A recent 53-point outburst shot Johny Narkle back into the spotlight but it's consistent improvement, hard work and exciting natural talent possessed by the Geraldton product that means it remains a great mystery why he isn’t on an NBL roster.

Narkle is still just 23 years of age, is already a grand final MVP and championship winner in the NBL1 West with the Geraldton Buccaneers, and has proven able to influence games in a whole number of ways.

At 6'7, he has size on his side but he is also an explosive athlete outstanding in the open floor and creating off the dribble while able to get to the rim and either finish in traffic, or get up and deliver spectacular finishes.

There's much more to Narkle's game than the flashy plays though. His three-point shooting is consistently improving and he can go on streaks of hitting plenty in quick time while his quick hands and length make him a menace on the defensive end.

He is currently in the middle of his best NBL1 West season at the Buccaneers too with 24.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.4 blocks which has him right up there in the MVP race with two talents already on NBL rosters, Elijah Pepper and Isaac White.

Narkle has previously spent time training at the Perth Wildcats and went to a tryout with Melbourne United ahead of NBL24, but he does appear the greatest untapped emerging talent yet to get an NBL opportunity right now.

Why is he not in the NBL yet?

Narkle's only coach in his NBL1 West career with the Buccaneers has been three-time Coach of the Year and two-time championship winner Dayle Joseph who continues to shake his head at the lack of an NBL opportunity.

Not only has Joseph worked closely with Narkle to help him continually improve his game, but he's also had a front row seat to all of his heroics dating back to his start with the Buccs in 2020 when he was still juggling basketball and football.

Narkle was a raw talent back when he started and did briefly move to Perth to play WAFL football in 2021, but has committed to basketball ever since and that saw him lead the Buccaneers to an NBL1 West championship in 2023.

He then had a spectacular performance at the NBL1 National Finals a week later before he improved in all areas further in 2024 once he was back up and running, and now is having a career-best season in 2025.

Joseph has tried to work out why teams might have not given him an NBL chance yet, but his three-point shooting has risen to 37 per cent in 2025, his consistency is improving all the time and he hopes something opens up in NBL26 still.

"I'm not quite sure and we would probably need to be asking somebody a bit higher up the food chain there I think," Joseph said.

"Just in some feedback from last year when he's had a couple of tryouts around the place and asking why, there was a bit a question over his three-point shooting and if he was going to be a wing guy, you need to be able to knock down shots at a bit higher percentage than he had.

"But his percentages have gone up this year and he's getting close to 40 per cent so he has improved that area which is one of those area teams were wanting to see him get better at. The other one was probably to be a bit more consistent I think.

"He's done that for most of this season and that's something we talk about all the time, and even after that 53-point game I told him that gets him the attention, but what gets more is doing it regularly.

"He's working pretty hard on that and I think the improvement is there to see and it's just about whether someone will give him an opportunity," Joseph added.

"I think he should be playing in the NBL, I might be a bit biased in that department, but I also see so much upside with him if he got into that full-time environment."

View from his captain

Aaron Ralph has seen the potential in Narkle dating back well before he even started playing with the Buccaneers and he too is baffled why an NBL chance hasn’t come his way.

Ralph remains the Geraldton captain for the 2025 NBL1 West season and is a two-time championship winner with the Buccs and is the league's all-time three-point shooter having knocked down 1105 of them across his 471-game career.

Having been a teammate of Narkle's now for his entire 78-game career, Ralph just hopes that Narkle soon gets the chance to show what he's capable of at the next level.

"I'm very surprised he hasn’t got an opportunity. I thought last year was definitely the year he was snapped up and he's still trying to get to that next level," Ralph said.

"He's definitely got the talent and the work ethic and everything, he just needs that opportunity I think. And when he gets it, he's the kind of kid that can take it with both hands and has that X-factor about him.

"He can do anything on the court and everything he does still amazes me. I was coaching him from 15, 16, 17 and then started playing with him when he's 18, and it's been a good journey. He's a good kid who does all the right things so I hope he gets that chance."

A natural competitor

What Joseph knows about Narkle is that he's passionate and determined to try and reach as high a level with his basketball as he can.

He might appear somewhat laconic at times and he might be softly spoken, but what Joseph knows about Narkle is that he has that competitive drive inside him where he lets his basketball do the talking out on the court.

"Whether or not the way he might appear a bit casual at times might count against him, I'm not sure, but when the work's got to be done, he does the work and if you put the ball out there to get or put in the hoop, then it's a different story," Joseph said.

"His competitiveness is something he's learning about all the time and having to compete against guys like Liam Hunt, Aaron Ralph, Mat Wundenberg, Ryan Blanchett and even Joshua Keyes who is really tough on him, he's getting worked over at practice as well at the moment to try and get him ready for that next level as well."

Being in a full-time environment

Narkle has continued to improve each season he's played with Geraldton starting out when he was just finding his feet in the West Coast Classic season of 2020 with 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.3 blocks.

When he returned in 2022, he was finding his groove but then he exploded in 2023 delivering 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals, but come finals time he was a difference marker.

Narkle had 21 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists in the grand final win for the Buccs against the Joondalup Wolves and then at the National Finals, he averaged 28.5 points a game.

That led into a standout 2024 season once he was back from injury with 23.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks, and now his numbers have risen further in 2025 to have him firmly in MVP calculations.

What Joseph knows is that if he was in a full-time environment like at an NBL club, that his upward trajectory will only continue considering he hasn’t even turned 24 yet.

"I think if someone gives him that opportunity and put him in that environment I think he could thrive and rapidly improve further," Joseph said.

"I think he does need someone to actually care about him as well and not necessarily just give him a contract, and tell him to go play.

"He would need someone to give him some guidance to go with it if he got the chance because he might have missed out on having that when he was a bit younger.

"He is still maturing as a basketball player and an athlete, and if someone shows him a little bit of love and guidance, I think they will get a hell of a lot out of him in the future."

Having great support behind him

Joseph continues to rack his mind over things that might be stopping an NBL team signing Narkle. One other thing he feels might be a factor is the concern over Narkle leaving his family environment in Geraldton.

Joseph instead feels that is a great bonus for him and not hindrance simply because of the support that Narkle would have with his endeavours whether from family members or anyone associated with basketball in Geraldton including himself.

"I think it might be a little bit of a concern moving away from home, I'm not sure exactly how he is feeling about that prospect," Narkle said.

"I don’t think anyone has actually asked him that question, though, and they might be just making assumptions.

"He has some really strong family ties and support people around him in the Geraldton area as some of those gifted Indigenous kids have with big families, and a lot of people supporting them.

"So if he did have to make the move, he'd certainly have a lot of people in his corner to help achieve that, and me included. If he asked me to come to Melbourne with him for a tryout, I'd pack up instantly to go with him and be that support him, and there's others that would do that for him as well.

"I just really hope someone does give him that opportunity because I think there's so much upside there, and he's already putting in the work, and will only keep getting better."

Chris Pike

The mystery of Johny Narkle not being in the NBL