BIO: Jordan Usher was born in Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Jordan Usher made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 25 years of age. He scored 35 points in his first game.

After missing the NBL playoffs in 2023, Perth decided to re-tool the roster after losing NBA talent Luke Travers (to Melbourne) aquiring highly coveted free agent Keanu Pinder (via Cairns) and promising rookie Ben Henshall.

Henshall’s signing would culminate with the Wildcats decision to buy out Todd Blanchfield (to Illawarra) and Mitchell Norton (to Brisbane) from their contracts, allowing Perth to bring in some younger talent to boost the squad after two consecutive years of missing the playoffs. 18 year old French tyro Alexandre Sarr was acquired via the Next Star Program, import players Usher and Kristian Doolittle were added to the roster and David Okwera (via Melbourne), a Perth junior talent, signed to a multi-year deal.

Upon signing with the Wildcats, Usher made a bold proclamation, that his goal was to win the NBL Defensive Player of the Year award.

“I’m a elite athlete, I get out in transition, I’m a top tier defender and I’m trying to come get that Defensive Player Of the Year award over there,” he said.

Perth’s season began with a season-opening victory over Tasmania, where Usher (35 points) set RAC Arena alight in his Wildcats debut, scoring the most points ever in a Wildcat debut.

Then came a four-game losing streak where Usher struggled to re-capture the golden form of game one which prompted coach Rillie to move Usher to the role of sixth man in favor of New Zealander Hyrum Harris followed. After the move on November 4, Usher reached double figures in 15 of 24 games. His best performances came in the overtime loss to Melbourne United at John Cain Arena on December 23, hitting 23 points to go with four rebounds, before 24, four and five assists in the win over Sydney at RAC Arena on January 21.

“It’s never a hit to the ego. You have to be resilient to that type of stuff, especially in-house or anything with my teammates mates or my own coaches. If that’s what we think is going to win more games, then I am all for it,” Usher said about his move to the bench during the season.

Perenial league MVP Cotton was also a key factor in the slow start, with a new offence run through guards Tai and Corey Webster, seeing him left routinely in the corners. Cotton’s lack of contact with the ball even resulted in his wife taking to social media and calling for change, something which made national headlines.

The Bullets loss prompted new addition Pinder (13.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.7 steals) to publicly promote that the team would win their next five games. His deep fortune-telling proceeded in the Wildcats, turning their season around.

After a poor showing across the team’s first seven games, Bryce Cotton (22.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.5 steals) broke out of his early-season offensive slump, scoring 29 points in a dominant win over Adelaide on November 4 and from this game onwards, he was the point guard of old.

In December, he dropped a season-high 41 points in a December 1 triumph over Sydney and across an eight-game span from December 15 to January 21, Cotton averaged 30.4 points, including four 30-point games and, in the process, sealed the MVP conversation.

The Wildcats’ success also came from a number of key moves from Rillie, bringing Hyrum Harris (5.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists) into the starting line-up, and moving Usher (12.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists) into a sixth-man role after he struggling through Perth’s initial games. Embracing his new role, he relished the opportunity of providing instant energy and offensive punch. On numerous occasions, coach Rillie praised Usher for his professionalism, with some games leaving him on the floor in tight situations late in games – notably the December 15 matchup against Tasmania.

Despite being only 18, Alexandre Sarr (9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks) showed great poise for his age, showcasing his potential to be an NBA star. In only his third NBL game, Sarr came through in the final two minutes, nailing two triples against the Adelaide 36ers after Keanu Pinder fouled out and by the end of the season, he had skyrocketed by pre-draft scouting reports and was tipped to be the number two pick in the NBA draft.

Perth’s hot form saw them finish in second place (17-11) and return to the postseason. Cotton claimed his fourth MVP award at the end of the season, surpassing Brisbane Bullets legend Leroy Loggins (three), moving into outright second only behind leader Andrew Gaze (seven).

Perth’s run during the second half of the season ended abruptly however, with a semifinal series loss to eventual champions Tasmania.

Jordan Usher played one season in the NBL. He averaged 12.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 31 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (811 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.