(An Option<T> itself can still be null...) With an Option, you need to .orElse() if you want to access the value it is holding (or map it). With null restricted

(An Option<T> itself can still be null...) With an Option, you need to .orElse() if you want to access the value it is holding (or map it). With null restricted types you do this check upfront, when you convert a T to a T!, and from then you can use the value without any gymnastics. It is a bit like virtual threads vs effect systems, the monadic IO type gives you far more power, but with great power comes great responsibility (and complexity). If you can get compiler support for the simpler solution that will always be prefereable.