One of my big passions in basketball has always been covering German youth basketball. In the last 10 years, I have seen so many incredible players come up in the ranks. And taking pics with players in general has always stuck with me especially since my youth in the 80´s where I was able to take pics with future NBA legends like Bernard King and Bill Cartwright. Over the years, I have seen great young German players at the top 4 NBBL and JBBL tournaments and was always ready to take pics with players where I knew that perhaps one day, they might reach the NBA. In 2017, I interviewed a sad Oscar Da Silva in Frankfurt after losing the final to rival FC Bayern Munich. Ok so he didn´t reach the NBA, but Euroleague. In 2018 I had the first post game interview with Franz Wagner after scoring 24 points and getting MVP honors for leading Alba Berlin to the NBBL title and in 2019, I took a photo with Ariel Hukporti (214-C-2002) and Joshua Obiesie in Jena at the top 4. Obiesie was present to receive NBBL MVP and Hukporti was there to get Rookie of the year honors When you interview so many guys like I do, things slip by. I just remembered that I called a NBBL game between Eintracht Frankfurt-Franport Skyliners-Ludwigsburg in January 2020 where Hukporti led his team to a 76-61 win with a 19/9 game. I interviewed him after and took a picture with him. I had already heard then that Hukporti was a massive talent and could make the NBA one day. 5 years later Ariel Huckporti was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks at the 2024 NBA draft as the last pick and then shipped to the New York Knicks. I was happy that I had another pic with a player for my NBA collection.

I reach new Hakro Merlins head coach David McCray on a cool July morning a day before July 4th as he is on his way to Crailsheim. There isn´t a better guy to talk to than him concerning Hukporti who was his teammate and coach at the NBBL and easyCredit BBL level. The German big man who is 22 years old and is 214cm was already playing NBBL (U-19) ball as McCray was still a pro in the 2018-2019 season. He made his Basketball Champions League debut at age 16 scoring 4 points in a 1 minute of play against Turkish team Banvit and scored 6 points in 9 minutes a day before his 17th birthday against Euroleague team FC Bayern Munich. His stellar play at already a young age was no surprise to anyone. “You could already see then in 2018 how talented a player he was. We had a very good relationship already from the start. I was like a mentor for him. It was really exciting to see then how good he was”, said David McCray. McCray who had a stellar 16 year career where he played more than 400 easyCredit BBL games and 9 seasons with the MHP Riesen retired in 2019 and then went into coaching in the Riesen organization. He remembers Hukporti´s rise as a player as if it was yesterday and in the 2019-2020 season, he played 19 BBL games averaging 2/1 stats and in the NBBL averaged 17/9 stats while also juggling school. “It was a big challenge going to school and playing. He always brought much energy and trained really hard. He always gave his all even if he played little minutes. He could still impact the game with his length”, remembered David McCray. Hukporti had the luxury of battling talented center Jonas Wolfarth-Bottermann on a daily basis. “Jonas took him under his wing and really helped him with his post game. It was great to see them play against each other last season when Jonas was with Hamburg”, added David McCCray.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Ariel Hukporti after he dropped 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in a 76-61 win in Frankfurt in NBBL play in January 2020

In the 2020-2021 season he left Germany to play for Nevezis Kedainiai (Lithuania-LKL). It was surely not easy to leave his comfort zone in Ludwigsburg, but it really paid off as he had a solid season averaging 10.4ppg, Reb-3 (7.4rpg), 1.4apg, Blocks-1 (1.2bpg), FGP: 45.7%, 3PT: 27.7%, FT: 53.6%. “Going to Lithuania was vital for his development. He became a man in Lithuania. It was the first time that he had been away from home. It wasn´t easy, but he got through adversary and conquered. It was part of his story and helped him so much”, said David McCray. He displayed consistency and despite losing twice to Euroleague team Zalgiris, he held his own against former NBA players scoring 17 and 14 points. After a season in Lithuania, he surprised people again by going down under and playing 2 seasons in Australia with the Melbourne United (Australia-NBL) averaging 6.7ppg, 4.8rpg, Blocks-5 (1.3bpg), FGP: 52.3%, FT: 66.2% and in his third season averaged 7.9ppg; 7.1rpg, Blocks-2 (1.5bpg), FGP: 57.6%, FT: 61.9%. He sat out his second season on account of injury. Many underestimate the NBL league in Australia and for him to develop his game further there wasn´t wrong. “It was the plan for him to go to Australia and then the NBA. In the last years so many NBA guys have played there and guys have been drafted who have played there. He got good minutes for a good team at a high level. He had a very good athletic trainer who helped him make the next step with his strength and physicality”, stated David McCray.

After finishing his second season down under, Hukporti returned back to Ludwigsburg at the end of last season playing 3 BBL games averaging 5.0ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.0bpg. So how was Hukporti a different player in 2024 to when he left in 2020? For McCray there was no sudden change, mainly because he had continued to see him each summer because he returned back to train with him. “Guys like the Patrick brothers and Lukas Herzog would train with him. Tyreese Blunt and Dejan Bruce were also always there. Those 2 are his best friends. They are like brothers. He turned into a real rim protector and rebounder at the NBA level. I will never forget the game against Heidelberg. He played 20 minutes getting 7 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. There were 10-12 lay up attempts by Heidelberg that he effected with his height and length. The smaller players couldn´t see the rim and couldn´t finish. He was an essential factor in us winning the game. That is a very important skill that is wanted in the NBA. His rim protection skills and rebounding helped him immensely to get drafted”, warned David McCray. McCray has so many fond memories of him on the court especially from his young years. “There was a game where he had an ok first half. At half time we told him that we really needed him. He came back in the second half with 4 tip dunks and 5 blocks and impacted the game and led us to the win. We told him to give gas and he decided the game in 5 minutes”, remembered David McCray. But it isn´t only the great basketball moments on the court that will forever glued in McCray´s mind, but also off the court where Hukporti is a real genuine good guy who is always there for friends. “He has a big heart and when your in his inner circle, he will give you his all. I will never forget how he spent time with my 8 year old daughter and played with her dolls for an hour. That is exactly what type of person he is”, stressed David McCray.

Joshua Obiesie, Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Ariel Hukporti at the 2019 NBBL top 4 in Jena

In the last years Ariel Hukporti appeared on the various NBA Mock drafts, but was no guaranteed NBA draft pick, but sometimes all it takes is for one organization to really like him and that was the case with the Dallas Mavericks who drafted him with the last pick at #58. “It was so emotional for me when I heard his name get picked. I was praying when the last pick was called. We have a group chat with Blunt and Bruce and we all screamed when his name was called. I spoke to him after. He deserved it so much. Despite the bumps in the road and injuries, he never gave up and stuck with it. We are all so proud of him”, stressed David McCray. How good of a fit with Hukporti will the Knicks have? “He is a great fit. They are all so confident that he will fit in New York. He has mobility, strength, power and quickness. What many don´t really know is that he has such a good feeling for the game. His spacing is great and he is such an unbelievable defender. I always preached to him about playing defense. He is an incredible rim protector and defender. That will go hand in hand with a defensive minded coach like Tom Thibodeau. That is why the Knicks got him. I believe he will get a chance there and prove he can play. I think by the end of the season he will be in the rotation”, expressed David McCray. The interesting thing is as one German Isaiah Hartenstein has left the Knicks for greener pastures in Oklahoma City as he signed a 3 year 87 million contract, the next German comes to the Knicks with Huckporti. The many similarities are refreshing starting with the letter H in their last names, but they continue. “Both are German. Both played In Lithuania. Both are lefties. Both were dominant players in the NBBL. Both have so many similarities in their game. I hope Ariel can take the same path as Isaiah has in the NBA”, warned David McCray.