He’s not even 21 years old, yet Boomers’ debutant Luke Travers says he’s been living every basketball kid’s dream.
Ever since declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft back in April, Travers’ life has quickly become chaotic.
Training in the USA and attending both the elite and pre-draft camps had him flying all over the country as he strove to push his limits and impress in the eyes of recruiters.
The basketball world followed his journey and cheered him on as the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him with Pick #56 at the 2022 NBA Draft in June.
Upon returning home and to cap off a whirlwind few months, Travers quickly received the call up to represent the Australian senior team for the first time.
“It’s been non-stop, it’s been the dream,” Travers told BA Media.
“I got home from America and just started getting back into training with the Wildcats when I got a text message seeing if I was interested in joining the team, and even just receiving that was a dream come true for every kid who plays basketball in Australia.”
Ticking off career goals and embarking on a journey he couldn’t have imagined on the other side of the world, Travers always had one eye on the green and gold action taking place at home and had an itch to be a part of it.
“I watched them from afar at the FIBA Asia Cup and in Melbourne at the qualifiers, so to now be a part of it is just super cool.
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With a few familiar Perth Wildcats on this Boomers' lineup, Travers admits it’s been handy to have the likes of Head Coach Mike Kelly and Boomers Todd Blanchfield and Mitch Norton to lean on and learn from in the lead-up to this campaign.
“I had some brief chats with Mike (Kelly) to discuss the future and if he wanted me to be a part of it, so now I’m just trying to embrace the culture and everything that’s been built here and put my best foot forward.
“They’ve (Norton and Blanchfield) been huge for me. I’ve built a really good relationship with them, any feedback I can get from them always helps, they’re approachable for me, and having both of them around has really ramped up my progression.” T
ravers will also join Dejan Vasiljevic, Rory Hawke and Alex Toohey as first-time Boomers when Australia takes on Bahrain on Friday morning at 2am AEST at the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. Australia will then return to Bendigo to host Iran on Monday 29th August, at 6:30 pm.
