NBA prospect Luke Paul's "really easy" decision to sign with NBL strugglers the Cairns Taipans can be traced back to a chance meeting with coach Adam Forde two years ago.

At 16 years, 10 months and 29 days old, Paul last year became the youngest player to sign with the NBL's Next Stars program, designed to prepare elite talent for the NBA draft.

LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey and Alex Sarr are among the 11 players to be drafted directly into the NBA from the program since its inception in 2020.

Now 17, point guard Paul made waves as MVP of the Under 16 Asia Cup last year and sat down with NBL officials in Perth to agree to a two-year deal shortly thereafter.

"You always kind of dream of being a professional, so to be able to do it at a young age is super exciting," Paul told AAP.

WA native Paul grew up playing basketball and Australian rules football, before choosing to focus on the former at about 15 - to the mild disappointment of his dad Craig.

"My mum played (basketball) a little bit when she was a little bit younger, my dad was always footy, so when I chose basketball he was a bit bummed," said Paul, a fan of AFL side West Coast.

"He's gotten over it now."

It was around the time Paul began prioritising basketball that he first met the man who will become his NBL coach this season.

Paul and a handful of other young Basketball WA prospects were invited to observe Taipans training and participate in some drills while the team was in town during the 2024/25 season.

He remembers coach Forde's words of encouragement that day.

"(Forde) was like, 'You've got good size for a basketball player, keep going'," Paul recalled.

The Taipans have struggled for on-court success in recent times, missing the post-season in five of the past six seasons.

But in that time they have helped young prospects Bobi Klintman and Taran Armstrong make it to the NBA.

Swedish forward Klintman graduated from the Taipans to the Detroit Pistons, while Tasmanian Armstrong spent the back-end of the 2024/25 season on a two-way contract with Golden State Warriors.

Pointing to that duo, Paul said it was easy to decide north Queensland was the right place to hone his craft before he can nominate for the NBA draft from 2028.

"Fordey's got a record of getting guys to their goals," Paul said.

"It wasn't all about the on-court stuff, it was the off-court stuff.

"It's a good environment, the fans love their players, everyone gets around each other.

"It's very supportive. When I kind of had that chat with Mark (Beecroft, chief executive) and Fordey, it was really easy to make that decision."