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The Australian flag still flies in San Antonio. Despite all the activity in the last few days, the Spurs aren’t done rounding out the roster just yet. If there was one position they hadn’t addressed yet, it was center, but now they finally have another one to go along with Jakob Poeltl and Drew Eubanks in Australian big man Jock Landale.
Australian center Jock Landale — the 2021 NBL Grand Final MVP — has agreed to a two-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs, his agent Sammy Wloszczowski of @SIGSports tells @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 4, 2021
At 6’11, 255 lbs, Landale was born in Melbourne before playing college ball in the United States at Saint Mary’s College — Patty Mills’ alma mater — from 2014 through 2018. Landale had a breakout junior year in 2017 and would earn AP Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All-WCC. He continued a with a strong senior season, when he would again make First Team All-WCC as well as WCC Player of the Year.
He went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft and played for the Atlanta Hawks Summer League team before heading overseas. He played for Partizan of the ABA League in 2018-19, where he averaged 12 points and 5.6 rebounds on 56.6% shooting and was named to the ABA League Ideal Starting Five. He again returned to the States to play for the Bucks in the 2019 Summer League before spending a season in Lithuania with Zalgiris Kaunas.
Finally, Landale returned to Australia and played for his hometown Melbourne United last season, where he averaged 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 38.0% from three and led his team to the NBL championship, winning NBL Grand Final MVP. He is currently in Tokyo playing for the Australian national team, which is preparing for a semi-finals match-up against his future coach Gregg Popovich and Team USA.
Overall he should be a solid addition to the club, and the Spurs will be much better off if/when Poeltl gets in foul trouble than they were last season. Welcome to San Antonio, Jock!