NICKNAME/S: Drewey, The Factor

BIO: Andrew Barry Casson was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Melbourne basketball program. Gaze grew up at Albert Park Basketball Stadium where his father, Lindsey operated as the general manager. Growing up Gaze attended Albert Park College and played basketball for the Melbourne Tigers junior and state league (Victorian Basketball Association) team. During this time he also studied at Victoria University in Melbourne.

When the Melbourne Tigers were elevated from the VBA to the NBL in 1984 Andrew and Lindsey, the head coach of the Tigers, began their NBL careers.

FAMILY: He has an older sister, Janet. Gaze is also the nephew of former Australian Opals coach Tony Gaze and the cousin of Mark Gaze, who played 182 games in the NBL (1983–1991) and represented Australia at the 1982 FIBA World Championships. Additionally he is the second cousin of Canberra Capitals guard Kate Gaze, the daughter of Mark Gaze and former WNBL player Michelle O’Connor.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Andrew Gaze made his NBL debut with the Melbourne Tigers at 18 years of age. He scored 16 points in his first game.

Andrew Gaze was a part of the Melbourne Tigers’ inaugural NBL squad, which entered the league in 1984. The Tigers’ first year in the league saw them finish with an 11-13 record and narrowly missed the NBL playoffs. As an 18-year-old, Gaze would win the NBL Rookie of the Year Award after averaging an impressive 29.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.6 steals in 24 games.

1985
Andrew Gaze then went on to average 30.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in his second NBL season, a stat-line unmatched by any player of that age still to this date. However, his Tigers struggled to improve at the same rate, finishing even worse in their second year in the league with a record of 5 wins and 21 losses.

1986
In 1986, Andrew Gaze (36.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists) and new import Paul Stanley (33.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) combined to average 71 points per game for the Melbourne Tigers. This year marked the first time Gaze would lead the league in scoring, a feat he would repeat every year until 2001. Stanley managed to score 40 points or more five times, including a 50-point game.

Despite the offensive firepower of Gaze and Stanley, the Tigers still struggled to find wins, managing only six wins and twenty losses that season. Gaze’s efforts were rewarded with a spot on the All-NBL First Team, also the first of his career.

1987
At 21 years of age, Gaze delivered his best statistical season in 1987. This included his career-high 60 point game against the Newcastle Falcons and five other 50-point games. At season’s end, Gaze (44.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists) had recorded the highest-scoring season in NBL history, a record which still stands today.

Despite Gaze’s brilliance, success continued to elude the Tigers, with the team losing every away game and finishing with a dismal record of 3-23.

1988
In 1988 his numbers dipped a little compared to his output the previous year (it was always going to be difficult to continue dropping 44 points every night!). Gaze’s scoring dropped from a ridiculous 44 points to an almost human 37 points per game, which still stands as the fourth highest scoring season in NBL history.

Gaze then led his Melbourne Tigers team to an eight win season, their best result since their 1984 debut.

1989
In 1989, Melbourne moved on from imports James Bullock and Alvis Rogers and signed talented forwards Dave Simmons and David Colbert. The Tigers also added local players Ray Gordon (via North Melbourne), Warrick Giddey (via Illawarra) and rookie Stephen Whitehead, who would become the Tigers’ core group for the next five years. Naturalised players Eric Bailey and Brad Pineau were also signed, giving the Tigers their deepest roster since entering the league in 1984.

Andrew Gaze (34.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.2 assists) led the league in both scoring and assists, but it was the addition of new faces Simmons (26.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks), David Colbert (25.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks) and Gordon (11.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals) that made the difference. Behind the Tigers’ revamped roster, they were able to jump from twelfth position (8-16) the season prior to finish fourth (17-10) and reached the playoffs for the first time in the team’s history.

Melbourne’s inexperience became evident in the postseason, however, being eliminated in the first round by the Sydney Kings.

This season Gaze also claimed the MVP award of the 1989 NBL All-Star game.

1990
Off the back of the Tigers’ revamped roster, which led to their first playoff appearance ever, Melbourne re-signed its core group and looked to become an even stronger team in 1990. Although they lost naturalised swingman Eric Bailey (to Gold Coast), they were able to replace him with an even better option in Cecil Exum (via North Melbourne), who had been a big part of the Giants’ championship in 1989. Imports Dave Colbert and Dave Simmons were re-signed.

Andrew Gaze, who had spent the off-season playing with Seton Hall University and narrowly missing out on a contract with the Seattle Supersonics, looked to light up the league.

Gaze (37.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 2.6 steals), Colbert (31.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks) and Simmons (27.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.3) filled every column in the stats sheet every night, as well as combining for 96 points per game.

Melbourne hit a major speed bump when Gaze was diagnosed as having a blood clot in his right shoulder, an issue that almost ended his playing career. As a result, Gaze would miss the Tigers’ last two games of the regular season and all playoff games, but Melbourne still managed to finish in fourth place (17-9). They faced off against fifth-seed Perth in the elimination finals, where Colbert (52 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals) erupted for a career-high in Gaze’s absence, but it wasn’t enough to get past the well-balanced attack of Perth. Ricky Grace (30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists) made 10 of his 13 shots and seemed to set up teammate David Close (25 points and 6 rebounds) for an open look whenever he didn’t score, allowing Perth to walk away victors (122-100).

In game two, Colbert (42 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) was unstoppable again, and teammate Dave Simmons (29 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists) also delivered a big game also but Perth managed to shut down every other Tigers’ player and ended Melbourne’s season behind a ten point win (123-113).

1991
Melbourne had become a formidable team by 1991, and had it not been for a blood clot that derailed Andrew Gaze’s season, could have seen a deep playoff run from the Tigers. This year would see the trio of Gaze (38.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.7 steals), David Colbert (24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks) and Dave Simmons (24.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks) get the chance to see how far they could go with a full season together. Melbourne was also boosted by the emergence of Stephen Whitehead (9.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals), who would double his production with a shift to the team’s starting lineup.

The Tigers made history this season when they faced off against Illawarra and recorded the highest scoring game in NBL history (Jul 27). The game saw 344 points scored, and the Tigers came out as victors (186-158). Gaze (59 points, 11 assists, and 4 steals), Colbert (42 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists) and Simmons (36 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists) did the bulk of the scoring for Melbourne and Patrick Fairs (41 points and 10 rebounds) and Greg Hubbard (36 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists) top scored for Illawarra, who shot 76% from the field, which remains the highest shooting percentage ever recorded by a team in a losing effort.

Once into the playoffs, Melbourne would lose game one (115-129) and game two (96-132) to Adelaide in the elimination finals. The scoring brilliance of Gaze, combined with the Tigers’ regular season success, was enough to earn him the NBL Most Valuable Player award for the first time. Gaze would then take home the NBL MVP award in seven of his next eight seasons.

1992
1992 began with the Tigers replacing forward David Colbert with former NBA guard Lanard Copeland and together with Andrew Gaze, the two became one of the most exciting duos in the NBL. Gaze (33.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists) would lead the league in scoring, with Copeland (28.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists) becoming one of the best imports in the league.

The Tigers’ much faster lineup would finish the regular season in third place with a 15-9 record. Once into the postseason, the Tigers would eliminate Perth in the quarterfinals (2-1), defeat the Sydney Kings in the semifinals (2-1) and make their first NBL Grand Final appearance ever.

Facing off against crosstown rivals the South East Melbourne Magic, Gaze (26 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in the win) and the Tigers came out firing in the first game of the series, comfortably defeating the Magic (116-98).

South East Melbourne would go on to win the next two games of the series, however, and claim the 1992 NBL championship.

1993 – THE TIGERS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP
The Tigers’ season began with the huge signing of Mark Bradtke during the pre-season. His arrival made national news, with Bradtke having spent the off-seasonplaying in Spain and giving former team Adelaide a verbal agreement he would play for them if he returned in 1993. However, upon his return to Australia, Bradtke made it known he did not want to play the final year of his contract in Adelaide, amongst rumours the Melbourne Tigers were actively recruiting him. After negotiations between the two parties broke down, the 36ers gave permission for Bradtke to leave if a team would buy out his remaining contract. However, the NBL stepped in and vetoed the buyout, effectively letting Bradtke leave for Melbourne without the 36ers receiving any compensation. After the fact it became clear Bradtke had decided to move to Melbourne to be closer to then girlfriend (and future wife), pro-tennis player Nicole Provis.

Although the Tigers were coming off a grand final appearance, they began the season poorly and no one was pencilling them in for the championship at midseason. After shaking off their slow start (2-7) but finishing the remainder of the season strong (14-3), the Tigers finished the year in third place. Bradtke (17 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) became the missing puzzle piece to Melbourne’s historically weak frontline as Andrew Gaze (32.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.7 steals), Lanard Copeland (22.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.9 steals) led the team in scoring.

During the quarterfinals, the Tigers would easily eliminate Illawarra (2-0), setting up a rematch of last year’s grand final, a semi finals showdown against South East Melbourne. Bradtke, who had shifted to Melbourne from Adelaide during the pre-season, dominated the series. He delivered 21 points and 9 rebounds in the Tiger’s 108-106 win in game one and then backed it up with 28 points and 15 rebounds in their 89-72 win in game two.

On the opposite side of the bracket, the Perth Wildcats (21-5) had finished on top of the ladder and made their way through to the Grand Final.

The series began with the Tigers playing at home and, by the second quarter, were controlling things with a 19 point lead. From there, Melbourne saw four key players fall into foul trouble, which included Robert Sibley (13 points and 4 rebounds) and Bradtke (4 points, 11 rebounds) fouling out. Bradtke struggled against Perth’s interior defenders and finished the game shooting one from nine from the field. Ricky Grace (23 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals) then fueled a late-game surge from Perth which closed the game by four points. In the closing minutes, Perth attempted to close the gap by repeatedly sending Melbourne to the line but with Gaze (41 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists) nailing ten from ten free throws in the final quarter, Melbourne see out the game as victors (117-113).

In a similar fashion to game one, Melbourne took out a early lead in game two (32-22), thanks to the dominance of Bradtke (24 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists). By halftime, however, the ‘Perth Wall’ of James Crawford (32 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks), Andrew Vlahov (23 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks), and Scott Fisher (16 points and 6 rebounds) had reined Bradtke things in and returned fire to lead by six at halftime (60-54).

Perth remained in control of the foul-prone Tigers, who struggled to score after losing both Gaze (22 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Dave Simmons (12 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists) to six fouls. Grace (23 points, 8 rebounds, and 13 assists) came close to recording a triple-double, many of those assists coming from feeding Crawford inside, who made 11 of his 15 shots.

A full house at the Perth Entertainment Centre (8,000 fans) witnessed the Wildcats’ victory (112-105), one that extended their consecutive home winning streak to 17. With game three to be played in Perth and the Tigers have never won on the Wildcats’ home floor, Perth entered the game as clear favourites.

The underdog Tigers, however, survived a strong Perth comeback that cut a 15-point lead to three before Gaze (22 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists) sunk a free throw to give Melbourne a two-point edge with four seconds left on the clock. A last-second shot from Vlahov (31 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) which rattled in and out of the ring, saw the Tigers become NBL champions for the very first time (104-102). Copeland (35 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists) led the team in scoring, while Bradtke (23 points, 19 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) dominated Perth inside after struggling with fouls in the first two games. In a surprising decision, however, Wildcats’ guard Ricky Grace was awarded the Grand Final MVP despite playing for the losing team.

The win saw Lindsay Gaze and his son Andrew complete a ten year journey to win Australia’s oldest basketball club its first national championship.

Surprisingly, the season Andrew Gaze led the Tigers to their first championship was the only season between 1991 and 1998 where he missed out on claiming the league’s MVP award. Instead, voters went with South East Melbourne Magic’s Robert Rose, but Gaze’s championship victory far outweighed any MVP result.

1994
Coming off a title in 1993, the Tigers were able to return with almost the entire roster, losing only backup big man Robert Sibley (to Brisbane), who they would replace with a young Chris Anstey. The defending champions would go on to record their best regular season result in the club’s history (19-7), finishing in second place. Gaze (33.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 2.4 steals) was awarded the league’s Most Valuable Player award and led the league in scoring, while Mark Bradtke (20.2 points, 14.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks) led the league in rebounding and both were also selected to the All-NBL First Team. Once into the postseason, Melbourne would defeat Illawarra convincingly in both game one (107-85) and game two (119-83) before facing a incredibly talented (and deep) Adelaide team in the semifinals, which featured Rob Rose, Mark Davis, Willie Simmons, Phil Smyth, Brett Maher and Chris Blakemore. The 36ers defeated the Tigers first in Adelaide (101-88) and then repeated the result on Melbourne’s home floor (110-101) to end the Tiger’s season and move on to the Grand Final to face North Melbourne.

1995
In 1995, Mark Bradtke requested some time off to allow him to support his wife Nicole’s tennis career as she travelled abroad and miss the first two-thirds of the season. Around that same time, Chris Anstey, a part of the Tigers junior program, also informed the club that he would return, having signed a deal to play with rival club South East Melbourne. Melbourne coach Lindsey Gaze appealed via the NBL tribunal, which ruled that Anstey could not leave the Tigers as long as they could match the contract, which they did.

After some extremely creative salary tweaking, the Magic then signed Anstey to a one year deal worth $180,000 which the Tigers had no interest in matching, allowing Anstey to shift clubs. Once Anstey had signed with the Magic, he renegotiated his contract to a 3-year, $181,000 contract, remaining higher than the Tigers contract not to break any NBL salary cap rules of the time.

The Tigers added forward Matt Reece (via Gold Coast) and centre Blair Smith (via Brisbane) to cover the loss of Bradtke and Anstey.

Andrew Gaze (33.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2.3 steals), Lanard Copeland (25.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.7 steals) and Dave Simmons (14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks) led the team offensively, during a season which saw a merry-go-round of league leaders, during the regular season, Brisbane, Sydney, North Melbourne, South East Melbourne and Melbourne all sat in the number one spot on the ladder some point. With Melbourne narrowly sitting among the top eight team’s (10-7), Bradtke (11.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks) would return to playout the Tigers’ last nine games for the season.

The Tigers would scrape into the playoffs, claiming the eighth seed (14-12), their worst result since 1988. With Bradtke out of form and the team still adjusting to him being back in the lineup, Melbourne was eliminated by the Perth Wildcats in the first round (1-2).

1996
With the Tigers having Mark Bradtke back full-time and able to retain all of their core group except for Stephen Whitehead (to Sydney), Melbourne were able to return to their winning ways after their posting their worst season in eight years. Gaze (31.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists, and 1.7 steals) would eard his sixth MVP this season, leading the Tigers offence alongside Copeland (21.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals) and a rejuvenated Bradtke (22.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks).

Melbourne would finish in first place (21-5), recording their best regular season record in franchise history.

Melbourne would ride the coattails of their ‘Big Three’ through the playoffs, first facing off against the eight seed Brisbane (14-12). Despite losing game one by 21 points (97-118), the Tigers would return to Melbourne and win game two (96-87) thanks to big games from Gaze (30 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists) and Bradtke (24 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) and game three (111-93) with Gaze (29 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists) and Bradtke (29 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks) again leading the team in scoring.

The Tigers would then meet Canberra in the semifinals, again losing the first game (98-87) with Robert Rose (22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists), Darnell Mee (21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks), and Simon Dwight (20 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks) proving too good. Melbourne rebounded with Gaze (30 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals), narrowly missing out on a triple-double in their game two win (100-82), and then in game three (91-87), Gaze (29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks) and Bradtke (26 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks) combined to score half of the Tigers points, eliminating the Cannons in a tightly fought four-point win.

Moving on to the grand final series, Melbourne would face South East Melbourne (19-7) who finished in second place during the regular season. Melbourne was too good in game one (100-89), with Gaze (35 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists) delivering his best game of the series in front of a packed Melbourne crowd. Mark Bradtke (24 points and 15 rebounds) and Lanard Copeland (23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists) were also brilliant, scoring whenever Gaze didn’t, and the Tigers ‘Big Three’ combining for 82 points.

The Magic would then bounce back and win game two (88-84) in front of a Grand Final record crowd of 15,064 at the National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park, which still stands as Melbourne’s highest-attended NBL game ever. Gaze (21 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists) led the Tigers in scoring in the loss, while the Magic were led by Tony Ronaldson (28 points) and Mike Kelly (19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals).

The third and deciding game was held less than 48 hours later, a scenario that benefited the younger legs of the Magic and allowed them to deliver the final blow (107-70). Billy McCaffrey (24 points and 5 assists) and the incredibly efficient performances from Sam MacKinnon (18 points and 9 rebounds), who shot 9/10 from the field, and John Dorge (16 points and 8 rebounds) who made 8 of his 11 shots saw South East Melbourne’s field goal percentage be the game’s deciding factor. The Tigers made only 23 of 60 shots (38%) compared to the Magic, hitting 46 of their 85 shots (54%) in the 30-point blowout.

The 1996 NBL Grand Final series drew a aggregate attendance record of 43,605 (average 14,535), the largest crowd ever for a three-game NBL series. Magic guard Mike Kelly was awarded the Finals MVP award after averaging 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.3 steals across the three-game series.

1997 – 17-0 AND THE SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP
After the blowout loss the Tigers suffered at the hands of the South East Melbourne Magic in game three of the 1996 NBL Finals, the team chose not to re-sign long-time import Dave Simmons and replaced him with athletic wing Jarvis Lang.

The season began poorly with the team for multiple reasons. It became rapidly clear that Lang (19.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) was battling serious knee problems, which limited his playing time, not to mention the Tigers being stripped of a win against Adelaide due to Bradtke not getting proper clearance before returning from the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.

With a record of three wins, nine losses, fans and media began to lay the blame on Lindsay Gaze and called for him to step down as coach. The Tigers players, however, knew the slow start was due to their efforts, and so with a renewed focus, as well as the mid-season decision to sack Lang and replace him with Marcus Timmons, they looked to turn things around. After one trial practice session, the Tigers signed Timmons, and everything began to click, and he became the missing piece to their early-season puzzle. Timmons had spent the previous season playing in Illawarra, where he was among the league leaders in steals (10th), scoring (3rd) and rebounding (3rd), collecting more boards than new teammate Bradtke.

Over the remaining 22 games, Melbourne was able to finish in second place (19-11), behind South East Melbourne (22-8), going on a 14-game consecutive winning streak to finish the regular season. Gaze (30.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.4 steals) would lead the league in scoring for the 12th time and win his seventh MVP award. Copeland (23.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 steals) and Bradtke (20.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks) delivered as always, and Timmons (17.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks) complimented them perfectly.

The Tigers received a first-round bye in the playoffs before meeting North Melbourne in the semifinals. Melbourne defeated North Melbourne (107-99) on their home court in game one and at home for game two (112-105). On the other side of the semi final bracket, the reigning champions South East Melbourne defeated Perth to set up a grand final rematch.

Behind big games from Lanard Copeland (29 points and 4 rebounds), Marcus Timmons (24 points and 9 rebounds), and Andrew Gaze (23 points, 9 assists), the Tigers blew the Magic off the court to the tune of 37 points in the opening game (111-74), extending their winning streak to 17.

Goorjian knew the game plan had to change, and he decided to start veteran John Dorge over young centre Chris Anstey in game two. The move resulted in a huge game from Anstey (21 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks) as the Magic defeated the Tigers in a much more physical contest (84-78).

The opening quarter of game three ended with scores tied, but thanks to the Tigers frontcourt limiting Anstey (8 points) this time around and a offensive run in the second quarter, the game was all but over by half-time. The Tigers never looked back from there, going on to win their second NBL championship (93-83).

A great Australian sporting rivalry!! pic.twitter.com/qVrlKwROkN

— RANDOM HOOPS (@HoopsRandom) March 21, 2023

Tony Ronaldson (26 points) led the Magic in scoring, but with Copeland (26 points and 6 rebounds), Gaze (22 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists), Bradtke ( 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists) and Timmons (20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals) combining for 89 points to outscore the Magic by themselves, it was over. Copeland was named Finals MVP after averaging 27.6 points and 3.3 rebounds (56% shooting) over the three game series, yet it was blue-collar Tigers forward Warrick Giddey who the Melbourne Tigers deemed the deciding factor in the game three victory. Giddey recorded zero points, four rebounds, three assists and one block, and if you hadn’t seen the game, you’d probably question why he even bothered showing up. But Giddey delivered three crucial plays in the series’ closing moments that turned the tide. Firstly a hard foul on Sam MacKinnon, which broke the Magic star’s nose. The second was a huge block on Frank Drmic, and finally, a mid-court screen on Mike Kelly that came close to knocking him out of his shoes.

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1998
Melbourne was able to return with its entire Grand Final roster intact. While the Tigers had surprised the league in 1997, both with their 17-game consecutive win streak and their championship win, in 1998, the team fell far short of expectations. In hindsight, the Tigers’ core group had reached the downside of their careers with Gaze and Copeland (both 33 y/o), veterans Ray Gordon (32 y/o), and Warrick Giddey (30 y/o) all over thirty, while the average of a NBL player in 1998 being 26 years of age. This left Mark Bradtke (28 y/o) and Timmons (26 y/o) as the players on the team scoring over six points per game and under 30 years of age. Melbourne would start the season slowly, winning four of their first ten games, but head into the playoffs on a four-game winning streak, finishing in fifth place (16-14). Once into the finals, Melbourne was swiftly eliminated in the first round in two straight games by Brisbane, who featured a versatile four-person rotation just as potent as the Tigers. The four-man combo of Steve Woodberry (26.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 steals), Leroy Loggins (17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals), Chuck Kornegay (16.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks) and CJ Bruton (15.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.8 steals) proving too strong in their game one win at home (93-80) and their 33 point demolition of the Tigers in game two (114-81).

Gaze (31.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.4 steals) would lead the league in scoring, be included in the All-NBL first team and earn his eighth and final league MVP in a year where the Tigers slowly began to fade away from championship contenders from this season onwards.

The core group of Lanard Copeland (22.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals), Mark Bradtke (15.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.5 blocks), Ray Gordon (4.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Warrick Giddey (3.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists) all saw their numbers decline from the previous season with Timmons (19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, and 1.4 steals) the only player on the roster to have a better season than the one prior.

1998/99
With the NBL changing its schedule to become a summer sport in 1998, the Tigers found a renewed vigour that resulted in them finishing the 1998/99 season in second place during the regular season. Gaze (33.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists), Lanard Copeland (25.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists), Marcus Timmons (20.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.3 blocks) and Bradtke (17.1 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.9 blocks) combined to average a ridiculous 97 points per game.

Melbourne won 17 games and earned a playoff rematch with Brisbane, who had eliminated Melbourne from the playoffs the season prior. The Tigers would get their revenge this time around and defeat the Bullets in two straight games. in the semifinals, the Tigers would then face long-time rivals Brian Goorjian and the Victoria Titans, and even with star import Marcus Timmnons (31 points and 9 rebounds) delivering a unstoppable performance, the Titans held on to win (80-77) with Tony Ronaldson (17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) top scoring for the victors and Paul Maley (16 points) having a efficient game off the bench, making seven of his nine shots in 22 minutes of court time.

In game two, the Titans led the Tigers in all four quarters and again came away victorious (94-87). Mike Kelly (19 points and 7 rebounds) would step up, making 7 of his 12 shots, and Ben Pepper (15 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks) had his best game of the series, shooting a efficient 7 of 12 from the field.

1999/00
This season, Melbourne would lose Blair Smith (to West Sydney) and import Marcus Timmons (to Perth), replacing them with athletic young big man Pero Vasiljevic (from Canberra) and Bennett Davison, who would arrive injured and be unable to join the team until six games in. The retirement of Tigers legend Ray Gordon also opened up another roster spot, which Lindsey Gaze would use to sign rookie Luke McMillan. Although Davison (19.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.4 blocks) would fill the hole left by Timmons quite capably, the aging core of the Tigers, including the 30-year-old Mark Bradtke (17.9 points, 14.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks) and Lanard Copeland (21.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals) and Andrew Gaze (29.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists), who both celebrated their 34th birthdays this season struggled against the league’s best team’s. Melbourne finished in fifth place this season and scraped into the playoffs despite not having a winning record (14-14), the team’s worst record since they last failed to make the playoffs in 1988. Melbourne then lost to the Victoria Titans in the Quarterfinals (1-2). Gaze would be selected to the All-NBL first team for a record fifteenth time, the last time he was recognised for the award. This season cemented the decline of the Gaze led Tigers, with the team never finishing higher than fifth again until after the retirement of both Andrew and Lindsey Gaze.

At the end of the season, Gaze and Bradtke also guided the Australian Boomers to a equal best fourth-place finish in Sydney before both retiring from international play.

2000/01
The Tigers would see several new faces join the squad this season after losing both Bennett Davison (to Europe) and Warrick Giddey to injury. David Smith (via North Melbourne), Stephen Hoare (via West Sydney) and Nathan Taylor (via Victoria). Guard Phil Handy was signed as a import replacement for Bennett Davison, and Melbourne began the season winning five of their first eight matches.

Around this time, Phil Handy (10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) joined Giddey on the injury list (missing eight games), so Jason Sedlock (3.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) was signed as an injury replacement during Handy’s absence. At the mid-way point of the season, Melbourne received the bonus of long-serving guard Lanard Copeland gaining his Australian citizenship and qualifying as a local player. To take advantage of that, Melbourne used the additional import spot to sign former Townsville star Clarence Tyson (3.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) for the remaining 14 games.

This season saw Daniel Egan (11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.0 blocks) develop into a key part of the Tiger’s rotation, Copeland (20.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.0 steals) continue to score buckets as Gaze (29.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists) finished as the league’s highest scorer and Mark Bradtke (21.3 points, 14.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks) led the league in rebounds while also being selected to the All-NBL First team.

With Melbourne entering their final ten games, they sat just outside the top six and with Lindsey Gaze trying to balance the incoming talent with the Tigers’ existing core, they went on a five-game losing streak to drop out of the playoff race. A three-game winning streak to end the season came too late, and Melbourne finished in seventh spot (13-15), missing out on the playoffs by three wins. This would be the first time Melbourne would finish with a losing record and miss the playoffs since 1988.

2001/02
Gaze (19 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) played second fiddle this season, with Tigers big man Mark Bradtke (22.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) stepping up to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award.

The Tigers finished the season in sixth place (16-14) and reached the semi finals, eliminating Victoria (2-1) in first round. There they faced off against the fifth placed West Sydney Razorbacks, winning the opening game at home (114-93). However, once the series shifted to Sydney, the Razorbacks would defeat Melbourne in games two (109-125) and three (103-115), where they would move on to Grand Final only to lose to eventual champions Adelaide.

2002/03
Gaze (22.1 points, 4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists) would lead the Tigers to sixth place finish (15-15), alongside Mark Bradtke, who would lead the league in rebounding this season (12.9 rebounds per game) and make history by breaking the all-time rebound record (5,200) held by his former Adelaide teammate Mark Davis.

Melbourne would finish sixth place during the regular season and face the Sydney Kings who finished in first place behind the offensive talent of Shane Heal and possibly the greatest ‘One and Done’ player in NBL history Chris Williams. Melbourne fell short in game one (101-89), but bounced back to win game two (108-104) at home. After winning the league’s MVP award, Williams (25 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks) would deliver one of the greatest games in Finals history, making sure the Kings won the deciding game. The Kings locked down Melbourne’s ‘Big Three’ of Gaze, Copeland and Bradtke who in rare fashion were limited to only 34 points combined.

Kavossy Frankllin (19 points) was also a key part of the Kings victory (114-89), as they went on to win the NBL championship.

2003/04
Andrew Gaze sported grey hair during most of his NBL career, but it wasn’t until at 38 that his numbers began to follow suit. Although Gaze (21.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) continued piling up points this season, his rebounds and assists were at a all-time low. The Tigers hobbled to a fifth-place spot (20-13) before losing a first-round elimination series to the Brisbane Bullets.

2004/05
With Melbourne’s roster aging rapidly, import Rashad Tucker was added mid-season. Tucker, who had begun the season with Perth Wildcats was released due to poor attitude, but upon arriving in Melbourne didn’t show any signs of this.

In a reduced role, Tucker (5.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) would play with the team’s second unit.

Melbourne would finish in sixth place (17-15) and once into the postseason, they would defeat Perth (108-88), but then lose to Townsville in their second playoff elimination game (100-112). This game would be the last for Tigers legends Andrew Gaze and his father, Lindsey, who had decided to retire together at season’s end.

Andrew Gaze (20.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) played his last NBL season at 39 years of age, remaining one of the league’s most potent scorers even in his final season.

Bradtke (17.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) and Lanard Copeland (13.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists) would also move on at the end of the season, both joining the Brisbane Bullets.

Gaze has been described as one of the greatest players Australia has ever produced. He was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2005, after becoming a member of the Order of Australia in 2002.

In 2013, he joined his father, Lindsay, in the FIBA Hall of Fame, after being elected as a player, to become just the third Australian inductee. Two Australian basketball awards have been named in Gaze’s honour: the NBL MVP award is named the Andrew Gaze Trophy, and the Australian International Player of the Year award is named the Gaze Medal.

Gaze played under his father Lindsey, as coach, for 22 NBL seasons won the NBL MVP award seven times and was the league’s leading scorer across 14 seasons.Andrew Gaze played twenty-two seasons the Melbourne Tigers. He averaged 30.8 points, 5 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 612 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 2nd in total games played.
– 1st in total points
– 15th in total rebounds
– 1st in total assists
– 3rd in total steals
– 44th in total blocks
– 7th in points per game.
– 32nd in assists per game.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dan Boyce (817 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.