As the Perth Wildcats prepare for their 31st consecutive finals campaign after prevailing in a do-or-die game against Melbourne United, superstar import Casey Prather has revealed the finals could be his NBL swansong.
Perth's two wins in Round 19 were thanks in large part to the exceptional play from Prather. He tallied 55 points and 17 assists across the weekend and showed why he deserves in the conversation among the best players in the league.
However, his time at Perth may soon come to an end.
After winning the championship with the Wildcats last season, Prather headed back to the United States and trialled with the Dallas Mavericks during the Summer League before deciding to return to the NBL and signing a one-year deal.
This post-seaosn could well be the last time Wildcats fans get a chance to watch him in action, and all signs point to Prather putting it all on the line in Friday night's opener against Cairns.
"This is kind of like my last go at it this year so I just want to go out with a bang," Prather told ESPN.
While all his energy will go into the Taipans matchup, the talented 24-year old's future is uncertain.
"I have no idea what'll be next, I'm just trying to focus on Cairns and focus on that next task at hand," he said. "After the season I'll weigh up my options and just see where I can go."
Heading into the final round, Prather was coming off a lean prevoius three matches in which he averaged only a meagre 9.6 points per game while shooting below 30 percent from the field.
Yet, the team looked to their third-youngest player to step up to the plate and knock it out of the park. Prather responded in emphatic fashion.
More often than not a heavy scorer, it was his ability to find teammates that elevated his game when it mattered most.
"They find me all the time and I just wanted to return the favour," Prather said.
In the midst of another MVP-calibre season, Prather has welcomed the addition of point guard Bryce Cotton and knows that if both players can fire, the Wildcats will put themselves in the best possible situation to win it all.
"It took us a while to gel and find out each other's tendencies but he's a great player and just a great person to play alongside," Prather said.
Prather puts his recent scoring form down to a resurgence in attacking the rim.
"I'm just trying to be as aggressive as I can be, if I go out 0/18 then so be it but I just want to be aggressive for my team," he said.
Prather knows the Taipans series is going to be a tough, defensive-minded series and that hustle plays will be critical.
Heading into a finals series with confidence is essential for any team and after comfortably taking care of the Kings, Prather has plenty of faith in his teammates' ability.
"We're very confident, the Wildcats have a history of playing good hard games when it matters so I think everyone in the group are pretty confident we can get the job done," he said.
Prather also knows they'll need to be productive on the glass against former teammate Nate Jawai if they stand any chance of going further.
"We have to limit them to one shot - they've got big Nate and Nnanna Egwu down there who have been doing a good job of getting on the boards and getting second chance points, so if we slow that down I think we'll have a good chance of winning the series," he said.
Perth Wildcats take on the Cairns Taipans Friday night at 7.30pm (AEDT)