Melbourne United signing Scotty Hopson

Star American wing Scotty Hopson has signed with Melbourne United as the team's first import for the 2020-21 NBL season.

Hopson is coming off a season with the New Zealand Breakers, where he emerged as one of the league's most productive players, averaging 19.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game for Dan Shamir's team.

After United mutually parted ways with Casey Prather, the team moved quickly to engage with Hopson, and eventually sign him to a one-year deal; an addition that will see the 31-year-old add a proven perimeter threat to a roster that made the 2019 NBL postseason.

"The reputation at Melbourne precedes itself," Hopson told ESPN.

"Historically, this has been a winning franchise. I know they came up short last season in the finals, (but) I loved how they persevered and played great basketball to finish the season. I felt like this was something I wanted to be a part of going forward."

Hopson's 2019-20 season with the Breakers was interrupted because of a split ligament in his knee - leading him to miss the entire month of November - but the 6'8 wing didn't miss a step when he returned to action, scoring in double figures in every game after recovering from his injury.

His campaign with the Breakers was highlighted by multiple 30-point games, including a 31-point effort against the Brisbane Bullets in the penultimate contest of the season, with the Kentucky-native ultimately being named to the All-NBL Second Team.

United is expected to start Mitch McCarron, Chris Goulding, and Hopson going into the upcoming season, and the American believes the trio can excel together.

"I'm confident it will work well," Hopson said of teaming up with McCarron and Goulding.

"We are multi-faceted guards and competitors who bring it every night, but like with anything, it's gonna take some time to build chemistry and cohesiveness to see how good we can really be."

Hopson is scheduled to fly into Australia in December, where he'll undergo a two-week quarantine before joining his new team.

"We're really excited to have Scotty join our group," United head coach, Dean Vickerman, said. "It's a big signing for us, and we believe he's got the exact attributes we needed at that position. He's got a fantastic toolbelt and can call upon so many different qualities to win; he can shoot the three, take you off the bounce and is a high-level assist guy. Not to mention that he's a legitimate closer of games.

"He's just a great competitor. That aggression combined with his well-rounded game means that we think he's going to be able to impact games and really add to this team."

Hopson joins Goulding, McCarron, David Barlow, Jo Lual Acuil Jr., Shea Ili, Jack White, Sam McDaniel, and Yudai Baba on United's roster for the 2020-21 NBL season, which is scheduled to begin in mid-January.