BIO: John Szigeti was born in Sydney (NSW) but moved to the Gold Coast as a child, where he would go on to attend Currumbin High School.

NBL EXPERIENCE

John Szigeti made his NBL debut with the Gold Coast Rollers at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

BRISBANE BULLETS
1997
After the previous season ended with a quarterfinal loss to Melbourne, Brisbane moved on from Mike Mitchell (to North Melbourne), Andrew Goodwin (to North Melbourne), Luke Gribble, Ryan Stolberg and Shaun Guy, while captain Leroy Loggins, Steve Woodberry, Mike McKay, Rodger Smith, Mark Dalton, Robert Sibley and Aaron Honeyman returned under second-year head coach David Ingham. Leonard White (via Pau-Orthez), Andrew Ramsay (via Geelong), Toby Zaremba (via Gold Coast), John Szigeti (via Gold Coast) and rookie Ben Thompson (via AIS) were added, although Ramsay did not appear in an NBL game.

Brisbane opened the season against Melbourne at the Brisbane Convention Centre on April 11, where Szigeti (0 points) played 9:35 in his first game for the Bullets as Brisbane defeated the Tigers 111-105. Woodberry (28 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) and McKay (24 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals) led Brisbane, while Andrew Gaze (33 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block) was Melbourne’s leading scorer.

Szigeti (4 points and 3.2 rebounds across 31 games) played 29 of Brisbane’s 30 regular-season games and both quarterfinals after joining from Gold Coast. He had averaged 9.3 points and 4.1 rebounds for the Rollers in 1996 before the club’s NBL licence was revoked because of financial difficulties, with his playing time dropping from 22.2 to 18.4 minutes per game in Brisbane while he shot 52 percent from the field. His only non-appearance came against South East Melbourne on April 19, with no injury reported.

White (16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals across 3 games) began the season as one of Brisbane’s imports but was cut after the opening three games, with Dwayne McClain (via Gold Coast) brought in as his replacement. McClain (16.8 points, 8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 steals across 21 games) had been added by Gold Coast for the final six games of its 1996 season in an attempt to draw larger crowds before the financially troubled Rollers lost their NBL licence, and became one of Brisbane’s main scorers following his arrival.

McClain suffered an injury against Townsville on September 13 after playing only 7:39, keeping him out of Brisbane’s final four regular-season games and both quarterfinals.

On September 19, Szigeti (4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals) played more than 31 minutes as Brisbane edged Adelaide 86-85 at the Brisbane Convention Centre. Loggins (30 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block) and Woodberry (22 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, and 1 block) led the Bullets, while Brett Maher (30 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) was Adelaide’s leading scorer.

The following night, Szigeti’s best game of the season came against North Melbourne at the Melbourne Sports & Entertainment Centre, where Szigeti (15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block) made six of seven shots, one of two three-pointers and two of four free throws in 38 minutes. Loggins (24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and Thompson (16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal) provided support, while Pat Reidy (24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal) led the Giants to a 92-90 win.

Woodberry (21.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2 steals across 32 games) narrowly led Brisbane in scoring and joined Loggins (21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.9 steals across 32 games) on the All-NBL Second Team, with Loggins also representing Brisbane at the NBL All-Star Game and winning the three-point shootout. McKay (18.6 points and 5 rebounds across 7 games) was productive across seven appearances, while Smith (9.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 steals across 32 games), Dalton (8.2 points and 5.4 rebounds across 32 games) and Thompson (6.9 points across 29 games) provided the other major contributions. Brisbane finished the regular season fifth with a 15-15 record, winning the head-to-head tie-breaker 2-1 over Canberra.

After his NBL career, Szigeti moved into professional boxing and fought 10 times, losing only twice, before becoming a regular sparring partner for Australian heavyweight Alex Leapai. He also helped produce a documentary on Leapai before his 2014 world heavyweight title fight with Wladimir Klitschko, saying, “Alex has become a lot harder to hit in the last two years.”

Brisbane opened its quarterfinal series at the Perth Entertainment Centre on October 4, where Szigeti (4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal) played 32 minutes, while Loggins (32 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks) and Woodberry (23 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals) led the Bullets. Ricky Grace (18 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals), Todd Lichti (15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and Andrew Vlahov (14 points and 12 rebounds) led Perth to an 81-79 win.

Game two moved to Brisbane on October 7, where Szigeti (4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal) played 33 minutes, while Woodberry (21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals, and 1 block) and Dalton (16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block) led Brisbane. Grace (25 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals), Vlahov (21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block) and David Van Dyke (16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks) led Perth to an 88-71 victory and completed the two-game sweep.

1998
After finishing fifth with a 15-15 record before being swept by Perth in the 1997 elimination finals, Brisbane entered 1998 having been eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs for four consecutive seasons. The Bullets released head coach David Ingham and brought Brian Kerle back to the club after he had previously coached Brisbane to championships in 1985 and 1987. Mike McKay (to Canberra), Dwayne McClain, Mark Dalton (to Wollongong), Robert Sibley and Leonard White departed, while captain Leroy Loggins, Steve Woodberry, Rodger Smith, John Szigeti, Aaron Honeyman and Ben Thompson returned. Kerle added import Chuck Kornegay, Mark Nash, CJ Bruton (via Indian Hills CC), Ryan Stolberg and Ben Castle.

The high cost of playing home games at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, combined with falling attendances, also prompted the Bullets to move into the smaller 4,000-seat Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre from the beginning of the season.

Brisbane opened the season at its new home against defending champion Melbourne on January 30, where Szigeti (5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block) contributed as the Bullets won 105-97. Woodberry (32 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) and Loggins (27 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led Brisbane.

Szigeti (4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds across 34 games) returned for his second season with Brisbane and appeared in every one of the Bullets’ 30 regular-season games and all four playoff games.

His highest-scoring regular-season game came against South East Melbourne on February 28, where Szigeti (9 points and 7 rebounds) made four of seven shots as Brisbane defeated the Magic 81-76 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre and handed the eventual minor premiers one of only four regular-season losses. Bruton (15 points and 2 steals) made four of five three-pointers and Loggins (15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) provided further support, while Sam Mackinnon (19 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) was South East Melbourne’s best.

Woodberry (26.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 steals across 34 games) produced the highest-scoring NBL season of his career to that point, led the league in free-throw percentage at 92.2 percent and earned All-NBL First Team honours. Loggins (17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals across 26 games) remained another major scoring option, while Bruton (15.4 points, 4 assists, and 1.8 steals across 34 games) became a key part of the backcourt. Kornegay (16.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks across 32 games) gave Kerle a major interior presence and Nash (9.8 points and 8.2 rebounds across 34 games) added further size and rebounding as Brisbane finished fourth with a 16-14 record, earning home-court advantage over Melbourne through the head-to-head tie-breaker.

The elimination finals opened at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on June 12, where Szigeti (7 points and 6 rebounds) helped Brisbane defeat defending champion Melbourne 93-80. Woodberry (24 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Nash (20 points and 7 rebounds) led the Bullets, while Andrew Gaze (34 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists) was Melbourne’s best.

Szigeti’s best game and highest-scoring performance of the season came in game two at Melbourne Park, where Szigeti (10 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist) made four of five shots as Brisbane overwhelmed the Tigers 114-81. Loggins (27 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) and Woodberry (21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals) led Brisbane, while Lanard Copeland (22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) was Melbourne’s best. The victory completed the sweep and moved Brisbane beyond the opening round of the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

Brisbane returned home for the opening game of the semifinals against South East Melbourne, where Szigeti (2 points and 5 rebounds) played 12 minutes as the Magic won 106-98. Woodberry (46 points and 12 rebounds) produced the highest-scoring game of his NBL career and Kornegay (19 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks) provided support, while Tony Ronaldson (26 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Mike Kelly (25 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) led South East Melbourne.

Game two moved to Melbourne Park, where Szigeti (0 points and 2 rebounds) played 12 minutes as Woodberry (28 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) and Kornegay (15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led Brisbane. Mackinnon (30 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, and 1 block) and Ronaldson (19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) led South East Melbourne to a 90-84 victory, completing the semifinal sweep and ending Brisbane’s season one round short of the Grand Final.

John Szigeti played eight seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Brisbane Bullets and the Gold Coast Rollers. He averaged 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 193 NBL games.