School's in: Son of gun Rio Bruton's Academy show

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Rio Bruton, the son of Australian basketball royalty CJ Bruton, is one of 14 junior men's players competing at the 2025 NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, Georgia, this week.

Bruton, 18, plays for the Centre of Excellence in the NBL1 East Conference. He had 30 points in 26 minutes against the Hornsby Spiders on June 21, 2025, which included 5-from-7 from three.

The event, which runs from July 9th-14th, is a key platform for Australian players showing casing their skills to US college recruiters.

The bulk of the Australian players are representing the NBA Global Academy. The group includes several Australian Emus players competing straight off the back of the Under-19 FIBA World Cup in Switzerland, including Mading Kuany, Ajak Nyoun, Alex Dickeson and Che Brogan.

Two players that won't feel the need to advertise their ability quite as heavily are Marcus Vaughns and Nash Walker — the pair already committing to LSU and Marquette.

There are also a number of Australians competing as part of the event’s NBA Select teams — a more miscellaneous group of talent placed together from all over the world.

Big man and Melbourne United training player Henry Sewell, along with guard Austin Foxwell and son of a gun Rio Bruton are suiting up for NBA Select Red, while bruising post player James Dyson Mwere was selected for NBA Select Purple.

NBA Global Academy Players

• Jai Fa’ale
• Guer Bar
• Jongkuch Mach
• Nash Walker
• Marcus Vaughns
• Mading Kuany
• Alex Dickeson
• Che Brogan
• Ajak Nyoun

NBA Select Red

• Austin Foxwell
• Henry Sewell
• Rio Bruton
  

NBA Select Purple

• James Dyson Mwere

Basketball New Zealand have also fielded a team for the first time in the competition’s history. The event runs as rumours swirl about the it being the last.

The NBA Global Academy, based at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, was announced in November 2024 to be closing at the end of the month.

The program, headed by Technical Director Marty Clarke, has famously been a key part of the development pathway for multiple Australian NBA players including Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels and Tyrese Proctor.

With the NBA league office and team owners "opting to place an increased emphasis on identifying and developing talent from larger, non-traditional basketball countries without existing high-level infrastructure", the closure will make for a significant change in the pathways for elite basketball athletes in Australia.