BIO: Matt Hurt was born in Rochester, Minnesota, and attended John Marshall High School, where he played four years of varsity basketball. As a freshman in the 2015–16 season, he helped lead his team to a 26–4 record, followed by a 25–4 finish in his sophomore year.

Hurt’s breakout came during his junior season (2017–18), where he averaged 33.9 points, 15.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 4.3 blocks per game, guiding John Marshall to a 26–3 record and a berth in the section title game. That summer, he played on the Adidas Gauntlet Circuit with his AAU team, D1 Minnesota, where he posted 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0 block per game, further establishing himself as one of the top high school prospects in the country.

As a senior, he took his game to another level, averaging 36.8 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. His outstanding season earned him the prestigious Minnesota Mr. Basketball award. He was also selected to play in the 2019 McDonald’s All-American Game and the Nike Hoop Summit, competing alongside the nation’s best high school players.

Hurt later ommitted to Duke University, choosing the Blue Devils over offers from North Carolina, Kentucky, and Kansas.

FAMILY: Hurt’s older brother Michael played college basketball for Minnesota. His younger sister, Katie, is currently a sophomore playing for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Matt Hurt made his NBL debut with the South East Melbourne Phoenix at 24 years of age. He scored 16 points in his first game.

Following a wooden spoon finish and a 10-18 record in 2023/24, South East Melbourne entered the following season without long-time franchise anchor Mitch Creek (to Trabzon) and import centre Alan Williams (to Goyang), who was released by mutual agreement despite having another year remaining on his contract. Reuben Te Rangi and Gorjok Gak (both to Tasmania), Kody Stattmann (to Cairns) and Rhys Vague (to Tokyo) also departed, while Mike Kelly was retained as head coach and rebuilt the roster around Nathan Sobey (via Brisbane), Jordan Hunter and Angus Glover (both via Sydney), Derrick Walton Jr (via Zhejiang), Joe Wieskamp (via Maine) and Next Star Malique Lewis (via Mexico City).

South East Melbourne completed its import trio by signing former NBA forward Matt Hurt (via Memphis) to a one-year deal. The 206cm forward arrived after appearing in eight NBA games for the Memphis Grizzlies and averaging 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists with the Memphis Hustle during the 2023–24 NBA G League regular season, having previously earned First-Team All-ACC honours at Duke.

The Phoenix opened the season against Perth at HoopsFest on September 20, where Hurt (16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal) impressed on debut, but the Wildcats won 106-98 at RAC Arena. Hunter (19 points and 7 rebounds) and Walton Jr (13 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals) provided support, while Pinder (29 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals) led Perth.

Hurt (20.1 points and 7.4 rebounds across 29 games) started every regular-season game, led South East Melbourne in scoring and rebounding and finished among the NBL’s top five scorers. His ability to finish inside, score from the mid-range and stretch opposing frontcourts gave the Phoenix a consistent mismatch throughout the season.

Hurt produced his first major scoring performance against Adelaide on October 3, finishing with 32 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists while making four three-pointers, but the 36ers defeated South East Melbourne 93-83. Lewis (14 points and 4 rebounds) and Walton Jr (10 points, 3 rebounds, and 11 assists) provided support, while Humphries (22 points and 6 rebounds) led Adelaide as the Phoenix dropped to 0-4.

A two-point loss to Brisbane left South East Melbourne winless through five games and resulted in Kelly and the club parting ways, with assistant Sam Mackinnon elevated to interim head coach. Mackinnon delivered an immediate response against Melbourne on October 20, where Hurt (18 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block), Hunter (20 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 block) and Sobey (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals) led the Phoenix to their first win with a 93-84 Throwdown victory, while Clark (19 points and 4 rebounds) was United’s best.

Mackinnon went 2-1 across his three games before American Josh King took control of the team. King opened his tenure against defending champion Tasmania in Launceston on November 1, where Hurt (24 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) led a 79-77 victory, with Sobey (14 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals) and Wieskamp (12 points and 6 rebounds) helping South East Melbourne hold off the JackJumpers, while Magnay (19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led Tasmania.

Hurt’s best all-round game came against Brisbane in Traralgon on January 11, where he made 14-of-20 from the field and finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks as South East Melbourne defeated the Bullets 105-86. Sobey (31 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals) and Wieskamp (16 points) helped the Phoenix collect their seventh win from nine games, while Bannan (23 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) led Brisbane.

Three days later, Hurt’s best scoring game came in Cairns, where he made 14-of-18 from the field and finished with a career-high 33 points and 7 rebounds as South East Melbourne defeated the Taipans 113-102. Sobey (26 points and 7 rebounds) and Hunter (8 points and 18 rebounds) provided support, while Waardenburg (22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) led Cairns as Hurt became the first Phoenix player to produce consecutive 30-point games.

Sobey (17 points, 4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.4 steals across 29 games) provided the team’s other major scoring threat, while Walton Jr (11.8 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.2 steals across 15 games) controlled the offence when healthy but suffered two hamstring injuries and missed the final ten games of the regular season. Wieskamp (10.9 points and 4.9 rebounds across 28 games), Hunter (10.6 points and 7 rebounds across 29 games), Glover (9.7 points across 29 games), Foxwell (7.9 points across 28 games) and Lewis (7 points and 4.1 rebounds across 29 games) carried the remaining rotation.

Hurt finished third in voting for the Andrew Gaze Trophy with 65 votes and earned All-NBL First Team honours before becoming the first player other than Creek to win the Phoenix’s club MVP award. King finished runner-up for Coach of the Year after transforming the Phoenix from an 0-5 start into a postseason team.

South East Melbourne closed the regular season against Melbourne on February 8, where Hurt (14 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block), Ayre (15 points and 3 assists) and Glover (11 points and 5 rebounds) led the Phoenix, but United won 103-93 behind Ili (18 points). The loss left South East Melbourne fourth with a 16-13 record, making the Phoenix the first team of the 40-minute era and only the second in NBL history to qualify for the postseason after beginning 0-5.

The postseason began with a Seeding Qualifier against Perth, where Pinder (35 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks), Cotton (27 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Doolittle (20 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led the Wildcats to a 122-105 victory. Glover (25 points and 2 steals), Hurt (24 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals) and Sobey (22 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists) led South East Melbourne.

The Phoenix then hosted Adelaide in an elimination game at John Cain Arena and fell behind 45-26 by halftime before producing a 59-30 second half to win 85-75. Hurt (25 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led the comeback, with Ayre (17 points) and Sobey (11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) providing support, while Davis (26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) and Harrell (17 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led Adelaide.

Illawarra opened the semifinal series at the WIN Entertainment Centre with a 101-94 victory behind Kell III (24 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists), Harvey (24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block) and Blanchfield (16 points and 6 rebounds). Wieskamp (22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks), Sobey (17 points and 9 rebounds) and the returning Walton Jr (15 points, 3 rebounds, and 11 assists) led South East Melbourne, while Hurt (10 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) was restricted to six field-goal attempts.

Game two moved to John Cain Arena, where Hurt (30 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) made four three-pointers and set a Phoenix postseason scoring record as South East Melbourne defeated Illawarra 101-94 to level the series. Sobey (25 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Glover (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) provided support, while Hickey (19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists), Froling (11 points and 5 rebounds) and Harvey (10 points and 4 assists) led the Hawks.

Game three returned to the WIN Entertainment Centre, where Kell III (30 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal), Blanchfield (28 points and 4 rebounds) and Harvey (12 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals) led Illawarra into the Championship Series with a 126-96 win. Wieskamp (25 points and 5 rebounds), Sobey (19 points and 6 rebounds) and Foxwell (13 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals) were South East Melbourne’s best, while Hurt (4 points and 1 rebound) played 24:37 in the loss.

Matt Hurt — NBL25 Play-In game highlights (single game)

Watch NBL25 highlights on YouTube

Matt Hurt played one season in the NBL. He averaged 19.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 34 NBL games.