Magnay battle highlights how far Ty has come

Tyrell Harrison is already thriving with Arnas Velička as his point guard and with Will Weaver as coach while Saturday night offered a moment of reflection as to how far both he and Will Magnay have come after starting out together at Brisbane Bullets.

Harrison and Magnay both began their NBL journeys at the Bullets back in the 2017/18 season as development players as hometown big men trying to make their way.

Harrison now has remained in Brisbane ever since while becoming a regular with the New Zealand Tall Blacks and has turned himself into one of the best centres in the NBL.

Magnay has done the same although his journey took him to the NBA briefly and saw him return with a stint at the Perth Wildcats before now settling at the Tasmania JackJumpers where he won a championship, is captain and it helped him also play with the Australian Boomers at Paris 2024.

To see the pair go to war against one another as two Brisbane products leading their respective teams at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre while legitimately being able to lay claim to being the best two centres, at least locals, in the league was quite the sight to see.

Magnay and the JackJumpers might have got the eventual overtime victory, but Harrison did all he could for the Bullets finishing the night with 24 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and a block on 9/15 shooting and 6/7 from the field.

It was a moment of reflection briefly for both Queenslanders but then it was all about the job at hand and going to battle with one another.

"We had a little chat on the court where he came up to me saying that it was crazy that we were both DP's here 10 years ago and now look at where we are," Harrison said.

"That got me thinking that it's pretty crazy that you've got two of the top local big mens who were on the same team as young development players and then look at where we're at now.

"It's always a fun battle going up against Magnay, he's such a talented big and defensively his presence anchors their defence and that's massive. I always find it a good, fun challenge for me."

The Bullets are now 2-2 following that loss to Tasmania having won their opening two matches of the season against the New Zealand Breakers and Illawarra Hawks, and now losing to the Sydney Kings and JackJumpers.

It's just four games into having a decidedly new team for NBL27, having a new coach with a new system and new philosophy in Weaver, and Harrison likes what they are building towards.

"It's a bit disappointing about the result, but we're building towards a bigger goal and this is a great learning experience for us playing against another talented team," he said.

"You know we've brought in a lot of guys who buy into the same goal and there's a lot of changes that have happened at this club, and they're good changes.

"It's just trying to stack days and trying to get to where we're trying to get to, but it all starts with us and how we sleep, how we prepare for each game and training, and right now we've got those guys to build towards our goals."

There's plenty of new faces on this Bullets team that Harrison is enjoying playing alongside including Nate Hinton, Jaylin Williams, Max Mackinnon, Harry Rouhliadeff and Lat Mayen.

But none more so than Lithuanian point guard Arnas Velička and the connection that the playmaker already has with his big man has been a thrill to witness, and even more fun for Harrison to be part of out on the floor.

"I think everyone's kinda seeing it now over these four games and it's pretty exciting and cool playing with a high-level point guard that sees the floor differently to how some people see it," Harrison said.

"It's crazy how he can read defences on the fly, make the right pass, make the right reads and we back him making any offensive decisions that he makes.

"Then just him staying aggressive and he knows that all of us trust him in whatever decision he makes, but it's pretty elite."