BIO: Ryan Gardiner was born in Perth (WA) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Perry Lakes basketball program.

FAMILY: Ryan is the son of John Gardiner, the inaugural CEO of the National Basketball League. He was also a longtime coach of the Perry Lakes Hawks in the SBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Ryan Gardiner made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 19 years of age. He scored five points in his first game.

In 1995 he was part of the Wildcat’s NBL championship winning team that travelled to the McDonald’s Championship in London that competed against the NBA’s Houston Rockets and Spain’s Real Madrid.

1997
Following its quarterfinal exit to Adelaide, Perth moved into 1997 without Aaron Trahair (to Sydney), Pete Hansen and Matthew Earp, while Scott Fisher missed the entire regular season after undergoing knee reconstruction. Coach Adrian Hurley retained captain Andrew Vlahov, Ricky Grace, Todd Lichti, James Crawford, Anthony Stewart, Gavin Vanderputten, Phil Doherty and Ryan Gardiner, while David Van Dyke (via Newcastle), Greg Brown, Scott Harkess and Nick Lackovic were added.

Gardiner (1 point across 7 games) entered his third season with Perth after being part of the Wildcats’ 1995 championship team, but remained a reserve guard and played only 45 minutes across seven appearances without a reported injury. He continued playing for Perry Lakes in the state league during 1997, and later credited the Hawks for helping create his NBL opportunity.

“Being a Perry Lakes Hawks player gave me the opportunities I had as Perth Wildcats player,” Gardiner said.

Gardiner’s best scoring game of the season was a 3-point performance, his highest output across his seven appearances.

George Banks (10.3 points and 7 rebounds across 7 games) joined Perth in late June after playing with Dinamo Sassari and appeared seven times before leaving the Wildcats.

Gardiner’s final NBL appearance came against Canberra at the Perth Entertainment Centre on July 5, where Gardiner (1 point and 1 assist) played 7:31 as Perth defeated the Cannons 97-71. Grace (20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and Lichti (19 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Wildcats, while Donaldson (18 points and 5 assists) was Canberra’s leading scorer.

Lichti (16.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals across 34 games) led Perth in scoring and appeared in every game, while Grace (16.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.6 steals across 34 games) directed the offence and also appeared in all 34 games. Crawford (14.7 points and 7.4 rebounds across 31 games) shot 50 per cent from the field and appeared in his tenth consecutive NBL All-Star Game, while Van Dyke (14.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks across 24 games), Vlahov (13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals across 33 games) and Stewart (13.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists across 33 games) formed the remainder of Perth’s main rotation as the Wildcats finished fourth with a 17-13 record.

Gardiner did not appear during the postseason. Perth opened the quarterfinals at the Perth Entertainment Centre on October 4, where Grace (18 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals), Lichti (15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), Vlahov (14 points and 12 rebounds) and Crawford (12 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists) led the Wildcats to an 81-79 win over Brisbane, while Loggins (32 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals) and Woodberry (23 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists) led the Bullets.

Game two moved to the Brisbane Convention Centre, where Grace (25 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals), Vlahov (21 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Van Dyke (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led Perth to an 88-71 win and completed the sweep, while Woodberry (21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals) was Brisbane’s best.

Fisher (10 points and 5.5 rebounds across 2 games) returned for the semifinals after missing the entire regular season.

South East Melbourne opened the semifinals at the Perth Entertainment Centre on October 13, where Lichti (20 points and 4 rebounds), Grace (19 points and 4 assists) and Fisher (14 points and 6 rebounds) led Perth, while Anstey (19 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 steals) and Ronaldson (18 points) helped the Magic win 92-82.

Game two moved to Melbourne Park on October 17, where Grace (16 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) and Van Dyke (13 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks) were Perth’s best, while Mackinnon (21 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists) led South East Melbourne to a 96-69 win and completed the semifinal sweep.

Ryan Gardiner played three seasons with the Perth Wildcats. He averaged 1 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 28 NBL games.