BIO: Kian Dennis was born in Sunshine Coast (QLD) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Brisbane basketball program. Dennis received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2019. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Kian Dennis made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

As a 18-year-old rookie, Dennis made three appearances for Brisbane during the 2019-20 season.

CAIRNS TAIPANS
2023/24
After finishing third with an 18-10 record and losing a deciding semifinal to eventual champions Sydney, Cairns entered Adam Forde’s third year as head coach without Keanu Pinder (to Perth), DJ Hogg (to Sydney), Shannon Scott and Gabe Hadley (to Brisbane), Majok Deng (to Tasmania), Ben Ayre (to South East Melbourne) and Mirko Djeric (released). Captain Tahjere McCall, Bul Kuol, Sam Waardenburg, Lat Mayen and Jonah Antonio returned, while Patrick Miller (via Bamberg), Sam Mennenga (via Davidson), Akoldah Gak (via Illawarra), Taran Armstrong (via California Baptist), Bobi Klintman (via Wake Forest), Josh Roberts (via Manhattan), Lachlan Anderson (via Skopje) and Alex Mudronja (via Illawarra) joined the roster.

Kian Dennis (via Southern Districts) signed a two-year deal with Cairns as a development player in August 2023, with the second season a club option. It was his second development-player opportunity after making three appearances for Brisbane during the 2019/20 season. Dennis had averaged 10 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Spartans, with his season-high 15 points against the Cairns Marlins catching Forde’s attention. “I want you in a Taipans uniform, I love the way you play,” Forde told him after the game.

A dislocated shoulder suffered at training ruled Dennis out of the opening rounds. His first NBL appearance since his rookie season with Brisbane came at John Cain Arena on November 5, where Dennis (0 points) played 1:21 off the bench as South East Melbourne defeated Cairns 91-78. Mayen (12 points and 6 rebounds) and Armstrong (12 points and 4 rebounds) led the Taipans, while Mitchell Creek (21 points and 11 rebounds) starred for the Phoenix.

Dennis (0 points across 2 games) remained at the end of Forde’s rotation and was activated as injury cover during the season. His longest and final appearance came at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on January 27, where Dennis (0 points) played 3:45 and missed his only field-goal attempt as Adelaide defeated Cairns 88-71. Mayen (15 points and 9 rebounds) and Kuol (13 points) led the Taipans, while Dejan Vasiljevic (28 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals) controlled the game for the 36ers.

Miller (19.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.2 steals) led Cairns in scoring and assists, while McCall (17 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals) anchored the backcourt. Kuol (12.7 points and 3.1 rebounds), Klintman (9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds), Waardenburg (9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds), Armstrong (7.7 points and 4 rebounds), Mayen (6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds), Mennenga (6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds) and Gak (5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds) were the other main contributors. Miller received the club’s Most Valuable Player and Players’ Player awards, McCall was named Defensive Player of the Year, Klintman received Members’ Choice MVP, Mayen won the Coaches Award and Mudronja (0.2 points across 9 games) earned the Commitment to Community award.

Already eliminated from postseason contention, Cairns closed the season at the Cairns Convention Centre on February 16 by completing its first regular-season sweep of first-placed Melbourne with a 97-88 victory. McCall (23 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals) and Miller (20 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists) led the Taipans, while Ian Clark (20 points) was United’s leading scorer as Cairns finished eighth with a 12-16 record. Dennis did not play.

2025/26
Kian Dennis remained part of Cairns’ development program and provided additional depth behind the main roster.

Dennis (0 points and 1 assist across 1 game) received one playing opportunity, with Dennis (0 points and 1 assist) logging 4:14 against South East Melbourne on November 14 as Cairns lost 101-90. The Taipans finished ninth with a 9-24 record and closed the season with a 115-84 loss to New Zealand.

Kian Dennis currently plays for the Cairns Taipans and has played 6 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0.1 assists since entering the league in 2019.