BIO: Prather was born and raised in Jackson, Tennessee, under the stern watch of his mother Enova and sister Brittany, with his parents having split before he was born. Growing up, family and basketball kept him away from the growing criminal element in his community. At the age of 12, his stepfather, Jeffery, noticed Prather’s athleticism and began teaching him the skills required to pursue playing professionally.

He attended Jackson’s North Side High School, where he averaged 28 points per game as a sophomore, and 24.4 points and 14 rebounds as a junior. During his junior season, he had a 53-point, 24-rebound performance in a district game against Fayette Ware High School. Following his junior year, he was ranked the 25th best prospect by Scout.com, and the 10th best small forward. On November 17, 2009, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for the University of Florida.

As a senior in 2009/10, Prather was a finalist for Tennessee’s Mr. Basketball after averaging 29 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks, five steals and three assists per game. He finished his four-year career at North Side with over 2,000 points. He was selected to the All-District team and was named team MVP all four seasons at North Side, and was selected to the district’s All-Tournament team his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. He was also named All-West Player of the Year in 2008/09 and 2009/10.

During his time at North Side, Prather was member of the Nashville Celtics AAU team that captured the 2010 River City Showdown Championship.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Casey Prather made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 24 years of age. He scored nine points in his first game.

Prather decided to play in Australia after former college teammate Scottie Wilbekin encouraged him to do so. Prather joined Perth after a injury-riddled season in 2014/15 saw the Wildcats suffer a semi-final defeat, much like in 2010/11 coach Trevor Gleeson was confident heading into the 2015/16 season that he had assembled a team capable of winning the club’s seventh championship. After conceding his side struggled with chemistry issues in 2014/15 the Wildcat’s added Prather as well as Nathan Jawai and backup guard Jarrod Kenny to correct team balance.

Prather missed three games early in the season due to a knee injury but Perth would remain relatively injury-free besides that and finished the regular season in second place with a 18–10 record.

Prather would average 16.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, including a season-high 26 points, 8 rebounds, and five assists in November where he also made the winning free throw with 1.5 seconds left in the match to lift the Wildcat’s to a 91–90 win over the Cairns Taipans.

Then, on January 15th, 2016, he scored a season-high 27 points in a 95–68 win over the Sydney Kings, helping the Wildcat’s snap a three-game losing streak.

The Wildcat’s extended their string of consecutive playoff appearances to 30 and made light work of Illawarra in game one of the semi finals, winning 80-68 behind 19 points from Prather.

Game 2, the Hawks would even the score behind perhaps Oscar Forman best playoff game, one where he barely missed and finished with 21 points to defeat the Wildcat’s in convincing fashion, 104–87.

Back at home, Perth would win the series, 2-1 with a 89-74 victory. Jermaine Beal would lead the team in scoring with 17 points and Prather would add 15 points, including a thunderous one-handed slam over AJ Ogilvy early in the fourth quarter to set up a NBL Finals series against reigning champs, the New Zealand Breakers.

In the NBL Grand Final series, Prather helped the Wildcat’s defeat the New Zealand Breakers 2–1 to win the championship, as he had a team-high 19 points in the series-clinching 75–52 game three win.

He appeared in 27 of the team’s 34 games in 2015/16, averaging 16.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He was subsequently named the club’s most valuable player for the 2015/16 season.

In game one, the Wildcat’s would rely on Jawai’s presence inside, Prather’s athleticism, tough defence and ability to finish at the rim and Kenny being able to support captain Damian Martin admirably, all the critical areas they were missing the season prior, to take a 1-0 lead behind a six point win (82–76).

With game two back in New Zealand, the Breakers evened the score, winning 72–68 on the back of a near triple-double from import Cedric Jackson who finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.

With the deciding game in Perth and 13,090 of the ‘Red Army’ in attendance, the Wildcats’ core of Redhage, Wagstaff, Knight, Hire, Beal and Jervis made sure history didn’t repeat itself. Casey Prather (19 points) and Jermaine Beal (14 points) did most of the damage on the scoreboard for the Wildcats, but it was Martin’s inspirational display in defence that shone the brightest. Martin would be named Grand Final MVP after keeping star Breakers guard Cedric Jackson scoreless in the deciding game as the Wildcat’s claimed their seventh NBL championship in a 75–52 blow-out.

Following the 2015/16 season, Prather explored his NBA options and played for the Dallas Mavericks at the 2016 Orlando Summer League before re-signing with Perth.

2016/17
The 2016 offseason saw a lot of change in personnel, with three key players from the 16 championship team (Nathan Jawai, Tom Jervis and Jermaine Beal) moving on. To replace them, coach Trevor Gleeson brought in Angus Brandt, Jameel McKay and Jaron Johnson and headed into the 2016/17 season attempting to secure the team’s first back-to-back championships since 1991.

The Wildcats started the season off strong with a 4–1 record, but things went south quickly after that.

The Wildcats slumped to the last spot in December with a 7–9 record as the team’s injury toll started to bite—long-term injuries to Martin, Jarrod Kenny, and Matthew Knight hurt the Wildcats. Import Jaron Johnson would take the brunt of the Wildcats’ poor start, and he was axed just three games into the season and replaced with three-point specialist Andre Ingram.

In a bizarre twist, Ingram left the team and returned to the US after just two games, citing mental issues, and Johnson was brought back into the team. It was at this time Perth legend Shawn Redhage announced that the 2016/17 season would be his last.

Johnson’s reinstatement was a temporary solution, and he was shown the door again in December with the Wildcats seizing the opportunity to sign former NBA guard Bryce Cotton.

Despite the roller-coaster of roster changes Prather continued to carry the offensive load, including a career-high 39 point performance in a 92–89 win over Melbourne United on December 9th.

In early February, Prather had another big weekend, first scoring 29 points in a 101–74 win over the Sydney Kings. Then two days later, he recorded 26 points and a career-high 11 assist in a 96–94 win over United.

With the addition of Cotton, the Wildcat’s became a completely different team and went on to win eight of their remaining twelve regular-season games. Prather appeared in 31 of the team’s 33 games and averaged 19.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game as the team squeezed into the playoffs behind after winning two must win games to finish with a 15–13 record and a third-place regular-season finish.

In the Wildcats’ semi-final series against the Cairns Taipans, Prather scored 22 points in game one and a game-high 24 points in game two to lead the Wildcats to a 2–0 sweep. In the NBL Grand Final series, Prather scored a game-high 22 points In game one, 18 points in game two and 17 points In game three, thus leading the Wildcats to their second straight championship with a 3–0 series sweep of the Illawarra Hawks.

Prior to the NBL Finals Prather was named in the All-NBL First Team, and finished second in NBL MVP voting (107 votes) behind Jerome Randle (147) of the Adelaide 36ers.

Once there, the Wildcat’s rolled through the Finals undefeated to claim the title, a incredible achievement in what was arguably the closest season in NBL history. Not only did Perth extend their finals streak into a record 31st straight season, but their 3–0 Grand Final sweep of the Illawarra Hawks saw them claim their eighth NBL Championship. The Wildcats went back-to-back for the first time since 1990/1991, while Gleeson became the first coach to guide the Wildcat’s to back-to-back championships, and Prather became the player in Wildcats history to win two championships in his first two seasons. Prather was also named club MVP both times, becoming the eighth Wildcat to win multiple club MVPs and the only player to be club MVP in more than one championship season.

Prather again explored his NBA options and played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Summer League. Believing he was on the verge of joining the Cavaliers for the season, Prather rejected a offer to return to the Perth Wildcats who signed JP Tokoto as his replacement. After being unable to secure a NBA deal, Prather briefly turned his attention to Europe before signing with rival squad the Melbourne United.

MELBOURNE UNITED
2017/18
2017 saw the beginning of the ‘Dean Vickerman’ era with the Sydney assistant coach replacing Dean Demopoulos, who had struggled to fit in with the playing group during his tenure. Vickerman signed on for two seasons and shortly after, the team re-signed David Barlow and imports Josh Boone and Casper Ware. Vickerman brought with him forward Craig Moller (via Sydney) as a replacement for the departing Todd Blanchfield (to Illawarra) and added Casey Prather (via Perth) as the team’s third import.

Melbourne won their season opener against Adelaide (99–97) with Prather (20 points) leading the team offensively. Despite United’s hot start, they would win only five of their first ten games.

On December 16, Prather went down with a dislocated elbow in the second quarter of Melbourne’s win over Illawarra (84–78) and was subsequently ruled out for a minimum of eight weeks. While United looked for a injury replacement, development player Felix Von Hofe was elevated into the team until they signed former NBA talent Carrick Felix. Felix joined the team in December and with his addition, the team sparked a strong run home, finishing 15-3 for the remainder of the season.

Prather would average 16.7 points, 6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while Melbourne would finish in first place and face fourth-seed New Zealand in the semifinals. In game one, Prather (15 points) led the team in scoring despite starting on the bench and led United to a 11-point win (88–77). Prather (12 points) then helped Melbourne win game two in overtime (88–86) and progress to the Grand Final. On the opposite side of the bracket, the Adelaide 36ers eliminated the reigning champions Perth in two games as well.

The opening game saw Casper Ware (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) come out on fire in the first half, before leaving the game with a hip injury. United sharp-shooter Chris Goulding would then step up with a impressive shooting display (26 points) to give Melbourne the victory (107-96) at Hisense Arena. Daniel Johnson (18 points) led the 36ers in scoring alongside Mitch Creek (14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists).

In game two, Adelaide came out firing behind Majok Deng (18 points), Mitch Creek (17 points) and Ramone Moore (17 points) and tied the series with a 15-point win (110-95). Melbourne were led by Casey Prather (20 points), who had re-joined the team just prior to the Grand Final series, and Chris Goulding (19 points).

The 36ers win came at a cost, with import Josh Childress (13 points and 8 rebounds) going down with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter that would remove him from the remaining Grand Final games.

The series returned to Melbourne for game three, where tensions exploded at the end of the first half, Adelaide’s Nathan Sobey clashing heads with Casey Prather after the United import hit a three-pointer on the stroke of halftime. The Adelaide guard was called for a disqualifying foul and ejected from the match. There was further drama at the end of the game with players from both teams needing to be separated after the final buzzer. The incident also resulted in 36ers head coach Joey Wright being fined handsomely for questioning the integrity of the referees.

When the smoke settled, Melbourne had squeaked out a narrow victory (101-98) after Adelaide’s Majok Deng missed a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds. Casper Ware (25 points), Prather (23 points) and Chris Goulding (15 points), who hit three clutch triples to take control of the game, were among United’s best.

Game four saw Adelaide swingman Nathan Sobey (16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists), who was ejected in game three for his part in the halftime melee, lead the way for the 36ers in the first half with the scoreboard reading 55-31 at the halfway mark. Again the home team was victorious, Adelaide getting a comfortable win over Melbourne United (90-81). Johnson (29 points and 10 rebounds) and Prather (23 points) top scoring for their respective sides.

In the deciding game five, Chris Goulding and Casper Ware came to play, and with both players notching up 23 points apiece and Prather adding 19 points, 11 rebounds, and five steals, Melbourne went on to win its first NBL title since rebranding to United.

United would defeat the Adelaide 36ers 100-82 in in front of a sold-out crowd at Hisense Arena. Shannon Shorter (20 points) led Adelaide in scoring, while Chris Goulding was named Finals MVP after averaging 16.6 points and 3.6 rebounds over the five-game series. With the win, Prather collected his third NBL championship to become the first player in NBL history to win three straight titles in his first three seasons in the league.

2019/20
On July 17th, 2019, Prather signed a two-year deal with Melbourne United, returning to the team for a second stint. However, due to another knee clean-out, he missed the first seven games of the 2019/20 season. He played in six of the next eight games before missing the rest of the season with a right hamstring tear. He would finish the season with averages of averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, far below his career numbers.

Melbourne went on to finish the regular season in fourth place with a 15–13 record, before going on to lose to the Sydney Kings in three games in the semifinals.

On August 20th, 2020, Prather parted ways with United after mutually agreeing to terminate the second season of his contract.

BRISBANE BULLETS
2023/24
Prather was added to the Bullets roster as an injury replacement player in the new year, covering the gap left by injured forward DJ Mitchell.

Casey Prather currently plays for the Brisbane Bullets and has played 95 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists since entering the league in 2015.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Brisbane Bullets – 2 Year Deal (2023-25)
2nd Year Team Option

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dan Boyce (798 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.