BIO: Kian Dennis was born in Sunshine Coast (QLD) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Brisbane basketball program. Dennis received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2019. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Kian Dennis made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

After returning to the playoffs the previous season, Brisbane entered 2019/20 without Adam Gibson (to South East Melbourne), Cameron Bairstow (to Rytas Vilnius), Makoto Hiejima (to Link Tochigi Brex), Nnanna Egwu (to Earth Friends Tokyo Z) and Stephen Holt (to Sixt Primorska). Head coach Andrej Lemanis added Nathan Sobey (via Adelaide), Taylor Braun (via Hapoel Be’er Sheva), EJ Singler (via Panionios) and Callum Dalton (via Gold Coast), while Lamar Patterson re-signed with the club.

After receiving a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport during 2019, the 18-year-old Dennis received his first NBL opportunity with Brisbane. Dennis (0 points) made his NBL debut against Illawarra at Nissan Arena on December 7, playing just over a minute as Brisbane defeated the Hawks 101-91 behind Patterson (19 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals) and Jason Cadee (18 points), while Angus Glover (17 points and 6 rebounds) led Illawarra.

Dennis (0 points across 3 games) remained a development player at the end of Brisbane’s rotation and played only 3:23 across his rookie season. No injury was reported during NBL20, with his limited appearances coming as an 18-year-old development player behind Brisbane’s established rotation.

Dennis (0 points) played eight seconds against Perth at RAC Arena on December 14 as Brisbane lost 86-78. Sobey (15 points) and Patterson (14 points and 8 rebounds) led Brisbane, while Bryce Cotton (23 points and 3 steals) was Perth’s leading scorer.

Dennis’ longest appearance came against Illawarra at Nissan Arena on January 18, where Dennis (0 points) played 2:13 as Brisbane defeated the Hawks 106-77. Patterson (20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) and Matthew Hodgson (16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals) led the Bullets, while Glover (18 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals) was Illawarra’s leading scorer.

Patterson (21 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals) led Brisbane in scoring, earned All-NBL First Team honours and finished third in MVP voting, while Sobey (16 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) was the team’s second-leading scorer. Cadee (11 points) won the NBL Sixth Man award, while Hodgson (10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds), Will Magnay (8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks), EJ Singler (7.8 points and 4.1 rebounds), Cameron Gliddon (6.9 points) and Braun (6.7 points) were the other main contributors. Magnay was elevated into the starting lineup during his breakout season and won the NBL Most Improved Player award.

Dennis did not play in Brisbane’s final game against Cairns at Nissan Arena on February 15, where the Bullets defeated the Taipans 124-88 behind Sobey (30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals) and Gliddon (25 points, 3 assists, and 4 steals), while Majok Deng (20 points and 7 rebounds) led Cairns. Melbourne defeated South East Melbourne the following day, leaving Brisbane outside the playoffs in fifth place with a 15-13 record.

CAIRNS TAIPANS
2023/24
After finishing third with an 18-10 record and losing a deciding semifinal to eventual champions Sydney, Cairns entered Adam Forde’s third year as head coach without Keanu Pinder (to Perth), DJ Hogg (to Sydney), Shannon Scott and Gabe Hadley (to Brisbane), Majok Deng (to Tasmania), Ben Ayre (to South East Melbourne) and Mirko Djeric (released). Captain Tahjere McCall, Bul Kuol, Sam Waardenburg, Lat Mayen and Jonah Antonio returned, while Patrick Miller (via Bamberg), Sam Mennenga (via Davidson), Akoldah Gak (via Illawarra), Taran Armstrong (via California Baptist), Bobi Klintman (via Wake Forest), Josh Roberts (via Manhattan), Lachlan Anderson (via Skopje) and Alex Mudronja (via Illawarra) joined the roster.

Kian Dennis (via Southern Districts) signed a two-year deal with Cairns as a development player in August 2023, with the second season a club option. It was his second development-player opportunity after making three appearances for Brisbane during the 2019/20 season. Dennis had averaged 10 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Spartans, with his season-high 15 points against the Cairns Marlins catching Forde’s attention. “I want you in a Taipans uniform, I love the way you play,” Forde told him after the game.

A dislocated shoulder suffered at training ruled Dennis out of the opening rounds. His first NBL appearance since his rookie season with Brisbane came at John Cain Arena on November 5, where Dennis (0 points) played 1:21 off the bench as South East Melbourne defeated Cairns 91-78. Mayen (12 points and 6 rebounds) and Armstrong (12 points and 4 rebounds) led the Taipans, while Mitchell Creek (21 points and 11 rebounds) starred for the Phoenix.

Dennis (0 points across 2 games) remained at the end of Forde’s rotation and was activated as injury cover during the season. His longest and final appearance came at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on January 27, where Dennis (0 points) played 3:45 and missed his only field-goal attempt as Adelaide defeated Cairns 88-71. Mayen (15 points and 9 rebounds) and Kuol (13 points) led the Taipans, while Dejan Vasiljevic (28 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals) controlled the game for the 36ers.

Miller (19.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.2 steals) led Cairns in scoring and assists, while McCall (17 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals) anchored the backcourt. Kuol (12.7 points and 3.1 rebounds), Klintman (9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds), Waardenburg (9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds), Armstrong (7.7 points and 4 rebounds), Mayen (6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds), Mennenga (6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds) and Gak (5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds) were the other main contributors. Miller received the club’s Most Valuable Player and Players’ Player awards, McCall was named Defensive Player of the Year, Klintman received Members’ Choice MVP, Mayen won the Coaches Award and Mudronja (0.2 points across 9 games) earned the Commitment to Community award.

Already eliminated from postseason contention, Cairns closed the season at the Cairns Convention Centre on February 16 by completing its first regular-season sweep of first-placed Melbourne with a 97-88 victory. McCall (23 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals) and Miller (20 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists) led the Taipans, while Ian Clark (20 points) was United’s leading scorer as Cairns finished eighth with a 12-16 record. Dennis did not play.

2025/26
Kian Dennis remained part of Cairns’ development program and provided additional depth behind the main roster.

Dennis (0 points and 1 assist across 1 game) received one playing opportunity, with Dennis (0 points and 1 assist) logging 4:14 against South East Melbourne on November 14 as Cairns lost 101-90. The Taipans finished ninth with a 9-24 record and closed the season with a 115-84 loss to New Zealand.

Kian Dennis played three seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Cairns Taipans and the Brisbane Bullets.