BIO: Brett Jefferies was born in Melbourne (VIC).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Brett Jefferies made his NBL debut with the Melbourne Tigers on 7/6/1997. He scored two points in his first game.

After losing the 1996 Grand Final series to the South East Melbourne Magic, Melbourne chose not to re-sign long-time import Dave Simmons and added Jarvis Lang, while Andrew Gaze, Lanard Copeland, Mark Bradtke, Warrick Giddey, Ray Gordon, Blair Smith, Damien Chapman and Erik Wickstrom returned. Brett Jefferies joined Melbourne after completing his college career at Pacific Union and made his NBL debut against Sydney on June 7, finishing with 2 points and 1 rebound in 10 minutes as the Kings defeated the Tigers 124-117 despite Gaze (37 points), Copeland (32 points) and Bradtke (27 points and 24 rebounds).

Jefferies (1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds across 13 games) saw limited playing opportunities during his rookie season, playing 92 minutes and scoring 18 points. His best scoring game was a six-point performance.

Melbourne’s season had started poorly, with Lang battling knee problems and the Tigers also stripped of a victory over Adelaide after Bradtke returned from the Philadelphia 76ers without receiving the required clearance. The Tigers fell to 3-9 before releasing Lang and signing former Illawarra import Marcus Timmons following one trial practice. The move transformed the season, with Melbourne finishing the regular season on a 14-game winning streak to climb to second with a 19-11 record. Gaze (30.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.4 steals) appeared in every game, led the NBL in scoring and won his seventh league MVP award, while Copeland (23 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists), Bradtke (20.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks) and Timmons (17.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks) formed the Tigers’ main offensive group. Melbourne finished second behind South East Melbourne and Lindsay Gaze was named joint NBL Coach of the Year.

Melbourne opened the semifinals with a 107-99 victory over North Melbourne behind Gaze (39 points), Bradtke (25 points and 15 rebounds) and Copeland (20 points), while David Stiff (24 points and 13 rebounds) led the Giants. Game two saw Melbourne complete the sweep 112-105, extending the winning streak and setting up a second consecutive Grand Final against South East Melbourne.

The Tigers overwhelmed the Magic 111-74 in game one behind Copeland (29 points and 6 rebounds), Timmons (24 points and 9 rebounds) and Gaze (23 points and 9 assists), while Jefferies (3 points and 1 rebound) played the final four minutes. South East Melbourne responded with an 84-78 victory in game two as Chris Anstey (21 points and 8 rebounds) led the Magic and Copeland (28 points) was Melbourne’s leading scorer.

The deciding game saw Ronaldson (26 points and 8 rebounds) lead South East Melbourne, but Copeland (26 points and 6 rebounds), Gaze (22 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists), Bradtke (21 points and 11 rebounds) and Timmons (20 points and 13 rebounds) carried Melbourne to a 93-83 victory and the 1997 NBL championship, with Copeland named Grand Final MVP.

1998
After winning the 1997 NBL championship, Melbourne entered 1998 with Lindsay Gaze’s title-winning group intact. Andrew Gaze, Lanard Copeland, Mark Bradtke, Marcus Timmons, Warrick Giddey, Ray Gordon, Blair Smith, Daniel Egan, Erik Wickstrom, Brett Rainbow and Brett Jefferies all returned after a championship run that had included a 17-game winning streak. Jefferies was back for his second NBL season after joining Melbourne from Pacific University the previous year. The defending champions were unable to reproduce that momentum early, winning only four of their first ten games as an increasingly veteran core began to show signs of decline.

Jefferies (4.3 points across 16 games) received a larger role than during his rookie season and produced his best and highest-scoring game against Adelaide at Melbourne Park on March 20. Jefferies finished with 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal in 17 minutes, making 6-of-7 field goals as Melbourne defeated the 36ers 121-89. Gaze (32 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists) and Copeland (27 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal) led the Tigers, while Kevin Brooks (23 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 block) was Adelaide’s best.

Gaze (31.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.4 steals across 32 games) again led the NBL in scoring, earned All-NBL First Team honours and won his eighth and final NBL Most Valuable Player award. Copeland (22.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals across 26 games) remained Melbourne’s second-leading scorer, while Timmons (19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 steals across 32 games) and Bradtke (15.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks across 30 games) provided the Tigers’ other major production. Giddey (3.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4 assists across 32 games) and Gordon (4.1 points across 31 games) remained part of the experienced rotation. Copeland, Bradtke, Gordon and Giddey all saw their production fall from the previous season, while Timmons increased his scoring from the championship year.

Melbourne recovered from its slow start and won its final four regular-season games to finish fifth with a 16-14 record, setting up an elimination finals series against Brisbane.

The series opened at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on June 12, with Jefferies not entering the game as Brisbane defeated Melbourne 93-80. Gaze (34 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal) and Timmons (16 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 steal) led the Tigers, while Steve Woodberry (24 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block) led the Bullets.

Game two moved to Melbourne Park on June 14, where Jefferies went scoreless with 1 rebound in 8 minutes and 49 seconds. Copeland (22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) and Bradtke (20 points and 6 rebounds) led Melbourne, while Leroy Loggins (27 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) powered Brisbane to a 114-81 victory, completing the two-game sweep and ending the Tigers’ championship defence.

1998/99
With the NBL changing its schedule to become a summer sport in 1998, the Tigers were able to pull together one last run from its aging roster. 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. Jefferies also contributed 3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game.

Melbourne won 17 games for the season and earned a playoff rematch with Brisbane, who had eliminated Melbourne during last year’s playoffs. The Tigers would avenge that result 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) delivered his best game of the series, shooting a efficient 7 of 12 from the field.

1999/00
Melbourne would lose Marcus Timmons (to Perth) and replace him with Bennett Davison. The retirement of Tigers legend Ray Gordon also opened up another roster spot, which Lindsey Gaze would use to sign young and coming big man Pero Vasiljevic (from Canberra). 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.

Jefferies would deliver his best season during his tenure with the Tigers, averaging 5.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists across 29 games.

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.

Jefferies would appear in 24 games for the Tigers, averaging 3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.

2000/01
This season, Marcus Timmons would return to play for the Tigers, replacing the outgoing Phil Handy (to West Sydney). Timmons (16.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.0 blocks) would slot right back into the team, his presence catapulting the Tigers back to the top of the ladder. Lanard Copeland (25.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals) was also in amazing form this season, hoping to earn selection to the Boomers squad after being recently naturalised.

With Melburne sitting on 9 wins and 5 losses, they would lose Gaze after he succumbed to a ankle injury three minutes into a game against Townsville. The Tigers would then lose this game by two points (98-100) and Gaze (19.1 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) would miss twelve games with an ankle injury. This saw Melbourne drop from top of the ladder to fifth spot, recording 7 wins and 9 losses in Gaze’s absence. Mark Bradtke (22.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 blocks) would step up during this time, leading the league in rebounding for a sixth time and being selected as the NBL MVP at the end of the season.

Although not fully healed, Gaze would return to the court to help the Tigers (16-14) in their Qualifying Final matchup against crosstown rivals, the Victoria Titans (21-9).

Victoria had finished the season in first place and entered the series as clear favourites. However, after the Titans secured game one (107-113), the Tigers would bounce back with Copeland (41 points, 5 assists and 2 steals), who shot a impressive 14 from 27 shots (52%), and Timmons (19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) having big games to deliver a Tigers win in game two (107-105). Copeland (37 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Timmons (21 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks) backed that performance in game three (103-97) to move onto the semi finals and face West Sydney. Gaze struggled through the series, playing in all three games but scoring total of 11 points.

Melbourne would face the fifth placed West Sydney Razorbacks (16-14) at home and behind Timmons (36 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals) and Bradtke (21 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals), come away victorious (114-93). Once the series moved to Sydney the Tigers lost games two (109-125) and three (103-115) with Gaze still not back to full health.

This season marked the first time Gaze failed to lead the Tigers in scoring since they entered the league in 1984, yet he still managed to lead the league in free throw shooting (88.4%). Jefferies would appear in all 36 games /// 29 games and average 5.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.

Brett Jefferies played six seasons with the Melbourne Tigers. He averaged 3.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 129 NBL games.