Hinton's all-round talent appreciated by Bullets

The rest of the NBL community might be taking time to catch up, but within the Brisbane Bullets there's a full appreciation of how much Nate Hinton is providing in so many ways, and that was fully on show on Friday night.

Hinton is one of those rare talents, he can guard any position on the floor and defend any type of player, whether it's a dynamic point guard like Cole Anthony or a powerhouse big like Sam Mennenga.

Then on the offensive floor, he can score in any number of ways, he can create for his teammates, he can set screens and help get them open or he can crash the offensive glass to help create extra opportunities.

He could very well be the best all-round talent in the league with the way he can impact the game in so many ways, and in fact if you ask coach Will Weaver there's no doubt about it, and it's difficult to argue against him.

All of that was once again on show in the eventual four-point overtime loss for the Bullets in Auckland against the New Zealand Breakers where Hinton put in the sort of all-round performance at both ends of the floor that deserves more recognition.

The numbers are one thing and Hinton finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots while playing 38 of the 45 minutes of the overtime game.

But not only that, Hinton gave up plenty of size and bulk to one of the NBL's form players Sam Mennenga and did a standout job while defending him, and he was a big reason the Bullets went so close to securing the road win.

Coach Weaver isn't surprised with what Hinton is providing for the Bullets given he has a high standard any player has to clear before he signs up, but he's sure happy to have him on his side.

"I only recruit guys that I trust and you trust them to do their best and do the right thing to drive winning," Weaver said.

"And Raul (Neto), Nate, Taine (Murray), Lat (Mayen), Tyrell (Harrison) started that in this game and then as soon as we start subbing, it's the exact same thing all the way through the 10 guys that played so that is a big part of what we're building here with the Bullets.

"And the guy to my right (Hinton), obviously stuffs the stat sheet, but it's way more about the trust that I have that Nate is going to do what is needed to help our team win, and it's the same with Raul or any of these guys.

"He was also telling me when we were calling a play at the end of one of the timeouts, and he's telling me that he's the four and he has to be at the elbow.

"So it's the total package of mind, body, spirit and this is what a high-level professional looks like, and he's just about as humble and as committed and diligent and focused as you could ever hope to find."

As for Hinton, he's not fussed about if he's getting the recognition his performances might deserve or not, and doesn’t care what his numbers end up looking like at the end of a game, all he wants to do is do what he can to help the Bullets win and reach their potential.

A lot of that games back to how thankful he is to the opportunity that coach Weaver and the Bullets have provided him to play in the NBL, and be such a big part of what they are trying to build, and he wants to reward them for that faith.

"It's just being as professional as possible and wanting to love the game and how blessed I am to be able to play the game of basketball, and to be all the way across the world," Hinton said.

"For me to get a call during an uncertain time of my career when I didn't know what to do, and coach Will called and had a plan, and straight away I said let's do it.

"So it was about me trusting that plan to come here and now being able to play the game of basketball and being able to represent this organisation, represent my family, represent a lot of hoopers that inspire you to play the game of basketball, every time I go out on the court, I try to do that to the best of my ability, and also to try to win.

"I try to win for the guys, try to win for the team and the organisation and the city of Brisbane so we came up just short tonight, but we'll go back to the drawing board.

"The good thing is it's not the last game of the finals and we're not taking this game lightly and not saying that all games don't matter, but we'll definitely pick some steam up and go from there."

The Bullets now have a short turnaround from Friday night's overtime game in Auckland to playing the Tasmania JackJumpers back at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Sunday as part of RACQ Round.

Hinton isn’t interested in any excuses of a short turnaround for the Bullets where the JackJumpers would have already been in Brisbane before them waiting ahead of the game, or who they have available, his focus is just on the job in front of them.

"We're not going to make no excuses, we're just going to be as professional as possible, and that's kind of built into the schedule of what our coaching staff presents to us and for us," Hinton said.

"Having a quick turnaround like this will be a good situation for us to showcase how our mental fortitude of coming off a loss and playing against a team that we haven't beat before.

"So now it would be an opportunity for us to just be professional and get to it so it's exciting times and on to the next one, and let's do it."