BIO: Ray Gordon was born in England and began playing basketball as a junior with the Melbourne basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Ray Gordon made his NBL debut with the Melbourne Tigers at 18 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

Gordon averaged 4.2 points and 0.8 rebounds during his rookie season and helped guide the Tigers to a ninth-place finish in the regular season with a 11-13 record.

1985
1985 saw Gordon average 8.7 points and 2.9 rebounds as the Tigers finished with a 5-21 record in the regular season.

1986
In 1986 Gordon averaged 3 points and 1 rebound per game as the Tigers finished with a 6-20 record in the regular season.

NORTH MELBOURNE GIANTS
1987
In 1987, Gordon left the Tigers after being recruited to play for the Giants by newly appointed head coach Bruce Palmer. The Giants had missed the playoffs the season prior and, as a result, moved home venues from Coburg to the inner city, where they would play at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre, more commonly known as “The Glasshouse”. Thanks to a influx of finances, the team re-branded to the North Melbourne Giants, appointed a new head coach in Bruce Palmer, and recruited star import Scott Fisher. Gordon added 6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1 assist alongside Fisher (25.1 points and 11.0 rebounds), and together they helped guide the Giants back into the playoffs. North Melbourne finished in sixth place at the end of the regular season (15-11) and then went on to lose to Illawarra (97–105) in the Elimination Finals.

1988
It was (almost) a Cinderella season for Gordon and the Giants in 1988. This year the team added bruising import Tim Dillon to play alongside Scott Fisher, a duo who quickly became known as the ‘Twin Boulders’ by media and fans. The duo caused skyrocketed the Giants up the NBL ladder and caused regular sellouts at the Glasshouse, the team’s 7,000 seat home court. Gordon would contribute 4.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists for the season, alongside stars Fisher (27.5 points and 11.3 rebounds) and Dillon (33.2 points and 10.9 rebounds) who had statistically, two of the greatest individual seasons of all time. Together, they led the Giants to a second place regular season finish and a 18-6 record.

In the semifinals, the Giants made easy work of the Wildcat’s and reached the Grand Final for the first time in the club’s history. 5,200 Cannons fans turned up to the AIS arena to see Phil Smyth (25 points) and Jamie Kennedy (21 points) lead the Cannons to victory in game one (120-95). Gordon would add 5 points and 4 rebounds in the opening game.

In game two, Dillon (43 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assist) was unstoppable, helping the Giants even the series behind a home win (117-101). Despite being held scoreless, Gordon also added 5 rebounds. 7,200 Giants fans turned up for Game 3, keen to see the team win their first championship, North Melbourne’s Cinderella season wouldn’t come to pass, with Canberra winning the series clinching game (108-101). Willie Simmons (23 points and 10 rebounds) led the way for the Cannons with alongside Simon Cottrell and Phil Smyth (both 21 points). Smyth would be awarded the Grand Final MVP after averaging 21.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.6 steals across the three-game series.

MELBOURNE TIGERS
1989
In 1989, Melbourne moved on from imports James Bullock and Alvis Rogers and signed talented forwards Dave Simmons and David Colbert. The Tigers also added local players Gordon, Warrick Giddey (via Illawarra) and rookie Stephen Whitehead, who would become the Tigers’ core group for the next five years. Naturalised players Eric Bailey and Brad Pineau were also signed, giving the Tigers their deepest roster since entering the league in 1984.

Andrew Gaze (34.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.2 assists) led the league in both scoring and assists, but it was the addition of new faces Simmons (26.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks), David Colbert (25.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks) and Gordon (11.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals) that made the difference. Behind the Tigers’ revamped roster, they were able to jump from twelfth position (8-16) the season to prior to finish fourth (17-10) and reached the playoffs for the first time in the team’s history.

Melbourne’s inexperience became evident in the postseason, however, being eliminated in the first round by the Sydney Kings.

1990
Off the back of the Tiger’s revamped roster, which led to their first playoff appearance ever, Melbourne re-signed its core group and looked to become a even stronger team in 1990. Although they lost naturalised swingman Eric Bailey (to Gold Coast), they were able to replace him with a even better option in Cecil Exum (via North Melbourne), who had been a big part of the Giant’s championship in 1989 and imports Dave Colbert and Dave Simmons were re-signed.

Andrew Gaze, who had spent the off-seasonplaying with Seton Hall University and narrowly missing out on a contract with the Seattle Supersonics, looked to light up the league.

Gaze (37.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 2.6 steals), Colbert (31.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks) and Simmons (27.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.3) filled every column in the stats sheet every night, as well as combing for 96 points per game.

Melbourne hit a major speed bump when Gaze was diagnosed as having a blood clot in his right shoulder, a issue that almost ended his playing career. As a result, Gaze would miss the Tigers’ last two games of the regular season and all playoff games, but Melbourne still managed to finish in fourth place (17-9). They faced off against fifth-seed Perth in the elimination finals, where Colbert (52 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals) erupted for a career-high in Gaze’s absence, but it wasn’t enough to get past the well-balanced attack of Perth. Ricky Grace (30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists) made 10 of his 13 shots and seemed to set up teammate David Close (25 points and 6 rebounds) for a open look whenever he didn’t score, allowing Perth to walk away victors (122-100).

In game two, Colbert (42 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) was unstoppable again, and teammate Dave Simmons (29 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists) also delivered a big game also but Perth managed to shut down every other Tigers’ player and ended Melbourne’s season behind a ten point win (123-113). Gordon would play in 28 games, averaging 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists for the season.

1991
Melbourne had become a formidable team by 1991, and had it not been for a blood clot that derailed Andrew Gaze’s season, could have seen a deep playoff run from the Tigers. This year would see the trio of Gaze (38.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.7 steals), David Cobert (24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks) and Dave Simmons (24.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks) get the chance to see how far they could go with a full season together. Melbourne was also boosted by the emergence of Stephen Whitehead (9.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals), who would double his production with a shift to the team’s starting lineup.

The Tigers made history this season when they faced off against Illawarra and recorded the highest scoring game in NBL history (Jul 27). The game saw 344 points scored, and the Tigers come out as victors (186-158). Gaze (59 points, 11 assists, and 4 steals), Colbert (42 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists) and Simmons (36 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists) doing the bulk of the scoring for Melbourne and Patric Fairs (41 points and 10 rebounds) and Greg Hubbard (36 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists) top scoring for Illawarra, who shot 76% from the field, which remains the highest shooting percentage ever recorded by a team in a losing effort. Gordon also added 7 points and 12 assists.

Once into the playoffs, Melbourne would lose game one (115-129) and game two (96-132) to Adelaide in the elimination finals. The scoring brilliance of Gaze, combined with the Tigers’ regular season success, was enough to earn him the NBL Most Valuable Player award for the first time. Gaze would then take home the NBL MVP award in seven of his next eight seasons. Gordon would play in 23 games, averaging 7.8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists for the season.

1992
1992 began with the Tigers replacing forward David Colbert with former NBA guard Lanard Copeland, who paired with Andrew Gaze in the backcourt to become one of the most exciting backcourt duos in NBL history. Gaze (33.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists) would again lead the league in scoring, with Copeland (28.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists) NBA pedigree showing he was one of the best imports in the league.

Melbourne replaced the interior presence of Colbert with Robert Sibley (via Brisbane), which then resulted in Brisbane signing free agent Colbert in a talent swap for both team’s.

Sibley (11.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists) fitted into the frontcourt nicely, and talented young swingman Stephen Whitehead (13.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks) saw a boost in his numbers for the third straight season.

With the revamped roster, the Tigers became a much faster lineup, finishing the regular season in the third spot, their highest place finish ever (15-9).

Once into the postseason Melbourne would eliminate Perth (2-1) in the quarterfinals, and then the Sydney Kings (2-1) in the semifinals to reach the Grand Final series for the first time in franchise history. Facing off against crosstown rivals the South East Melbourne Magic, Gaze (26 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) and the Tigers came out firing and comfortably defeated the Magic (116-98) in the first game of the series. That would be the last of the heroics, however, as the Magic would win the series’ next two games and claim the 1992 NBL championship (2-1).

Gordon appeared in 27 games for the Tigers, averaging 2.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists for the season.

1993 – THE TIGERS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP
The Tigers’ season began with the huge signing of Mark Bradtke during the pre-season. His arrival made national news, with Bradtke having spent the off-seasonplaying in Spain and giving former team Adelaide a verbal agreement he would play for them if he returned in 1993. However, upon his return to Australia, Bradtke made it known he did not want to play the final year of his contract in Adelaide, amongst rumours the Melbourne Tigers were actively recruiting him. After negotiations between the two parties broke down, the 36ers gave permission for Bradtke to leave if a team would buy out his remaining contract. However, the NBL stepped in and vetoed the buyout, effectively letting Bradtke leave for Melbourne without the 36ers receiving any compensation. After the fact it became clear Bradtke had decided to move to Melbourne to be closer to then girlfriend (and future wife), pro-tennis player Nicole Provis.

Although the Tigers were coming off a grand final appearance, they began the season poorly and no one was pencilling them in for the championship at midseason. After shaking off their slow start (2-7) but finishing the remainder of the season strong (14-3), the Tigers finished the year in third place. Bradtke (17 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) became the missing puzzle piece to Melbourne’s historically weak frontline as Andrew Gaze (32.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.7 steals), Lanard Copeland (22.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.9 steals) led the team in scoring.

During the quarterfinals, the Tigers would easily eliminate Illawarra (2-0), setting up a rematch of last year’s grand final, a semi finals showdown against South East Melbourne. Bradtke, who had shifted to Melbourne from Adelaide during the pre-season, dominated the series. He delivered 21 points and 9 rebounds in the Tiger’s 108-106 win in game one and then backed it up with 28 points and 15 rebounds in their 89-72 win in game two.

On the opposite side of the bracket, the Perth Wildcats (21-5) had finished on top of the ladder and made their way through to the Grand Final.

The series began with the Tigers playing at home and, by the second quarter, were controlling things with a 19 point lead. From there, Melbourne saw four key players fall into foul trouble, which included Robert Sibley (13 points and 4 rebounds) and Bradtke (4 points, 11 rebounds) fouling out. Bradtke struggled against Perth’s interior defenders and finished the game shooting one from nine from the field. Ricky Grace (23 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals) then fueled a late-game surge from Perth which closed the game by four points. In the closing minutes, Perth attempted to close the gap by repeatedly sending Melbourne to the line but with Gaze (41 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists) nailing ten from ten free throws in the final quarter, Melbourne see out the game as victors (117-113).

In a similar fashion to game one, Melbourne took out a early lead in game two (32-22), thanks to the dominance of Bradtke (24 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists). By halftime, however, the ‘Perth Wall’ of James Crawford (32 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks), Andrew Vlahov (23 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks), and Scott Fisher (16 points and 6 rebounds) had reined Bradtke things in and returned fire to lead by six at halftime (60-54).

Perth remained in control of the foul-prone Tigers, who struggled to score after losing both Gaze (22 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Dave Simmons (12 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists) to six fouls. Grace (23 points, 8 rebounds, and 13 assists) came close to recording a triple-double, many of those assists coming from feeding Crawford inside, who made 11 of his 15 shots.

A full house at the Perth Entertainment Centre (8,000 fans) witnessed the Wildcats’ victory (112-105), one that extended their consecutive home winning streak to 17. With game three to be played in Perth and the Tigers have never won on the Wildcats’ home floor, Perth entered the game as clear favourites.

The underdog Tigers, however, survived a strong Perth comeback that cut a 15-point lead to three before Gaze (22 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists) sunk a free throw to give Melbourne a two-point edge with four seconds left on the clock. A last-second shot from Vlahov (31 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) which rattled in and out of the ring, saw the Tigers become NBL champions for the very first time (104-102). Copeland (35 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists) led the team in scoring, while Bradtke (23 points, 19 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) dominated Perth inside after struggling with fouls in the first two games. In a surprising decision, however, Wildcats’ guard Ricky Grace was awarded the Grand Final MVP despite playing for the losing team.

Gordon missed 11 games through injury, but finished the year with averages of 2.9 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0.5 assists, playing in 22 games.

1994
Coming off a title in 1993, the Tigers were able to return with almost the entire roster, losing only backup big man Robert Sibley (to Brisbane), who they would replace with a young Chris Anstey. The defending champions would go on to record their best regular season result in the club’s history (19-7), finishing in second place. Andrew Gaze (33.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 2.4 steals) was awarded the league’s Most Valuable Player award and led the league in scoring, while Mark Bradtke (20.2 points, 14.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks) led the league in rebounding and both were also selected to the All-NBL First Team. Once into the postseason, Melbourne would defeat Illawarra convincingly in both game one (107-85) and game two (119-83) before facing a incredibly talented (and deep) Adelaide team in the semifinals, which featured Rob Rose, Mark Davis, Willie Simmons, Phil Smyth, Brett Maher and Chris Blakemore. The 36ers defeated the Tigers first in Adelaide (101-88) and then repeated the result on Melbourne’s home floor (110-101) to end the Tiger’s season and move on to the Grand Final to face North Melbourne.

Gordon would play in 29 of the Tigers games that season, averaging 2.8 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists.

1995
In 1995, Mark Bradtke requested some time off to allow him to support his wife Nicole’s tennis career as she travelled abroad and miss the first two-thirds of the season. Around that same time, Chris Anstey, a part of the Tigers junior program, also informed the club that he would return, having signed a deal to play with rival club South East Melbourne. Melbourne coach Lindsey Gaze appealed via the NBL tribunal, which ruled that Anstey could not leave the Tigers as long as they could match the contract, which they did.

After some extremely creative salary tweaking, the Magic then signed Anstey to a one year deal worth $180,000 which the Tigers had no interest in matching, allowing Anstey to shift clubs. Once Anstey had signed with the Magic, he renegotiated his contract to a 3-year, $181,000 contract, remaining higher than the Tigers contract not to break any NBL salary cap rules of the time.

The Tigers added forward Matt Reece (via Gold Coast) and centre Blair Smith (via Brisbane) to cover the loss of Bradtke and Anstey.

Andrew Gaze (33.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2.3 steals), Lanard Copeland (25.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.7 steals) and Dave Simmons (14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks) led the team offensively, during a season which saw a merry-go-round of league leaders, during the regular season, Brisbane, Sydney, North Melbourne, South East Melbourne and Melbourne all sat in the number one spot on the ladder some point. With Melbourne narrowly sitting among the top eight team’s (10-7), Bradtke (11.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks) would return to playout the Tigers’ last nine games for the season.

The Tigers would scrape into the playoffs, claiming the eighth seed (14-12), their worst result since 1988. With Bradtke out of form and the team still adjusting to him being back in the lineup, Melbourne was eliminated by the Perth Wildcats in the first round (1-2).

Gordon would appear in 20 games for the Tigers, averaging 2.9 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists.