It says "I belong", that "I'm not intimidated" and it's a valuable commodity if used wisely in a young player such as the 23-year-old forward in his first year as a fully contracted player with the Breakers.

Bailey is 10th out of 10 on the Breakers' depth chart, picking up mostly scraps of minutes. He's no stranger to that devil known as DNP.

Only three times in 11 games this season have his minutes hit double figures - usually because injury has opened an opportunity. In the round two visit to Melbourne (a 95-74 defeat) he had eight points on three-of-five shooting as well as three rebounds and a block in just 11 minutes. On a sub-par night for the Kiwi outfit he was quality.

Then last Friday, with Tom Abercrombie down with a torn quad muscle that will keep him out at least another week, Bailey again got extended minutes in Melbourne's first visit to Auckland.

The outcome: he went four of 10 from the floor (the third most shots of any Breaker) and added six rebounds in 15 busy minutes filling in at the unfamiliar three spot.

"I'd like to say I've got a little bit of swag," he says with a smile in the leadup to Friday's clash against Josh Childress and the Sydney Kings.

"It's a mentality - you've got to be ready. If you get into it on the bench, then you'll get into it in the game. If you just sit there and think you're not going to play, you're not ready."

It's Bailey's aim to be "ready" whenever coach Dean Vickerman calls his number. That may be an increasing occurrence if he keeps producing like he has.

"We love his activity and energy," Vickerman said. "He's just got to bottle it, a little bit like Mika [Vukona], and make sure when you are as aggressive and attacking as he is that you're still doing it within the system. It's about channelling his aggression."

When Vickerman gave Bailey the nod last week to expect rotation minutes, he was determined to bring as much energy as he could.

"I put pressure on myself," he said of his mindset. "I've got a lot of expectation. I expect to make every shot I take. I was a little nervous, but I wasn't too worried. I just approached it like another game."

That's the thing about Bailey. Despite his inexperience, there's a maturity about a fellow who admits to feeling uncomfortable when people call him "Duane".

"Everybody just calls me Wala," he shrugs. "Or Duwala. I think Duane's a bit formal."

They'll call him whatever he wants around the Breakers if he keeps bringing the energy.

"He's excited, he gets you pumped up to play, and that's something special that Duane brings," said forward Tai Wesley. "Plus he's confident. He'll shoot the ball without a care, and that's something I admire."

Bailey, who has two young boys (3-year-old Clayton and 2-year-old Rawiri), understands he still has a long way to go. His defence has to get better and he's still learning the nuances of small forward.

But for a guy whose play went to a new level in the New Zealand NBL, he's well on the way to making a similar breakthrough in the much tougher Aussie league.

"I'm a confidence guy, I live off it. I'm not just a scorer, I like to bang around and get rebounds," he says. "I bring energy, and I'm talkative. I'll do anything to help the team."

Having just signed a deal to play for Breakers assistant coach Paul Henare with the Southland Sharks next Kiwi NBL - "My main goal in the off-season is to get better, and Pauli can help me do that," he says - and with his sights on a spot in the Tall Blacks next year, Bailey admits he's "living the dream" right now.

"Everyone asks me how is it. I'm like, man, it's the best job I'll ever want. You can't get better than this."