Tall Black forward Sean Marks has secured his place in the NBA for another year, signing a $1.2 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs for 2004/05.

Marks (28), the first Kiwi to play in the world's premier league after being drafted from the University of California-Berkeley in 1998, spent most of last season behind the Spurs bench on the team's injured reserve.

Nevertheless, he enjoyed the experience with the 2002/03 champions, practicing against international megastars like Tim Duncan (US), Emmanuel Ginobili (Argentina), Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey) and Tony Parker (France).

And club management obviously liked the energy he brought to the practice floor.