NICKNAME/S: Wiley Coyote

BIO: Jacob Wiley was born on September 4, 1994, in Bellevue, Washington, and grew up in the Long Beach, California area before moving to Newport, Washington, to live with his grandparents. His early years were marked by personal challenges, including the passing of both his father and grandmother while he was still in high school. At Newport, Wiley turned his academics around, improving from a 1.6 GPA as a freshman to graduating with a 3.1 GPA in 2012.

Wiley emerged as a three-sport standout at Newport High School, earning letters in football, basketball, and track and field. On the basketball court, he captained the team under coach Jamie Pancho and was named MVP and Most Inspirational Player. As a senior, he averaged 26 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks per game, finishing his high school career with over 1,000 points and earning All-State honors.

In track and field, Wiley again served as captain and earned the “Golden Spikes Award” for his performances. Across his high school career, he collected four varsity letters in football, three in basketball, and one in track, establishing himself as one of Newport’s most versatile and accomplished athletes.

FAMILY: He and Brittany Hopkins were married on April 8, 2017, and have a daughter named Aliya who was born in Adelaide.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Jacob Wiley made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 24 years of age. He scored 13 points in his first game.

After narrowly missing out on the NBL championship the previous season, Adelaide was forced into a rebuild during the 2018 offseason, with several key players departing, most notably Mitch Creek. Creek left to pursue his NBA dream following extended negotiations between Adelaide and Basketball Australia.

Creek had initially been granted approval by the 36ers to play in Germany for the offseason, with the expectation he would return for the 2018/19 season. However, strong performances in Germany attracted the attention of the Brooklyn Nets, who signed him to their G-League team. The 36ers filed an injunction to prevent Basketball Australia from approving Creek’s NBA deal without compensation, but a resolution was eventually reached, allowing Creek to pursue his NBA aspirations.

Other departures included Shannon Shorter (to Japan), Josh Childress (retired), and Matthew Hodgson (to Brisbane). Adelaide responded by signing import Jacob Wiley (via Germany), who was spotted by coach Joey Wright at NBA Summer League as a replacement for Creek. The team also added point guard Adris De León to boost their offense and brought in rising stars Harry Froling and Jack McVeigh straight from college, providing youthful energy to the squad.

Adelaide managed to retain core players Nathan Sobey, Majok Deng, Adam Doyle, Brendan Teys, and import Ramone Moore. Leading scorer Daniel Johnson also returned, taking over as team captain.

Adelaide’s season began with a home loss to Perth (91–99), but they rebounded in their next game, defeating the Sydney Kings (94–83) on the road. Sobey delivered one of the season’s highlights in Round 3, recording a triple-double (22 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists) in a win over Cairns (91–83). However, a four-game losing streak followed, starting with a heavy defeat to New Zealand (114–94) and culminating in a narrow loss to Brisbane (93–90) in Round 4.

Key injuries, including a calf issue for Ramone Moore, disrupted Adelaide’s momentum. De León was given a chance to start, delivering 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists in a loss to Sydney, but he was released soon after due to inconsistent performances. Former Illawarra import Demitrius Conger was signed as his replacement, and Shaun Bruce, unsigned after three seasons with Cairns, was also brought in to bolster the team.

Adelaide’s inconsistency persisted throughout the season. While they secured back-to-back wins in Round 7 over Cairns (109–95) and Illawarra (120–109), losses to Illawarra and Melbourne in later rounds derailed their playoff push. Despite a brief four-game winning streak in Round 14, which included a crucial victory over Perth (97–84) and a dominant performance against Sydney (119–99), Adelaide’s playoff hopes were dashed by defeats to Melbourne and Brisbane.

Jacob Wiley had a solid season, contributing 12.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. He had standout performances, including a 30-point, 2-rebound, and 2-steal game against Cairns (97-84) on November 23, 2018, where he shot an impressive 12/17 from the field. Wiley also put up 23 points and 2 rebounds in a win over New Zealand (114-107) on October 28, 2018, and added 21 points and 2 assists in a victory against Sydney on January 19, 2019. Wiley ended the season with a 53.8% field goal percentage.

Alongside Wiley, Daniel Johnson (17.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) and Nathan Sobey (16.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists) were both named to the All-NBL Second Team. Key contributions also came from Demitrius Conger (11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), Anthony Drmic (9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds), and Harry Froling (7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds), who earned NBL Rookie of the Year honours.

Despite hovering between fourth and fifth place for most of the second half of the season, Adelaide finished with a 14-14 record, tied with Brisbane. However, Brisbane advanced to the playoffs based on points percentage, leaving Adelaide in fifth place and out of the postseason.

After initially re-signing with Adelaide for another season, Wiley opted out of his contract in June 2019 to join Spanish team Gran Canaria, utilising his European out-clause.

2023/24
Wiley returned to the club in 2023, signing a two-year deal with a mutual option on the second year.

“Jacob works very hard, and I’m glad he’s super excited to be returning,” 36ers head coach CJ Bruton said upon Wiley’s return.

“I am thrilled to have a guy who can play multiple positions, with his effort to get up and down the floor, he will be able to attack at both ends. He’s a competitor, and I think that will drive us as a group.”

After a second disappointing season under coach CJ Bruton, several changes were made to their roster. Despite imports from last season, Robert Franks and Antonius Cleveland both being contracted for a second season, they were allowed to exit their deals and pursue opportunities overseas.

Anthony Drmic (to Tasmania), Ian Clark (to Melbourne), and Kai Sotto (to Japan) all headed elsewhere, but perhaps the most significant loss for 36ers fans was the decision not to bring back big man Daniel Johnson after 13 years with the club.

Former Sixers Jason Cadee (via Brisbane), Isaac Humphries (via Melbourne), and Wiley all returned to the club for their second stints, to provide much-needed leadership. New faces to the squad included Trentyn Flowers, courtesy of the Next Stars program, AFL to NBL convert Alex Starling, and imports Trey Kell (via South East Melbourne) and Jamaal Franklin.

Franklin’s time with the club was brief; being handed his release during the middle of the NBL Blitz. In a similar fashion to last season, Adelaide got off to yet another slow start (with a 1-4 record) before signing DJ Vasiljevic, who had exited his contract with Sydney early to sign a deal to play with Washington in the NBA, before being released on the eve of the NBL season.

Vasiljevic (19.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) added instant firepower to the squad, but after a horrendous loss to Tasmania, where Adelaide’s inability to shoot both inside (29 per cent from the field) and beyond the three-point line (2-11) saw them produce their equal-lowest score since the beginning of the 40-minute era (59-94), Bruton was shown his walking papers. With the team sitting bottom of the ladder (4-9), Bruton was replaced by assistant coach Scott Ninnis, who had coached the team previously from 2008-2010 and managed to turn things around in the second half of the season after an impressive January (5-1) which saw Adelaide back contending for a playoff spot.

Adelaide finished the season as the second-best rebounding team, averaging 43.5 rebounds per game, but also the worst in the competition from behind the three-point line (shooting 29.9 per cent).

Kell (17.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.1 steals) and Humphries (15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) both delivered career-best seasons, and Wiley (10.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) led the team in rebounding. Ultimately, the revitalised side finished a win and percentage away from competing in the Play-In Tournament (12 wins, 16 losses).

Jacob Wiley played two seasons the Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 11.4 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 54 NBL games.