A pair of imports will be returning to Australia for the 2023-24 NBL season.
As multiple teams settle into preseason training camp with full rosters, some are still on the hunt to fill their final spots - imports, in particular - ahead of the new season.
And, the two most recent signings are a pair of familiar names.
Gary Browne has signed a new one-year deal to return to the South East Melbourne Phoenix, sources told ESPN, rejoining the team he ran the point for over the 2022-23 season.
Browne led the NBL in assists last season, with 6.5 dimes a game, to go with 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds a contest. The 6'1 point guard shot 39.7 percent from the field, including 27.1 percent from downtown.
Browne joins Mitch Creek, Alan Williams, Reuben Te Rangi, Ben Ayre, Matt Kenyon, Rhys Vague, Owen Foxwell, and Gorjok Gak on the Phoenix's roster for the upcoming NBL season. The Phoenix has one more import spot - they're targeting a shooting guard - and one local position to fill.
The team remains in the market for a Next Star, but would only take on an impact player, sources said.
Over in New Zealand, the Breakers agreed to terms with Justinian Jessup, sources said.
Jessup, a sharpshooting wing who spent two seasons as a Next Star for the Illawarra Hawks from 2020-2022, will join the Breakers on a one-year deal, sources said, bolstering the perimeter for Mody Maor's team.
The 25-year-old spent last season with Zaragoza, in Spain's Liga ACB, averaging a team-high 11.6 points per game, shooting 37.7 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Jessup, a 6'7 wing, was taken by the Golden State Warriors with the 51st overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. The Warriors still hold Jessup's draft rights.
Jessup will join Will McDowell-White, Zylan Cheatham, Finn Delany, Cameron Gliddon, Izayah Le'Afa, Thomas Abercrombie, Dan Fotu, Mangok Mathiang, Dane Pineau, and Mantas Rubstavicius (Next Star) as contracted players on the Breakers' roster.
The Breakers finished the 2022-23 NBL season with the league's second best record, falling to the Sydney Kings in five games in the Championship Series.