I confess. I will shoot 100 Hail Mary's as penance.

Long live Nick Kay dominating at camp.

Just because Nick is not like others who are loud mouths and show ponies does not mean he does not give his best.

He just goes about his business and is a very quiet and unassuming person who just goes out and does the job asked of him by his coaches.

A typical born and bred NSW Country boy from Tamworth.

Well done Nick,congrats on your efforts and winning the bronze.

I think everyone raised their eyebrows when he first selected but he's a seasoned campaigner now and I think these kinds of performances can now be expected from him. He was solid at the world cup and has only got better. Only absolute morons - absolute Clint Doggs - would have any vague issue if Kay made his way onto another top flight Boomers team. The guy is an absolute workhorse that is just solid in every area of basketball - high IQ, great rebounder, an improving jump shot, clever defender, a guy that gets the most out of his abilities. While he might be seen as a physical long shot for the NBA him getting some looks would not surprise me much.

Greatest 4 man in Australian basketball history

Great effort Kay.

At one point I wanted him banished from the team for good after he shot so poorly resulting in a 100-1 Japan beating us in Asian qualifiers.

I wouldn't go as far saying he's our greatest 4 man ever. Arguably Andrew Vlahov assumes that mantle for mine. But what Kay does doesn't always show up on the stats. He's a team first player and does everything thats required of him. He often has to play undersized at the five but he's clever enough on D and rebounding to hold his own. And he's developed a pretty consistent three point shot. He's been integral to the Boomers success.

"At one point I wanted him banished from the team for good after he shot so poorly resulting in a 100-1 Japan beating us in Asian qualifiers."

I recall only one bad game for Kay while playing with the Boomers B-team. That must've been it. Kay was the surprise for me on that B-team. Knowing the Lemanis system so well, I felt his inclusion in 2019 made sense, but I didn't think he would be as effective as he has been, the starting 4-man on a bronze medal winning team.

Kay has somehow managed to keep improving, year after year.
Really hope they choose to stay in Perth for 22-23 and onwards

Great thread!

I can't recall my exact feeling in 2019.

But I was happy enough he was selected this time and thought any criticism a little unjustified and ridiculous given his 2019 efforts.

He did again pleasantly surprise me though with exactly how good he was, yet again. I may have slightly underestimated him and toned down my expectations accordingly. So I suppose a small amount of repentance is in order!

^quit the trolling for at least 48 hours after the historic Bronze. Cmon! Show some Respect!

I remember in 2019 seeing Kay walk out amongst Bolden, Landale and Bogut and thinking "he is way too small and unathletic for international basketball, how could he hold off Euro bigs"

I was very wrong

At least Kay stays around when things get tough and does not walk out because his ego is dinted unlike Bolden.

Have to admit, I hadn't ever really watched him closely before. After these Olympics though, he was an absolute favourite of mine.
Just does the smart thing over and over again. Loved his game. Now a huge fan

Nick Kay is Australia's "Big Fundamental" He's just solid at both ends of the floor. He defended the PnR well and switched onto Luca. He finds the space and cuts to the spots on O. He just does the fundamentals really well.
He was a massive part of this historic bronze medal.

After the USA game I thought he won't be athletic enough to make it to the NBA. But he is smart, skilled and diligent enough to make me wonder 'What If?'

Find the right system, anything is possible.

Loved him at the Wildcats, wish him nothing but success at the highest level.

I've confessed many times over. He has well and truly proved himself and should be considered one of the team core until further notice.

Though to be clear for me it was more about Motum being on the outer than Kay being in.

I still believe Motum should have been in both teams but I was wrong to suggest it should be at the expense of Kay.

Kay led the Tokyo team in rebounds, O-boards, (equal highest in) blocks and ass/TO ratio and lowest TO/min.

Kay was great. There's no question he did struggle to make much of an impact against the USA size, but hey, so did just about everyone else once the tide turned at the end of that 2nd Q, Patty included.

If he can known down those open 3s at a better clip and out to NBA range, who knows.

I was pleasantly surprised by Landale too, perimeter D aside. I knew Landale could play obviously, but based on last tourney I thought he might struggle a bit against top level bigs, but instead he really thrived and was great in the open court, tried to finish strong, and by the time he got it going his hookshot was reliable and gave us a down-low option offensively when our 3s weren't dropping.

Nick Kay and Jock Landale can be Boomers as long as they want as far as I am concerned.

I remember watching Nick Kay absolutely dominating during the commonwealth games despite not having plays ran for him and at the time I dismissed it thinking that the Commonwealth games suck and Canada and New Zealand are our only competition but I still wondered why that couldn't translate into bigger and better things for him as he's a work horse and every team needs that.

So he went back and played NBL, I think it was for Illawarra in his second season and he kept showing that he could fill the stat sheet and do so many intangibles that helped his team and improved his outside shot and became even smarter and more well rounded and his leadership qualities really shone through when he joined Perth and he is just so dependable and he is also pretty clutch.

I don't care about his deficiencies as if he is costing Australia throughout a game then that is when Drej or Goorj some sub him out for someone else but personally, I love the big fella and what he brings to a team including that winners mentality that comes from being at the Wildcats (not passing dispersions but there are reasons that players from awful teams don't become head coaches).
My only question that I really have to say about Nick Kay is, have we seen the best of him yet or has he still got some ways to improve his game?

"My only question that I really have to say about Nick Kay is, have we seen the best of him yet or has he still got some ways to improve his game?"


He's probably around his peak but he did show signs of being able to create his own shot at the Olympics which maybe could be further explored. Kay is just a consistenly nice piece to put among stars that will do all the one percenters really, really well and for that, you can hide any deficiencies in athleticism he might have if your center is someone like Thon Maker, Mangok Mathiang, even Baynes, suddenly Kay being a little flat footed matters a bit less. But yeah, Nick Kay is going to be a staple of this team for years to come and I, for one, totally support it.

I think of PJ Tucker when I think of Nick Kay, sure Tucker is older by 6 years and is shorter too but he was the starting centre of a Houston Rockets team that was pretty impressive for a while and their outside shots aren't too dissimilar but Tucker was trusted and Kay comes across as someone that once you show your trust in him, he won't let you down.

I'm not saying that Kay should be the starting centre on the NBA team with the best regular season record but with opportunity he should be given opportunities and have an outstanding NBA career and make more money than he ever dreamt of... but they'd want to come get him soon before it's too late for him

Are you talking about yourself?

In other news, how good is Kay!

Moves slowly like an old man and is still tremendously effective is what you meant to say, I'm sure.

You never know, Nick Kay might be on a trajectory like Ingles and Baynes

Physically I'm not sure he has the same tools they do, but it's interesting how some Boomers players continue developing throughout their careers and end up better players than initially anyone imagined.

Having said that, signing in Japan wasn't the best thing for his long term development if he wants any shot at NBA, or becoming a top Euroleague player.

And the players who go on that long term trajectory are often guys with good heads on their shoulders, guys who put in the extra work. Guys with the humility to just keep learning and keep trying, never thinking they've made it and remaining humble.

Kay has that about him. In fact, you could even say those traits were essential to that Boomers ethos or "Boomers culture". The lack of ego, the buying into the team, the doing what it takes to help the team succeed are all things that help individuals become better and find a role where they become indispensable at a higher level in this team sport. Like Ingles and Baynes managed to do in the NBA and like Kay has for the Boomers.

I didn't mean necessarily NBA, I just meant players who keep improving and get better than anyone thought

Ingles and Baynes did that and I think Kay would do same if he ended up playing major minutes in Euroleague. Possible but Japan not the best place to facilitate the continued improvement required