James Ennis, the 2013 Miami draftee who was shipped out to the Perth Wildcats for a season, looks like being thrust straight into the Heat's rotation for the upcoming NBA season.

If he can show the NBL is a worthy proving ground for potential NBA players, the Australian league will become a destination for gifted young players to show their wares before making the leap to the toughest basketball competition on the planet.

Australia will never be able to compete with the money on offer in Europe or China. The NBL's best hope at attracting the best of the rest is to have more players like Ennis strutting their stuff Down Under and then "graduating" to the NBA.

Ennis was a revelation for the Wildcats, narrowly missing out on MVP honours behind Wollongong's Rotnei Clarke. As well as being an excellent player at both ends of the floor, he gave the NBL an air of showmanship, the kind of spectacular dunks that gets the casual fan excited and most importantly, getting to stadiums to see it live.

He has impressed the Heat in the pre-season, scoring a team-high 17 points in 23 minutes in the 98-86 loss to New Orleans on the weekend and 14 – behind only Chris Bosh and Luol Deng's 18 apiece – in the 108-101 defeat at the hands of Orlando on Tuesday night.

Yes, these were pre-season games but coach Erik Spoelstra wasn't just running his bench. The main guys left in the post-LeBron apocalypse – Bosh, Deng, Wade, Chris Andersen, Mario Chalmers and Danny Granger – all received significant minutes. With Wade struggling to suit up on a regular basis and James a Cavalier again, there's an opening for Ennis to quickly slot into the rotation and perhaps become a bona fide star for Miami.

The good news for NBL officials is there may be a few more like him this season.

DeAndre Daniels has followed a similar path. Drafted by Toronto but surplus to requirements, he's been sent to Perth. Daniels was apparently not happy at being farmed out to the other side of the globe. And he shouldn't be. He should back his ability.

That was a Great feeling to play In front of #HeatNation �� — James Ennis (@JamesDa_Truth) October 2, 2014

The big question is will he use this season to prove he never should have been sent to the NBL in the first place or will he sulk and give Wildcats fans a watered-down version of Ennis?

Sydney have a slightly different situation with Josh Childress. He's been a legitimate NBA pro at Atlanta and Phoenix who is still being paid by the Suns after they used their amnesty provision on him. If he's motivated to get back in the big time, he will be a godsend for the Kings after last year's mid-season acquisition of ex-Indiana Pacers forward Sam Young did not translate to a playoff run because they did not have a point guard who could feed him the ball close to the hoop.

Melbourne United have also nabbed a fringe NBA player with the signing of forward Jordan McRae, a second-round pick from this year's draft who's not required at Philadelphia. Let's hope he's being stashed away by the "rebuilding" 76ers to develop as they've done with Croatian star Dario Saric, not because he's doesn't have the talent to play for them at the moment because it seemed any D-League stiff who could dribble and/or chew gum at the same time last season was handed a Philly singlet.

The former Tennessee guard has the wow factor that Ennis brought to Perth and with fellow import Stephen Dennis over his Achilles injury, the rebadged Melbourne side has the potential to make a lot noise in its first season as United.

And it's not like they are the only high-quality imports. The financially rejuvenated Hawks have brought Gary Ervin back to Wollongong, the Breakers have also regained the services of a former NBL MVP in Cedric Jackson, former Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin has caught the eye in the pre-season with Cairns and Townsville's shot-blocking specialist Mickell Gladness has had a taste of the NBA with Miami and Golden State.

The only team which has not hit the headlines in the off-season with a big name is last season's runners-up Adelaide, where money is tight so they've signed guard Jamar Wilson from Cairns and brought Daequon Montreal up from the SEABL as their imports.

The bar for NBL imports has been set high. It was only two years ago that Melbourne's acquisition of ex-Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jonny Flynn was seen as a massive coup.

If the current crop of imports can follow in Ennis' sizeable footsteps, the NBL's reputation will be enhanced domestically and internationally.