Johny Narkle (born 1 August 2001) is an Australian basketball player for the Geraldton Buccaneers of the NBL1 West. With the Buccaneers, he won back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year awards in 2022 and 2023 and led the team to the championship in 2023 behind his grand final MVP performance.
Early life
Narkle grew up in Geraldton, Western Australia, with four brothers and five sisters. He attended Clontarf Academy and juggled being a two-sport athlete, playing both basketball and football as a teenager.
In 2018, Narkle played for the Australian Indigenous All Stars in a Trans-Tasman series against the New Zealand Maori national team. In 2019, he played at the inaugural Australian Indigenous Basketball (AIB) National Tournament in Cairns.
Career
In 2020, Narkle joined the Geraldton Buccaneers of the State Basketball League (SBL). After the SBL season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Narkle debuted for the Buccaneers in the West Coast Classic. With the team having lost their imports and also key local players, Narkle was required to fill a starting role in his first season which fast tracked his development. He finished the season with four-straight double digit games. In 12 games, he averaged 9.17 points, 5.17 rebounds and 2.83 assists per game.
Narkle impressed with Chapman Valley in the Great Northern Football League (GNFL) at the end of 2020. He subsequently joined the Subiaco Football Club of the West Australian Football League (WAFL) in 2021. He played seven games for Subiaco's WAFL reserves team. He switched back to basketball in 2022.
Narkle returned to the Geraldton Buccaneers for the 2022 NBL1 West season. He was named Sixth Man of the Year and helped the Buccaneers reach the NBL1 West grand final, where they lost 91–79 to the Rockingham Flames. In 24 games, he averaged 8.0 points, 3.67 rebounds and 1.17 steals per game.
In 2023, Narkle re-joined the Buccaneers and once again earned NBL1 West Sixth Man of the Year honours. Towards the end of the regular season, he was moved into the starting line-up. He helped the Buccaneers return to the NBL1 West grand final, where they defeated the Joondalup Wolves 86–80 to win the championship. Narkle had 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals to earn grand final MVP honours. He became the first Indigenous man to win the award. In 25 games, he averaged 12.12 points, 5.64 rebounds, 2.32 assists and 1.76 steals per game. At the NBL1 National Finals, he scored 27 points against the Sutherland Sharks and 30 points against the Ipswich Force. He was subsequently named in the National Finals All-Star Five. A week later, he played for the NBL1 West Select Team against the Perth Wildcats in two National Basketball League (NBL) pre-season games.
On 31 August 2023, Narkle flew to Victoria to trial with Melbourne United of the NBL.
In October 2023, Narkle re-signed with the Buccaneers for the 2024 NBL1 West season.