With the 2026 NBA Draft fast-approaching, Next Stars Program GM Liam Santamaria has thrown his support behind one of the competition’s brightest, young talents.

Speaking with Peter Hooley on the recent episode of The Marketplace, Santamaria backed the NBA ambitions of South East Melbourne Next Star Malique Lewis.

“I think he is an NBA player,” Santamaria said.

“All teams need those athletic, long, defensive-minded, shooting wings – you need a number of those guys on your NBA roster – and I think Malique has the ability to be that.”

The 21-year-old has spent the past two seasons in the NBL with the Phoenix, chalking up 63 appearances during that time.

In his second campaign, the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 Season, Lewis’ improvement was evident as he put up 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks per game across the regular season, on 46-39-80 shooting clips.

With his ability to contribute at both ends of the floor, Santamaria compared Lewis to a younger version of recently crowned NBL champion Torrey Craig.

A product of the NBL’s development pipeline, Craig played 458 NBA games over eight seasons in the Association, suiting up for the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, and Boston Celtics.

“Malique is 6’8, has a 7’1 wingspan, can defend one-through-four, and he doesn’t need the ball all the time to be impactful,” Santamaria said.

“He’s going to need to shoot the ball at a high clip, and I thought he did that well this season at South East Melbourne.”

Lewis' standout performance last season was the 23 points he poured on Tasmania in Round 8, which included 5-of-7 shooting from long range.

Known for his abilities as a defensive stopper, Lewis also stuffed the statsheet on a number of occasions, including posting 13 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in a win over New Zealand in Round 20.

“If [Malique] locks in, I think he’s going to get drafted,” Santamaria said.

“Then, what does that look like? Is that a fully guaranteed contract? Is it a two-way? Is it a stash?

“If I were an NBA team and I had the roster space, I would bring him in and develop him because I think he can help a team in that regard.”

The Trinidadian talent, who is also exploring his college eligibility, is currently training in Las Vegas in preparation for this year’s NBA pre-Draft process.