NICKNAME/S: D-Mac

BIO: Darryl McDonald was born in Harlem, New York (USA).

FAMILY: Darryl is the father of both Derrick McDonald (7 NBL games) and Durrell McDonald (1 NBL games).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Darryl McDonald made his NBL debut with the North Melbourne Giants at 29 years of age. He scored 15 points in his first game.

North Melbourne’s financial struggles publicly came to light after 1993, but the team was saved at the eleventh hour from its burgeoning financial woes by a group of new investors. The new ownership made a number of changes, including a uniform design change, tossing away the team’s maroon uniforms and switching to the colours of the NBA’s most marketable outfit, the Charlotte Hornets.

The Giants’ roster had aged considerably in the years between its 1989 championship and 1994, with its roster now being the oldest roster in the league, their decision to replace high scoring forward Jason Reese with a 30-year-old point guard named Darryl McDonald was met with much surprise. The media and betting agencies promptly wrote off the Giants’ season, most tipping them to finish dead last. The pundits couldn’t have been more wrong however, with McDonald (17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 10 assists and 3.0 steals per game) leading the league in steals and assists and when the Giants came home undefeated after the ‘Doomsday Double’, first avenging a home loss to Perth then holding off Adelaide at the Clipsal Powerhouse (a feat which hadn’t been achieved since 1986) fans really started to become excited.

Pat Reidy (19.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 3.4) and Paul Maley (19.4 ppg and 6.7 rpg) became the main beneficiaries of many of McDonald’s flashy assists, leading the team in scoring while North Melbourne finished the season in second place, winning 19 of their 26 games. At season’s end, Brown would be named Coach of the Year and controversially, McDonald finished second in both the NBL MVP (behind Andrew Gaze) and Best Defensive Player (Darren Lucas) awards but McDonald responded by taking his game to a entirely new level for the playoffs. After Sydney blitzed the Giants (131–109) in the opening game of the quarter-finals, McDonald led the Giants to a 112-91 victory in game two and a 104-95 victory in game three. In the deciding game ‘D-Mac’ played all 48 minutes and filled the stat sheet with 17 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists while shooting 70% (7/10) from the field.

On the other side of the bracket, South East Melbourne eliminated Perth before being knocked out by the Giants after a Adonis Jordan three-point heave (he could have found a open David Graham for a better shot but missed him) in the game’s closing moments missed its mark and the chance to force a third game.

Game one of the Grand Final series was held at the Clipsal Powerhouse in Adelaide and after Robert Rose had dragged the Sixers back into the match when they still had trailed by 14 inside the last six minutes of regulation the ball ended up in McDonald’s hands before he nailed the game-winning shot in overtime, delivering a 95–93 win.

As the series moved to the Glasshouse in Melbourne for game two Rose would come out firing, his 31 point effort would see him finish as the game’s high scoring. Still, a balanced attack from North Melbourne proved too strong for the 36ers. The Giants would control the first half, the scoreboard reading 51-41 at halftime and with 36ers forward Mark Davis in serious pain, the Giants were able to put the foot down in the third quarter and then closed out the game with a 117-97 victory.

Paul Rees, who benefitted greatly from McDonald’s passing all series, finished up earning the Finals MVP award after delivering 17 points and 5 rebounds in game one and 20 points (making all seven of his shots) and 7 rebounds in game two.

The 1994 NBL season made history bypassed the one-million spectator mark during the regular season for the first time.

1995
McDonald led the Giants to a 18-8 record in his second season and alongside Chris Jent, who had won a NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1994 reached the NBL Grand Final for a second year in a row. The Giants would win the first game of the Grand Final in Melbourne however would lose games two and three to the Perth Wildcats and finish runners-up. McDonald would average 17.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 3.4 steals per game.

Some oldschool NBL Dunk Comp highlights #straightfromthetapes pic.twitter.com/8GqXQ3x4wm

— RANDOM HOOPS (@HoopsRandom) May 23, 2024

1996
The Giants would return almost their entire roster in 1996 as the team looked to go one step further after finishing runners-up in 1995. The only roster changes being the addition of Tonny Jensen, a member of the Australian Boomers, who would replace the retiring Mark Leader and a returning Paul Maley would replace import Chris Jent after he delivered one of the greatest one and done seasons in NBL history.

Pat Reidy would lead the team in scoring, averaging 20.8 points as well as 6.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, while McDonald would deliver another stellar season, putting up 17.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and a league leading 10 assists per game and Maley also contributing 17.3 points and 7 rebounds. In what was a extremely close season, where only two games seperated third place and eight place. The Giants finished with a 15-11 record and in seventh place finish on the NBL ladder.

North Melbourne would face crosstown rivals South East Melbourne who would make quick work of the Giants in the quarterfinals, thanks to a season high 19 points from Andrew Parkinson in game one, a 82-96 loss and a 25 point effort from Tony Ronaldson in game two, which resulted in a 77-87 defeat and the end to the Giants season.

At seasons end McDonald would again be named to the All-NBL First team.

1997
In 1997, the Giants were beginning to feel the pinch financially and struggling to retain talent. He would lose the services of forwards Tonny Jensen (via Newcastle) and Paul Maley (again due to crippling back problems) However, due to the demise of team’s in Gold Coast and Hobart, he would benefit by making some key free agent signings. Import Mike Mitchell and young gun David Stiff, both looking for new NBL homes, joined the team as Coach Brett Browncleverly tried to make the most of his team budget by playing the entire season with the league minimum of 11 players.

Another setback that hurt the Giants was when Paul Rees suffered a severe knee injury that kept him out for the majority of the season, only to then see him return and break his wrist against the Bullets in the second last round of the season. Behind star import Darryl McDonald (17.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 8.9 assists) and leading scorer Pat Reidy (20.2 points and 5.7 rebounds), they had enough talent to keep the Giants’ competitive as the team finished the year in third place, behind a 18-12 record.

Starting centre Paul Rees was able to return for the playoffs, his presence making a huge difference as the Giants handily defeated the Canberra Cannons (2-1) in the Elimination Finals.

The Giants were eliminated in the next round by the extremely talented Melbourne Tigers (0-2), who went on to win the NBL championship.

A little 90's Nth Melb Giants v Sydney Kings. Enjoy!! pic.twitter.com/3VdqfONAJN

— RANDOM HOOPS (@HoopsRandom) May 14, 2023

1998
With the Giants again facing financial difficulties, the team struggled to remain competitive in 1998 and after finishing the season with a record of 9 wins and 21 losses, North Melbourne merged with the South East Melbourne Magic. McDonald would average 12.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists during the North Melbourne Giants’ last season.

VICTORIA TITANS
1998/99
After the NBL’s move to summer, interest in the league had declined, and financially, it had become difficult for Melbourne to sustain three separate clubs. In a effort to boost sponsorship and membership numbers, the South East Melbourne Magic merged with the North Melbourne Giants, who had struggled financially for a number of years.

The team was re-branded to the Victorian Titans and with the majority of the front office being former Magic owners, a decision was made to retain Brian Goorjian, leaving Giants coach Brett Brown without a job (Brown would later sign on to coach the Sydney Kings).

Selecting a team generated its criticism as Goorjian’s appointment coincided with team’s deciding not to offer Pat Reidy, then a member of the Australian national team, a spot on the roster. The Titans would complete their roster by signing four players from the Giants roster, Darryl McDonald, Ben Pepper, David Smith and Paul Maley and five players from the Magic’s roster, Jason Smith, Frank Drmic, Brett Wheeler, Mike Kelly and Tony Ronaldson.

As a testament to the strength in depth that this newly possessed the Titans became immediate favourites to lift the title in April. To kick-start the season, Victoria faced long-time rivals of the Magic and Giants, the Melbourne Tigers. The 80-99 loss inflicted by the Tigers wasn’t the result many expected and clearly showed the lack of cohesion that combining two team’s had created.

Although it took a little while before the Titans found their rhythm, starting the year with a 2-2 record, a few weeks into the season and they quickly proved they were championship contenders.

Ronaldson (16.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists) was named team captain and responded by leading the team in scoring and earning the club MVP at the end of the season. Ben Pepper (12.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks) finished second in scoring and led the team in rebounds and blocks, while Darryl McDonald (11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.4 steals) led both the Titans and the league in steals and assists.

The team would deliver a balanced attack with seven of its players scoring in double figures and finishing the year in fourth place. The Titans were clearly a different team come playoffs than the team which lost by 19 points to the Tigers in round one, having lost only three games at home (10-3) and finishing the regular season on a four-game winning streak.

Victoria destroyed Wollongong at home in game one of the Qualifying Finals (96-65) and in game two, delivered the knockout punch, eliminating the Hawks in two straight games.

in the semifinals, the Titans would face the aforementioned Tigers, who led by star import Marcus Timmnons (31 points and 9 rebounds), and were able to grind out a three point win (80-77). Ronaldson (17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) led the team in scoring, and Paul Maley (16 points) delivered a incredibly efficient game off the bench, nailing seven of nine shots in 22 minutes.

In game two, Mike Kelly (19 points and 7 rebounds) and Ben Pepper (15 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks) led Victoria in scoring as the Titans led the Tigers in all four quarters and came away with the win (94-87). The win would set up a grand final series between Victoria and Adelaide, who defeated Brian Goorjian’s squad the previous season when they were known as the Magic.

The opening matchup delivered a battle of the point guards with McDonald (23 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals) and 36ers import Darnell Mee (25 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks) led both team’s in scoring. Mee was able to come out on top in this one, with Adelaide winning the game (104-94) and Mee also forcing McDonald into making 8 turnovers.

Brett Maher (25 points) came out firing for Adelaide in game two, but the Titans’ defence saw the remainder of the 36ers struggle, with no one else able to score more than 12 points and the team shooting 39% from the field. Victoria would rely on Tony Ronaldson (22 points), Brett Wheeler (18 points, 9 rebounds) and McDonald (12 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists) to get the win (88-82), evening the series.

With the 36ers finishing in first place during the regular season the deciding game would be held in Adelaide where more than 7,000 Sixers fans willed the team over the line to become back-to-back NBL champions. Martin Cattalini (19 points and 9 rebounds) led the 36ers in scoring while Brett Maher (15 points and 7 rebounds) was named Grand Final MVP. Ben Pepper (15 points) top scored for the Titans who shot a woeful 26/78 from the field (38%) in the deciding game.

1999/00
After falling short in the Grand Final for the second year in a row (Magic ’98, Titans ’99) Brian Goorjian looked to add local youth to his roster in a attempt to go one step further… a proven Goorjian strategy. This saw veteran import players Paul Maley and Mike Kelly shown the door and replaced with 23 year old big man Nathan Taylor, who had previously played for the team when they were the North Melbourne Giants, and elevated 20 year old development player Glen Siegle elevated into the full roster. The remainder of the Titans roster all returned, as the team looked to go one step further than last season and win the NBL championship. The remainder of the Titans roster all returned, as the team looked to go one step further than last season and win the NBL championship.

In their second as the Titans, Victoria finished the season strong thanks to a breakout season from Jason Smith, who boosted his numbers from 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.7 steals in 29 minutes to 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 40 minutes per game and named the Titan’s club MVP at the end of the season. In addition to Smith leading the team in scoring, Victoria would deliver a well-balanced offensive attack, with six players scoring in double figures. Tony Ronaldson contributed 16.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, Darryl McDonald averaged 13.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and while leading the led the league in both assists (7.8 apg) and steals (3.1 spg) again.

Once again, the Titans built their season around a strong home record (11-3) and finished the season in fourth place. This saw Victoria (20-8) and Melbourne (14-14) face off in the elimination finals where the Tigers took game one (101-94). The Titans evened the series (78-70) in game two, setting up a third and deciding game. In game three, Victoria overcome a offensive explosion from Melbourne’s Andrew Gaze (30 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists), but again, the Titans defence proved highly successful in generating turnovers (Gaze himself had 7), and Victoria closed out the series (2-1). MacDonald (29 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steal) led the Titans in scoring in the win (105-96).

This set-up a rematch with the aforemention Adelaide, who had picked up the discarded Paul Maley (12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds) midseason, to see him become a valuable bench contributor. Adelaide, who had finished the season in first place (and had the wood of the Titan’s it was believed) and entered the in the semifinals as favourites. Ronaldson (26 points and 5 rebounds) and MacDonald (24 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks) would lead the Titans to a game one win in Melbourne (101-86), before the series moved to Adelaide for games two and three.

Game two saw the 36ers return to the same high-scoring offence that had proven unstoppable during the past two seasons. Martin Cattalini (24 points and 7 rebounds) and Darnell Mee (22 points,7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals) delivered big games, allowing the 36ers to even the series with a win (95-72). With many expecting Victoria to come up short against Adelaide yet again, the team rallied behind MacDonald (24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals), who again impacted the game from every angle. While his counterpart Mee (22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) filled the stat sheet, his 36ers teammates struggled to score through the impenetrable Titans defence. This resulted in Victoria winning the game three (93-89) and finally overcoming the 36ers, igniting a Titans celebration on court, which some felt was premature considering the grand final series was still to come.

Not surprisingly, Victoria had nothing left for Perth in the Grand Final, and the Wildcat’s defeated the Titans in two straight contests, a six-point win in game one (84-78) followed up with a similar outcome in game two (83-76). Perth were led by league MVP Paul Rogers (24 points and 20 rebounds), who connected on 10 of 16 shots and racked up a 20/20 game in game one. Marcus Timmons (27 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals) couldn’t miss in game two, going 9/15 from the field and being voted the NBL Finals MVP.

2000/01
After three years in the NBA, Chris Anstey returned to play for Brian Goorjian and the Titans. Although Anstey’s signature was a major coup, Victoria also suffered a major loss with Frank Drmic signing with Brisbane. In a surprise move, however, Drmic would exercise a European out clause before the start of the season and head overseas before backflipping, returning to Australia and inking a deal with the Sydney Kings. To fit Anstey in, Victoria released Nathan Taylor (to Melbourne), replaced David Smith with Jason Smith’s older brother Darren and signed Kiwi guard Mark Dickel to replace Drmic.

Dickel, who just graduated from UNLV, was signed as an import player as New Zealand players weren’t considered local players in the NBL until 2003.

Anstey (16.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks) returned a vastly improved player from the NBA, but coach Goorjian surprised many by bringing Anstey off the bench this season, favouring Brett Wheeler (13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds) in the starting line-up as he looked to replicate the success of the double-headed centre that was Anstey and John Dorge during the Magic’s 1996 championship run.

Offensively the Titans were led by Jason Smith (20.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists) who put up career high scoring numbers this season, and Tony Ronaldson (16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists), Darryl McDonald (15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 2.7 steals) and Dickel (13.2 points, 3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists) filled out the remainder of the starting line-up.

As a result of mid-season injuries to Ben Pepper, Chris Anstey and Darren Smith, development players Marcus Wright and Pero Vasiljevic were elevated to the full roster and helped the team finish the season strong. Victoria finished the season in first place (22-6) with Anstey, who was named the Titans MVP despite doing it all coming off the bench, was an easy choice for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year.

This saw them face off against long-time rivals, the sixth-placed Adelaide 36ers and behind a season high scoring performance from Anstey (27 points and collected 16 rebounds) took out game one (101-96). The Sixers, behind star duo Darnell Mee and Kevin Brooks, would then rebound to win games two (96-83) and three (115-103). Mee (22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) and Brooks (25 points and 7 rebounds) put up big numbers over the three-game series.

As a result of finishing first, the Titans being the highest placed loser in the Qualifying Finals allowed them to proceed to the semi-finals. There they would face the Townsville Crocodiles, led by 37 year old Robert Rose, who had just become the league’s oldest winner of the NBL’s MVP award. Thanks to veteran players Tony Ronaldson (22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists) and Darryl McDonald (20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) stepped up and delivered a game one win for Victoria (106-97). An injury to Anstey in the early moments of game two saw him miss the remainder of the series, which saw the Titans lose both game two (98-82) and three (101-97). A major factor was Anstey suffering an injury in the early moments of game two which kept him out of both games.

In a twist of fate, the Crocodiles roster was made up of a number of players discarded by Brian Goorjian in recent years. In addition to Rose, both Pat Reidy and Mike Kelly were Titans cast-offs, both playing huge roles in eliminating the Titans. Reidy (19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists) was an equal game high scorer (with Rose and Andrew Goodwin) in game two, while Kelly (17 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists) was the clear difference maker in the deciding game three.

The Titans falling short of the Grand Final was also the first time a Brian Goorjian team hadn’t reached an NBL Grand Final since 1996 (seven years).

2001/02
After the Titans failed to reach the Grand Final in 2001, the first time a Brian Goorjian team hadn’t reached a NBL Grand Final in seven years. It was decided the triple big man rotation of Chris Anstey, Brett Wheeler, and Ben Pepper wasn’t working, and as a result, Pepper was not re-signed. As a result of Darryl McDonald becoming a naturalised Australian, the team used its second import spot to sign power forward Jamahl Mosely as his replacement. Mark Dickel remained the team’s second import, as New Zealand players were not considered local players until 2003. The Titans’ next moves were replacing Glen Siegle with young guard Nathan Crosswell who had been playing for the Melbourne Tigers state league squad.

Anstey would move into the starting lineup this season, and alongside team captain Tony Ronaldson, Jason Smith, Brad Sheridan and McDonald guide the team to a first place regular season finish for the second year in a row.

The team featured six players scoring in double-figures that year with team captain Ronaldson (19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds) leading the team way. Anstey, who would fill the box score in multiple categories each game, averaging 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game resulting in him being awarded the Titans club MVP. Mosely, who averaged 11.5 points and 6.7 rebounds off the bench, become the first import player to win the league’s sixth man of the year award in the process. As well as Jason Smith (18.8 points and 5.4 rebounds), Darryl McDonald (12.0 points and 7.3 assists), Mark Dickel (11.6 points) to round out one of the most productive team rotations in NBL history.

The first stage of the playoffs saw Victoria take on sixth-placed Melbourne and, after winning game one (113-107), went on to lose games two (105–107) and three (103-97). As a result of finishing first, they progressed to the next stage as a result of being the highest-ranked losing team in the Qualifying Finals. This time, facing third-ranked Adelaide this time, the Titans lost game one in Melbourne 92-99, evened the series with a 86-81 win in Adelaide, then lost game three 103-92. The loss would become the last game for the Victoria Titans franchise, with the team falling into financial strife shortly after. The team would sell their licence to a group comprising a number of former North Melbourne Giants staff headed by Peter Fiddes and rebranding to the Victoria Giants.

VICTORIA GIANTS
2002/03 – TITANS BECOME GIANTS
After Victoria Titans folded in mid-2002, a group fronted by businessman Peter Fiddes was granted a licence in their place, and with new ownership primarily made up of former North Melbourne personnel, still upset about the Giants/Magic merger in 1998, re-branded the team to the Giants.

The team was put together on a shoestring budget and could not retain head coach Brian Goorjian nor the majority of the team’s higher-profile talent. The club was able to re-sign veteran Darryl McDonald and import Jamahl Mosely to new (reduced) deals but lacked the financial backing to re-sign much of the local talent losing Chris Anstey, Jason Smith and Mark Dickel to more lucrative European contracts and Tony Ronaldson and Brett Wheeler to the Perth Wildcats.

The Giants had been able to re-sign some of the Titans’ younger talent, Nathan Crosswell, Darren Smith and Marcus Wright and committed to giving them increased minutes and becoming a club focused on giving young Aussie talent a pathway to the NBL. This saw the team fill the remaining roster spots with young players who had been playing in the state leagues, giving them their first big break into the national league. Nik Mirich, who had just graduated from George Mason University, was signed, both Lindsey Tait and Miles Pearce were recruited from the semi-professional New Zealand NBL and Rhys Carter (AIS), David Cooper (Dandenong Rangers) and 36-year-old David Biwer (Nunawading) who had all been playing in the SEABL state league rounded out the bench.

The team would be led by former North Melbourne backup guard Mark Wright, who helped the Giants win a championship in 1989. First year coach Wright and the Giants and budget roster had been picked to finish last on the ladder and began the season with a road loss to Perth (95-85). The team would then surprise everyone by beating the West Sydney Razorbacks in their home opener (122–106) before destroying their cross-town rivals Melbourne (130–102).

The team were led by Jamahl Mosely (21.2 points, 9.5 rebounds), captain Darryl McDonald (14.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.4 steals), who led the league in steals, and Nathan Crosswell (15.1 points and 2.9 assists), who grabbed the increased playing opportunities by the horns and moved into the starting lineup.

By round nine, the Giants were sitting on a respectable record (4-5) and sat middle of the NBL ladder. The wheels truly fell off from here, however, as the team lost the next seven games in a row, culminating with the release of import forward Dusty Rychart (16.5 points and 8.3 rebounds) was viewed as underperforming. Behind the scenes, the Giants had made a offer to a athletic big man Pero Vasiljevic, who had exited his deal with Canberra due to their financial instability. The front office was enamoured with Adonis Jordan, a key player during Magic v Giants rivalries of old that had recently been released from Townsville as Rychart’s replacement before letting him go. However, Jordan (19.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists) failed to change anything in the Giant’s win-loss column, with Victoria finishing the season with four wins in their final ten games. Injuries also took their toll during this period, with Darren Smith (13.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals) injuring his knee’s medial and cruciate ligaments, forcing him to miss the second half of the season. Jamahl Mosley (finger) and Marcus Wright (leg) would also both miss a month’s worth of games, resulting in the Giants finishing the season in second last place (9-21).

MELBOURNE TIGERS
2003/04
In 2003/04 McDonald averaged 7.7 points and 3.2 rebounds, and helped guide the Tigers to a fifth place finish in the regular season with a 20-13 record.

2004/05
During the 2004/05 season, McDonald averaged 7.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists alongside Melbourne Tigers legends Andrew Gaze, Lanard Copeland and Mark Bradtke, helping to guide the Tigers to a 17-15 record and a sixth place finish in the regular season. The team would defeat Perth 108-88 in the first round of the elimination finals before losing to the Townsville Crocodiles in the second elimination final, 100-112. This game would be the last for Tigers legends Andrew Gaze and his father Lindsey who had decided would both retire at the end of the season.

With Gaze, Copeland, Bradtke and Lindsay Gaze all retired and McDonald not yet talking to new coach Al Westover he was offered a contract to play with Wollongong. After agreeing to play for the Hawks he was later called by Westover who told him to wait until the Tigers could make a offer before deciding. Upon learning the Tigers were about to ink a deal with former NBA talent Chris Anstey he chose to remain with the Tigers instead.

2005/06
In 2005, the Tigers were forced into rebuilding mode as legendary figures Andrew Gaze and his father Gaze retired while Tigers stalwarts Mark Bradtke and Lanard Copeland headed to Brisbane. By a stroke of luck, Chris Anstey, who after three seasons in Europe had decided he wanted to return to play in Australia, began talking to the Tigers, who were now the only NBL team in Melbourne.

With Anstey on board and McDonald, Rashad Tucker, Dave Thomas, Stephen Hoare and Daryl Corletto returning the team then looked to add a batch of young talent to help usher in a new era of Tigers success adding Tom Greer, Braith Cox and Matt O’Hea. McDonald would go on to average 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 7 assists a game to compliment Anstey, who was named the Philips Most Valuable Player of the 2005/06 Philips Championship season.

Together the Tigers finished with a 25-7 record which was also the best record ever recorded in team history and included a impressive 15-1 home record. After eliminating the Perth Wildcats in the semifinals in two straight games McDonald and the Tigers would go on to defeat the defending triple-champions, the Sydney Kings in three straight games.

2006/07
During the 2006/07 season Darryl McDonald averaged 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals for a Melbourne Tigers team that lost to Brisbane in the NBL Finals – a loss that motivated him to return for one last season the following year.

2007/08
In his final NBL season Darryl McDonald averaged 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals and at age forty-three he was playing 22 minutes per game off the bench and played a key role in the Tigers capturing the 2008 championship. McDonald would play his last game only a few months prior to his 44th birthday (also his jersey number at the time) as the oldest NBL player of all-time.

In his final NBL game Dmac became the first NBL player to play alongside his own son, Derrick McDonald.

A little known fact is that after retiring from the Tigers he was called by then Brisbane coach Joey Wright who offered him a chance to play with the Bullets as a backup to Adam Gibson. The offer included a three year deal where he would transition to the coaching staff after playing. Although McDonald was prepared to sign the deal, the Bullets fell into financial strife shortly after and were removed from the league prior to the 2008/09 season.

Darryl McDonald played fifteen seasons across three NBL teams. This included the North Melbourne Giants, Victoria Titans, Victoria Giants and Melbourne Tigers. He averaged 12.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in 486 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 16th in total games played.
– 27th in total points
– 46th in total rebounds
– 2nd in total assists
– 1st in total steals
– 47th in total blocks
– 9th in assists per game.
– 14th in steals per game.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Brisbane Bullets Assistant Coach Darryl Macdonald started his historic NBL career 30 years ago today! ????#RIVERCITYSTRONG pic.twitter.com/C69pZpN6iX

— Brisbane Bullets (@BrisbaneBullets) February 12, 2024

Dan Boyce (815 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.