Why $58m star left NBA to play in Melbourne

Former NBA star Cole Anthony stunned the Australian sports world in August, when it was announced he would be signing with Melbourne United for the upcoming NBL season.

A 26-year-old score-first guard desperately unlucky to have just been cut from an NBA roster making the move to the other side of the world to reignite his basketball career, speaks volumes for how far the NBL has come.

It marked an enormous off-season for United, who also added Australian basketball great Joe Ingles.

For Anthony, who already has career earnings of $58m, it’s a big move from Milwaukee to Melbourne.

He and his partner have had to pack up their lives, and say a temporary goodbye to their family, friends and pets, in the hopes of kickstarting his career.

“It’s definitely an adjustment living on the other side of the world. Me and my partner who moved over here with me have definitely been adjusting. It’s super nice over here, we love it. The toughest part for us is probably leaving our pets, or as we like to call them, our kids. We got two dogs and two cats,” Anthony told nine.com.au

"We definitely miss them a lot, but it's temporary, so we'll get back soon enough.

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"We have a good family friend who's been staying with the pets, and his kids, and they've been taking pretty good care of them. So we get updates.

"It's gorgeous over here. We've met some very good people already and we've enjoyed it here so far. Excited for the season to really get up and going soon."

But why Australia and the NBL and not potentially greater money in China or the more typical path of playing in the EuroLeague?

Anthony said the lack of a cultural barrier playing in Australia combined with the chance to prove he can be a high-level starting player, after multiple years of sporadic bench minutes, was key to his decision.

"I'd say one thing that was big for me and my partner, weighed our options and took our time with making a decision, was coming over here with no language barrier as opposed to maybe somewhere in Europe," he said.

"I could really connect with everybody from the coaches to my teammates, just everyone around me, and really fully immerse myself in the culture.

“At the same time, play some good, meaningful basketball where I’m not just over here playing on a team where I might be dropping 25, but we’re losing by 30. I want to play meaningful basketball and compete for a chance to win a championship.

"You're going from playing in a bigger league to a little bit of a smaller league, but the people here, everyone is just as passionate about it.

"I know everyone with United really is motivated to win. I'm excited, man.

“I think this is a great opportunity for me to step into a bigger role than I had been in across my past few years in the NBA, to be very effective, and play with some other guys who really want to lock in and win a championship for this program.”

Ingles was also a key part of the pitch. The pair played together during their time with the Orlando Magic and Anthony said the Aussie veteran was in his ear about joining him in Melbourne.

“He was reaching out to me. Me and Joe had a good stint over in Orlando together, and I’ve talked about it before, he’s a heck of a guy. I was excited to become his teammate again, and that’s the main reason I wanted to come over here and play with Melbourne – just to hang out with Joe,” Anthony laughed.

"But on a serious note, he's a guy who played in the league for 12 years, can still go. He can't really move that well, but still just got so much game, got a great feel, high IQ. Yeah, he was definitely in my ear, so when I committed he was pretty excited."

In his second season with the Magic, the point guard played 32 minutes per game and averaged just over 16 points per game.

Anthony is laser focused on having success and proving he belongs here in Australia, but does have an eye on making his way back to the NBA.

"I definitely look at that, and I definitely want to do as much as I can. But for me, I really want to win some games. I want to win a championship," he said.

"I know United is very passionate about winning a championship, and that's honestly where I am in my career, too. I just want to win, play good quality basketball, and at the same time do it with good people.

"That's definitely a goal of mine. I definitely do want to get back, but for me, it's about that (returning to the NBA), but it's not really about that.

"I want to enjoy my time here, focus on the present. I don't want to look too far into the future because I don't want the moments that I'm in to pass by me. So I'm just really focused on putting in my time with the program with United and just trying to compete for a championship, man."

United and the NBL tip off the 2026-2027 season on Saturday night hosting Adelaide at John Cain Arena. The Saturday night double header will be live and free and Nine and 9Now.