NBL1 to Summer League: The meteoric rise of Will "Davo" Hickey
William Hickey is one of the fastest rising players in the NBL right now, and a vital piece in Illawarra's title defence.
In recent years, Australian basketball has seen an explosion in well-rounded guards who can fill the stat sheet. Ben Simmons made headlines as a first overall NBA draft pick in 2016, before the likes of Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels followed in his footsteps. More recently however, the remarkable rise of Will “Davo” Hickey has been one of the feel good stories in Aussie hoops, reaching a climax during Illawarra’s NBL Finals triumph in 2025.
Credit: May Bailey Photography
Hickey made his NBL debut for South East Melbourne in 2019, but it wasn’t until he joined Illawarra in 2022 that his career started to gain some serious traction. While the talented guard worked his way up the Hawks’ pecking order, he was turning heads in the NBL1 East competition, emerging as a regular triple-double threat in 2023. Hickey averaged 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists for the Hawks’ NBL1 side that year, suggesting that a breakout was just around the corner.
The following year, Hickey joined the Albury Wodonga Bandits, and earned NBL1 East All-Star Five honours. He averaged 22.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.9 assists across 22 games in the 2024 NBL1 season, showing noticeable gains in his passing game. Hickey’s defensive output, underpinned by 2.5 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in the box score, earned him NBL1 East Defensive Player of the Year honours. With such a confidence boosting campaign under his belt, Hickey returned to the Hawks, and his skyward trajectory showed no signs of slowing down.
With 2024-25 season averages of 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 points for Illawarra, Hickey quickly became one of the NBL’s most versatile guards, but few could have predicted the cinematic ending to his season. Illawarra had amassed a 20-9 regular season record, which was good enough for first place in the NBL, but faced a stern challenge from Melbourne United in the 2025 NBL Finals. The Hawks had their backs against the wall after going down 2-1 in the series, and an injury to star guard Trey Kell threatened their title aspirations, but Hickey stepped up to fill the void in game four.
Hickey racked up a team-high 22 points, along with six rebounds, eight assists and three steals, to keep Illawarra’s title hopes alive in game four. The Hawks won by an 80-71 score line and progressed to a game five decider. Although Kell returned for the do or die contest, the Hawks lost Sam Froling to a serious Achilles injury, and Hickey ended up maintaining his place in the starting lineup.
Hickey elevated his game once more, on the biggest stage in Australian men's basketball, producing 21 points to help Illawarra sink Melbourne United and end a 24 year title drought. The 26 year old scored in various ways, showing his abilities as a driver, as well as his willingness to finish through contact, and some impressive touch around the basket. He also excelled as a passer, throwing bullet passes to teammates who were cutting inside or well-positioned within the paint. Racking up eight assists in this contest, the rising star proved that he can function as a primary or secondary playmaker. Hickey didn’t shy away from the dirty work either, corralling ten rebounds to bolster Illawarra’s possession of the ball.
Hickey rose to the occasion and wasn’t daunted by the big stage. He parlayed this postseason success into a Boomers call up ahead of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup, where Australia eeked out a 90-89 victory over China in the final. Hickey was one of the tournament’s standout players, ranking fifth in assists average (5.5 per game), while adding 10.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Once again, the 26 year old saved a standout performance for the high stakes final, coming away with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks against China.
Hickey has risen to become one of Australia’s top versatile point guards. He is an effective slasher, who can put the ball on the floor and drive from the perimeter. Hickey is right hand dominant but can occasionally finish with his left, and has a nifty short range floater up his sleeve. Finishing through contact is an easy task for the well-built guard, who averaged 2.6 free throw attempts in the 2024-25 NBL season. And he has proven to be an effective rebounder, at both ends of the floor, with 26% of his boards corralled on the offensive end throughout Illawarra’s title-winning campaign.
Hickey’s passing game is an area that has drawn plaudits in recent years. Averaging over four assists per game in just 21.3 minutes per game, his ability to find interior scorers and open shooters has added another dimension to Illawarra’s offence. Questions linger around Hickey’s jump shot, as he managed just a 67% clip from the free throw line last season, and 27.5% from downtown. The well-rounded guard already has a number of high value skills in his arsenal, but the development of a reliable jumper would take his game to the next level. If he can show growth in his free throw percentage at the very least, those foundations will translate to three point and mid range shooting potential in the future.
The upcoming 2025-26 NBL season will be a major test for Hickey. With Trey Kell departing the Hawks, there remains a void in the back court, although the recent signing of JaQuori McLaughlin will add some competition for a starting guard role. We’ve seen what Hickey can do as an offensive orchestrator, as he recently posted video game numbers for the Auckland Tuatara in the 2025 NZNBL season. Although Hickey only made six appearances for Auckland, he made his presence felt, with averages of 27.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. The 26 year old has shown he can be a nightly triple double threat when handed the keys to the team, and Hawks fans will be hoping to see glimpses of such form in the upcoming NBL season.
Given such a rapid rise in Hickey’s stocks, it comes as little surprise that the NBA took notice. Hickey made three Summer League appearances for Chicago this year, and although he only logged a total of 26 minutes - which was nowhere near enough to make an impact - the experience would have proved invaluable. He will return to the Hawks knowing that the NBA is within reach, and on his currently trajectory, such aspirations may be realised sooner than we expect.
For Hickey to make that leap and become a pat of Australia’s growing NBA cast, scouts will be looking for growth as a scorer and an offensive creator. Hickey is already a noted defender, and his jump shot in particular will be under the microscope, in Illawarra’s attempted title defence. In addition to the loss of Kell, Froling will be out for an extended period of time, and Hyunjung Lee won’t be coming back. The addition of McLaughlin will provide some relief, while the likes of Javale McGee and Jonah Bolden can offer some punch in the front court, but Hickey will shoulder a lot of back court responsibility this season. How he responds will have a major say in his future, and whether or not the NBA comes calling again.
If Hickey’s stocks continue trending upwards however, there will be many more NBA jerseys and Boomers appearances in his future.