Family first environment spurs on Batemon

James Batemon was rightfully excited and proud to make Brisbane Bullets NBL history on Sunday, but in the bigger picture having his young family there to support him, and being the veteran father on a team with young families has already made him feel right at home.

Batemon produced a performance for the ages with the Bullets beating the Perth Wildcats at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Sunday where he became the first man in the current NBL 40-minute era to score over 50 points.

His 51 points is the most by any NBL player since the league has gone back to 10-minute quarters over the past 15 years while his nine made three-pointers is the most by a Bullets player in the 40-minute era.

It was a remarkable performance from Batemon with his 51 points on the back of shooting 19/28 from the field, 9/15 from three-point range and 4/6 from the free-throw line while also having four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

It's his highest score as a professional as well since coming out of Loyola Marymount University and despite playing impressive basketball in Latvia, France, Greece, Germany and Israel, he never got over 34 points.

That all changed on Sunday and getting over the 50-point barrier is something he will treasure forever, but doing it on the same weekend of his anniversary to Nickayla made it all the more special.

To have his fiancé and their three-year-old son Jay there for the experience in Brisbane is something he'll forever treasure and having Nickayla's support is something he can't be more thankful to have.

"We first met back in high school but we didn’t say a word to each other the whole time more than one sentence all of the four years," Batemon said.

"We then got to college and I reached out to her, and we've clicked ever since. We've had our son three years ago and we've just been inseparable.

"She's been supporting me the whole journey and she was there for me when I was riding the bike to work in a factory, when I was catching the bus to work and she's always been there for me.

"The support system I have is amazing with her but also my family back home with the eight siblings that I have."

Having known Nickayla at high school together at Riverside in Milwaukee and then going to college together, Batemon has had her by his side his entire professional career and their son Jay has been along for the ride the last three years.

Being able to move to Brisbane to play in the NBL for the first time this season meant a whole new experience for the young family, and Batemon is fully aware he couldn’t do what he's doing with Nickayla's support.

"She takes care of everything at home, she keeps our son occupied and he has a lot of energy," Batemon said.

"He definitely take any naps so she has her work cut out for her but all I have to focus on is basketball. She makes that part of my life super easy and I salute her for that."

As the father of a three-year-old, Batemon is the seasoned veteran on the team with Tyrell Harrison, Mitch Norton, Casey Prather, Sam McDaniel and as of last week, Tohi Smith-Milner, being much newer fathers on the Bullets squad.

Batemon actually feels that helps them form an even stronger bond because they can talk to each other about whatever is going on at home, connect and support one another, and in turn build extra trust for when they step onto the basketball court together.

"Right now I'm like the vet with the dad situation because I've got a three-year-old and I'm trying to give them some advice when I can," Batemon said.

"It's just little small things and we can joke about it, and then one thing about this team is that you do kind of bond because you can have those certain tough situations about pregnancies or stuff like that.

"You don't normally talk about that on the regular, but on this team I've been able to share those moments and the struggles that we've all been through along the way.

"I think that brings us closer and then on the court might not have gelled perfectly yet without winning as many games as we'd like, but the unity of the team and everything, I love the team environment that we have."