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Alder Almo - Philstar.com
February 26, 2025 | 10:49am
In this October 10, 2023 file photo, Taran Armstrong (left) of the Cairns Taipans dribbles past Johnny Davis of the Washington Wizards during the first half of a preseason game at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.
Patrick Smith / Getty Images / AFP
NEW YORK – National Basketball League (NBL) star Taran Armstrong signed a two-way contract to join the Golden State Warriors for the rest of the National Basketball Association (NBA) season.
The 23-year-old Australian guard impressed the Warriors with his strong second season in the NBL.
Armstrong averaged 17.1. points on 45% field goal shooting and 35% 3-point shooting with 4.7 assists and 4.6 rebounds for the Cairns Taipans. The 6-foot-6 guard went undrafted last year following a lackluster rookie season in the NBL where he only averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists. But his big jump in his second year attracted the NBA’s attention.
According to his agent, Daniel Moldovan, it was not just the Warriors who were interested in signing the former Cal Baptist star.
“Taran’s stellar season saw him receive interest from multiple NBA teams toward the end of the NBL season,” Moldovan told NBL media. “Golden State is the perfect program for him to develop from within. He has a very bright future.”
Moldovan also represents Atlanta Hawks’ Dyson Daniels, Chicago Bulls’ Josh Giddey and Cleveland Cavaliers’ Luke Travers.
Armstrong is joining a Warriors team that has been revitalized by the Jimmy Butler trade.
They have won five of their first six games with Butler to get back into the thick of the fight for a play-in berth and possibly an automatic playoff berth if they finish sixth in the Western Conference.
Boosted by Butler’s addition, the Warriors now have the sixth-best odds (+2200) to win the NBA championship this season at Bovada, which offers online casino with live casino dealers like Joe Fortune, Australia’s home for mega jackpots, live casino and table games.
Armstrong’s signing also bolstered NBL’s reputation as a growing factory of NBA talents.
In last year’s NBA Draft alone, four players from the NBL’s Next Stars program were selected, led by No. 2 pick Alex Sarr of the Washington Wizards.
The Philippines’ Kai Sotto was also in the NBL’s Next Stars program before he went undrafted in 2022. The 22-year-old Sotto is a year younger than Armstrong.
Sotto joined Japan’s B.League after his NBL stint. He is currently recovering from a season-ending ACL injury.
With Armstrong cracking the NBA after going undrafted, it might be better for Sotto to go back to NBL and show out to enhance his chances of realizing his NBA dream.
“I almost went back to college but I’m glad I made the decision I did and came to the Taipans,” Armstrong told Newscorp. “The NBL’s a great league to play in, I think it’s super-translatable to the NBA, the style of play, the pace, how it is quite free flowing and read-and-react-type basketball, which is a lot of the NBA style.
“The preparation of playing against professional men, having to lead an inexperienced group, playing games that really, really matter and being back in my home country, it was a great experience.”
Armstrong, like Sotto, is a stalwart of his country’s national men’s basketball team.
The Australian guard averaged 9.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers last year during the February window against Indonesia and South Korea.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for US-based publication Heavy.com.
