BIO: Antonius Cleveland was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee (USA). He later moved to Ludowici, Georgia with his family, where he attended Cleveland attended Faith Baptist Christian Academy.

Cleveland played for the Melbourne United when they faced off against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBLxNBA game vs October 2017. United had a number of player injuries and had Cleveland fill in as a replacement player.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Antonius Cleveland made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 27 years of age. He scored six points in his first game.

After coming close to defeating the Perth Wildcats and advancing to the NBL21 Finals, the Illawarra Hawks entered the new season with high hopes for an even stronger campaign. The team re-signed their leading scorer, Tyler Harvey, to a three-year deal and brought in import additions Antonius Cleveland and Travis Trice to bolster their roster. However, before the season began, Trice was released from his contract due to his refusal to receive the COVID vaccine, with Xavier Rathan-Mayes signed as his replacement. Other key signings included Harry Froling (joining his brother Sam from Brisbane) and Duop Reath (via Serbia), fresh off an impressive Boomers campaign.

Reath, coming into the season on the back of his Olympic bronze medal and NBA aspirations, started the year on fire, averaging 19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks over his first four games. Meanwhile, star guard Tyler Harvey found his second year in the NBL a bit more challenging, seeing his scoring dip from 20.4 points per game to 16.1, though he still led the team in scoring.

Club legend Tim Coenraad (3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds) initially wasn’t included in the full roster, but was later elevated to replace Daniel Grida after a season-ending knee injury.

The Hawks saw significant improvement across the roster, with Next Star Justinian Jessup (13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals) stepping up in his second season, and Sam Froling (8.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) bouncing back from injury to anchor the frontcourt. Antonius Cleveland proved to be a vital addition, averaging 14.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, filling the stat sheet across multiple categories.

Illawarra finished the regular season in second place with a 19-9 record, setting the stage for another playoff run. However, the Hawks’ hopes were dashed in the semifinals once again, this time by their cross-town rivals, the Sydney Kings.

Despite the disappointing finish, Duop Reath (15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks) earned the team’s MVP award for his standout season, while Antonius Cleveland was recognised for his defensive prowess, taking home the Damian Martin Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year and earning a spot on the All-NBL First Team.

ADELAIDE 36ERS
2022/23
Following a difficult NBL22 campaign, Adelaide 36ers head coach CJ Bruton was eager to turn things around with a full offseason to prepare. The team retained its core group, including Mitch McCarron (captain), Anthony Drmic, Daniel Johnson, Sunday Dech, Hyrum Harris, and Kai Sotto. Adelaide also made significant offseason moves, signing NBL stars Antonius Cleveland (via Illawarra) and Robert Franks (via Brisbane) to multi-year deals, while adding G-League standout Craig Randall II (Long Island Nets) to bolster their offensive firepower.

The season started on a high note, with the 36ers making history by defeating the NBA’s Phoenix Suns in a preseason game, marking the first time an overseas team had beaten an NBA team since 2015. They followed this up with a strong performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder a few days later.

However, after returning to Australia, things quickly went downhill. Despite being tipped as championship contenders, the 36ers stumbled to a 3–4 start in their first month. During this stretch, leading scorer Craig Randall II (20.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.0 steals) clashed with coach Bruton multiple times, leading to his release just six games into the season.

Imports Robert Franks (17.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) and Antonius Cleveland (15.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.9 steals) stepped up to fill the offensive gap, but Daniel Johnson (11.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) recorded his lowest-scoring season in almost a decade. Adelaide struggled to find consistency and lost six of their final eight games, missing out on the Play-In tournament.

Mitch McCarron (7.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.6 steals) and Drmic (10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals) made solid contributions, while NBL Next Star Kai Sotto (6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds) showed flashes of potential. Midway through the season, Adelaide signed former Sydney King Ian Clark (12.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) for the final 10 games, hoping to salvage a playoff push. However, they managed just two wins from their final eight games and finished the season in eighth place with a 13-18 record.

While the team’s preseason win over the Phoenix Suns raised expectations, it became clear those expectations were overly optimistic. One of Antonius Cleveland’s standout performances came in a loss to Melbourne, where he posted 30 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block while shooting 50% from the field and an impressive 5-7 from beyond the arc (107-116).

Antonius Cleveland played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Illawarra Hawks and the Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 14.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 58 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (829 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.