes on Wednesday night against the 36ers in Adelaide.
