Darling courts more action
After a season learning and watching from the bench with the Breakers, Max Darling has never been hungrier for court time.
Darling will step into a major role for the defending champion Canterbury Rams when they launch the National Basketball League season against the Nelson Giants in Christchurch tonight.
It will be a sharp contrast for Darling, who as a first-year development player with the Breakers in the Australian NBL, was mostly an observer.
He played just one regular-season game, stepping on the court for the final 57 seconds of their victory against Adelaide in Christchurch in November.
The 23-year-old forward loved his first season with the Breakers and learned plenty from coach Mody Maor and his staff. Rubbing shoulders with legend Tom Abercrombie, who recently retired after 16 ANBL seasons, former NBA player Anthony Lamb, and Tall Black Finn Delany had opened Darling’s eyes about pro basketball.
He is on a three-year deal with the Breakers and will return as a development player next season, with the potential for a full roster spot in the 2025-26 campaign.
Darling is highly competitive and is desperate to show the growth in his game with the Rams in the NBL, where he will play extended minutes.
“That’s definitely what I need. I think [Rams coach] Judd [Flavell] trusts me, so my minutes are going to be high this year. We’ve got a good, deep team.
“The big minutes are going to be good for me. I’m excited to see what I can do after all I’ve learned.”
Darling will start for the Rams to open the season, but could be used in an impact role off the bench once American duo MJ Walker and KJ Buffen are settled in and up to speed with their plays.
Last season, Darling averaged 12.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game across 21 appearances for the Rams.
Defence has always been his calling card; he prides himself on his ability to shut down the most potent scorer of the opposition and defend multiple positions.
Improving his outside shooting and being confident to put the ball up from deep was an area he had focused on. He worked on his three-point shooting heavily with the Breakers and said he wanted show that off with the Rams.
“I’m going to be shooting a lot more from outside, a lot more threes. I was getting a lot of reps up in Auckland with the Breakers.
“In pre-season [with the Rams] I was knocking them down a bit more. I just want to be more aggressive from the three-point line.”
The Rams ended their 31-year NBL drought last season, knocking over the Auckland Tuatara 93-82 in the grand final behind 25 points from Corey Webster and 23 points and 12 rebounds from American Tevin Brown.
Both are no longer on the team, with Webster joining the Tuatara and grand final MVP Brown playing for Metropolitans 92 in France’s top league.
Darling, who debuted for the Rams as a 16-year-old schoolboy at Christ’s College in 2017, is now one of the older heads.
Other than point guard Taylor Britt (27), Walker and new Kiwi recruit Taki Fahrensohn, who are both 25, Darling is the next oldest at 23, with Buffen.
Ending 31 years of hurt and finally winning the NBL title rated as a career highlight for him.
“I’m very close with the Harrison family [who run the Rams], so it was cool to be able to give back to them in that way.’’