BIO: Dane Pineau was born in Fitzroy (VIC) where he attended Melbourne Grammar High School. He first began playing basketball as a junior with the Melbourne basketball program where his father Brad had played as a import.
Pineau received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2013. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (2013).

FAMILY: Dane Pineau is the son of Brad Pineau who played 52 games in the NBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Dane Pineau made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 23 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Pineau signed with the Sydney Kings straight out of college as a backup to Boomers legend Andrew Bogut. He would play in 24 games as a rookie, averaging 2.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists. and winning the clubs Best Defensive Player award in 2018.

This season the Kings finished in seventh place with a record of 11-17.

2018/19
Sydney entered the 2018-19 season with high expectations after making several key signings, including Andrew Bogut, who returned to Australia after 14 seasons in the NBA, including winning an NBA championship in 2015 with Golden State.

The Kings were the first team to take advantage of the NBL’s newly established Next Stars program, signing highly touted prospect Brian Bowen, a McDonald’s All-American who opted to play in the NBL to develop his skills for the NBA Draft. Other key additions included Jerome Randle, who re-signed with the team after a strong previous season, Daniel Kickert (via Brisbane), David Wear (via Spain), Deng Deng (via Big V – McKinnon), Kyle Adnam (via Melbourne), and Tom Wilson (via Melbourne).

The Kings also participated in the NBLxNBA series, where they faced the Los Angeles Clippers in a preseason game in Hawaii on September 30, 2018. Brad Newley (8 points), Kevin Lisch (16 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists), and Jerome Randle (25 points) led the Kings in scoring. Despite these efforts, the Kings ultimately fell short, losing (110-91) to the Clippers. The game was competitive, with the Kings narrowing the margin to within one point on two occasions, but they struggled to match the Clippers’ NBA-level speed and size.

Dane Pineau (0.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.3 assists) saw his role significantly reduced during his second season with the Kings. After impressing during his rookie year, the addition of high-profile players and the overall improvement of Sydney’s roster resulted in fewer opportunities and reduced minutes for Pineau. Although his impact was primarily felt in practices and limited game appearances, Pineau remained a reliable energy player off the bench when called upon.

Alongside Pineau, the Kings were led by Kevin Lisch (14.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists), Jerome Randle (17.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists), and Andrew Bogut (11.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.7 blocks), who anchored the defense and was named the NBL’s Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year.

Midway through the season, the Kings added Ray Turner (1.7 points, 0.7 rebounds) from Bendigo in the state league to provide additional depth, particularly in covering for injuries to Bogut.

In the playoffs, Sydney faced Melbourne United in the semifinals. Pineau’s role remained minimal during the postseason, reflecting his reduced role throughout the season. In Game 1 (95-73), Melbourne’s depth proved too much for the Kings, and in Game 2 (90-76), Sydney’s playoff run ended despite strong performances from the core group.

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX
2019/20
After two years stuck behind Kings legendary big man Andrew Bogut, Pineau signed returned to his home to Melbourne and signed with the NBL’s newest franchise, South East Melbourne Phoenix.

The Phoenix signed Simon Mitchell as their first head coach and shortly after added Boomers and fringe NBA talent Mitch Creek as their marquee player. South East Melbourne then built a core group playing group with Ben Madgen (via Europe), Kyle Adnam (via Melbourne) and Adam Gibson (via Adelaide). Imports John Roberson, Tai Wesley (via Melbourne) and Devondrick Walker (via state league) were later added to round out the squad.

South East Melbourne’s first game pitted them against cross-town rivals Melbourne. In the first game between the two franchises, tagged ‘The Throwdown’, the Phoenix were able to topple United by three points (91-88) after making 12 of 23 from downtown. The team’s high-octane perimeter shooting would set the tone for the rest of the season, with the team leading the league in points per game (95.4 ppg).

The win came at a cost, however, with Tai Wesley, after scoring eight rapid points, suffering a hamstring injury in the first five minutes of the game, which saw him out of action for the next ten weeks. Import Jaye Crockett (8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 steals) was brought in as an injury replacement during his absence.

Following their Round 1 victory, the Phoenix would keep it rolling, knocking over the Bullets (113-93) and the Hawks (106-102) at home, tipping off their inaugural season with a handsome 3-0 record. Despite the Phoenix taking home victories against relatively good team’s, their first real challenge came in Round 4, where they would play their first away game against Perth. Although the Wildcats’ star duo of Bryce Cotton (16 points) and Terrico White (17 points) started poorly, Perth delivered South East Melbourne their first loss (79-110), ending their season-opening winning streak.

After their trouncing in Western Australia, victories would become a rarity. The Phoenix would go down to the likes of the 36ers, the Kings and twice to United, and after coming into the mid-way point of the season, the Phoenix was the definition of average at this point.

Sitting just outside the top four with a record of six wins and six losses. It was also around this time the Phoenix chose to move on from import Devondrick Walker (7.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists), who, after suffering a fracture in his left foot playing in a Perth pre-season game two years earlier, wasn’t able to deliver the production he was able to beforehand. Keith Benson (5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks) was signed as his replacement and thought he was a much bigger body, wasn’t able to add much more to the stat sheet.

The flood of injuries saw Pineau thrust into the starting lineup, where he stepped up to average 8.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1 assists over the course of the season. In doing so, Pineau led the league in field goal percentage (66.4%) and was the Phoenix’s leading rebounder.

While South East Melbourne were forced to rely on Creek (20.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals) and star import John Roberson (20.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 5.5 assists), the next ten rounds would prove to be anything but smooth.

Across the next 16 matchups for South East Melbourne they would go on to accumulate a lacklustre 3 wins and 13 losses, while also finishing their campaign on a eight-game losing streak. With 20 rounds of basketball completed, the Phoenix (9-19) would finish second last.

Pineau’s breakout season saw him finish runner-up to Will Magnay in NBL Most Improved Player voting.

2020/21
Pineau was limited to only one game this season (Round 10 vs 36ers) due to various injuries.

2021/22
2021/22
After making their maiden Finals appearance the year prior, South East Melbourne looked to go one step further. The Phoenix’s first move was re-signing coach Simon Mitchell (one year deal), who then went about retaining the majority of the team’s local core, locking in Kyle Adnam, Ryan Broekhoff, Izayah Le’Afa and Mitch Creek re-signing.

Although both Keifer Sykes (to NBA) and Yanni Wetzell (to New Zealand) would exit the club, they would be replaced by Tohi Smith-Milner (via Melbourne), Zhou Qi, a member of the Chinese national team and imports Zach Hankins and Xavier Munford.

South East Melbourne started the season on fire, winning three of its first four games, with Qi (11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks) making it extremely difficult for opposing team’s to score inside and Munford (16.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.3 steals) proving to be a more than adequate replacement for Sykes.

The combination of a short-term injury to Qi and Hankins yet to play a game due to a knee cartilage injury resulted in coach Simon Mitchell bringing in import Brandon Ashley (8.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 0.7 assists) as a replacement for Hankins.

Pineau, who had made a comeback from a season ending injury the year prior, took up the role of back-up centre to Qi, who struggled with the league’s referee’s during his first year in the NBL (Qi averaged 2.5 fouls a game and had four fouls in six of his 24 games). This saw a number of opportunities open up for Pineau, who averaged 1.2 points, 3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists for the season.

The Phoenix had no problems scoring this year, with Mitch Creek (20.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.1 steals) leading the team in scoring and South East Melbourne finishing in the top three highest-scoring team’s in the league (87.7 points per game).

Then, due to COVID interruptions, several of their games had to be postponed, forcing the team into a 28 day hiatus where they were unable to play a single game, leaving them a little bit rusty, to say the least, and they were blown out by Brisbane (84-100) in their first game back.

It wouldn’t take long for South East Melbourne to return to their previous form however, winning eight of their next eleven games to sit second on the ladder (11-5) around the halfway mark of the season.

South East Melbourne saw their season backflip from here on, going on a four-game losing streak, losing to the Hawks twice, the Kings and United. The downfall of South East Melbourne coincided with the season-ending shoulder injury of Ryan Broekhoff (11.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals), but even with a favourable schedule across the last month of the season, the Phoenix still struggled to get wins, suffering defeats by Adelaide, Cairns, and Melbourne which ended South East Melbourne’s chances of reaching the playoffs.

It was a disappointing second half of the season for the Phoenix, as they managed to win only six out of their last 14 games, the only high point being a overtime win over Perth (102-100) that ended the Wildcat’s 35-year playoff streak.

2022/23
The Phoenix entered NBL23 hoping to put the memories of an injury-plagued season behind them. The team’s core group of Ryan Broekhoff, Izaya Mauriohooho-Le’Afa, Cameron Gliddon, Reuben Te Rangi, and co-Captains Mitch Creek and Kyle Adnam all returned, imports Trey Kell III and Gary Browne were added to bolster the backcourt, and big man Alan Williams signed to replace Zhou Qi.

Qi, who was initially thought to be returning to China before a last-minute change, saw him re-sign and creating a ‘twin towers’ situation with Williams that many wondered how it would work.

The Phoenix’s opening game saw them take the court without Broekhoff, Kell and Browne, all unavailable due to pre-season injuries, and Qi’s arrival still two weeks away. As a result, Adnam was inserted into the Phoenix’s starting five and had a career-high scoring night against Tasmania. The efforts of Adnam (30 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists), Mitch Creek (23 points and 6 rebounds) and Alan Williams (12 points and 7 rebounds) saw South East Melbourne defeat Tasmania (84-79) and had fans excited about the season to come.

In the games where South East Melbourne fielded all five of their starters, they were one of the most well-balanced, impressive units in the competition. The problem is that it rarely happened, with Qi (6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.2 assists) playing just nine games before returning home for family reasons, Kell (12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) missing five games due to broken ribs, and Broekhoff (10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) missing a third of the season due to a persistent hamstring issue.

Mitch Creek (23.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists), who was the only starter to appear in every game, reached a new level as he attempted to cover the numerous gaps across the team, becoming an MVP candidate in the process.

Qi’s early exit from the season led to increased burn for the likes of first-year players Grant Anticevich (2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds) and Anzac Rissetto (1.2 points and 0.4 rebounds), whilst perimeter players Broekhoff, Kell and Browne (12.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.5 steals) all playing just 61 of a possible 84 regular season games opened the door for Adnam (8.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists) and Te Rangi (5.1 points and 3.0 rebounds) to step into the starting line-up.

The glut of injuries also saw big minutes for relative unknowns Junior Madut (4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds) and Owen Foxwell (3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals), who both delivered big games when called upon.

South East Melbourne was able to reach the second spot on the ladder after a shaky start, but almost as soon as they arrived, they saw injuries derail the team, falling to fifth place (15-13) and having to face Perth in the Play-In Tournament.

Although the Phoenix were without sharpshooter Broekhoff, they entered their Play-In Qualifier against the Wildcats as favourites. Explosive games from Perth import duo Bryce Cotton (26 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals) and Brady Manek (24 points) halted South East Melbourne’s playoff run (106-99) and left Phoenix fans lamenting yet another ‘almost’ season. Pineau finished the season with averages of 2.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists across 27 games.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2023/24
The primary focus of the Breakers’ off-season was re-signing promising guard William McDowell-White on a two-year deal. McDowell-White, who had a stellar NBL23 and was highly sought after in free agency, viewed staying with the Breakers under coach Mody Maor as the best opportunity to elevate his game. Finn Delany, who had spent the previous season playing in Germany, also returned to the club on a two-year deal. From there, the Breakers were able to retain the majority of their core group, with Cameron Gliddon, Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa, and captain Thomas Abercrombie returning. They added complementary pieces Dane Pineau (via South East Melbourne), Mangok Mathiang (via Illawarra), and Lithuanian prospect Mantas Rubstavicius under the NBL Next Star Program.

Pineau signed a two-year deal with New Zealand after spending the last four seasons with South East Melbourne, replacing the retiring Rob Loe and reconnecting with former Phoenix teammates Izayah Le’afa and Cam Gliddon at the Auckland-based club.

“Dane is one of the hardest playing players in the NBL, and he has done so consistently over the past few seasons, regardless of his role in a team,” said head coach Mody Maor after signing Pineau.

“Dane has great Pick and Roll attributes, making him a extremely natural fit into our environment and style of play, I believe moving to Auckland will be a seamless fit for Dane.”

Coach Maor then finalized the roster by replacing outgoing imports Barry Brown Jr. (to China), Jarrell Brantley (to France), and Dererk Pardon (to Italy) with Parker Jackson-Cartwright (via Turkey), Zylan Cheatham (via Germany), and Justinian Jessup, who returned to the NBL after a year in the G-League.

New Zealand started their season with a win against Cairns (98–87) and a narrow loss to Brisbane (84–89) before heading to the USA to play against the Phoenix Suns in the NBLxNBA exhibition game. With a number of player injuries, former NBA forward Anthony Lamb was also added to the squad. Despite being heavy underdogs, New Zealand pushed the Suns to the limit, making a late surge to cut the lead to four in the final minute before falling just short in a 91–86 loss. Corey Webster (27 points and 7 assists) and Tai Wesley (15 points and 7 rebounds) led the Breakers offensively. Phoenix, who were without star Devin Booker, relied on Deandre Ayton (21 points and 15 rebounds) and Trevor Ariza (16 points and 6 assists).

New Zealand returned from the USA and, due to injuries, roster changes, and inconsistent play, extended their losing streak to five games before a win over Cairns (91–81). Delany (11 games), Cheatham (11 games), McDowell-White (6 games), and Rubstavicius (5 games) all missed a considerable amount of games during the season, with Jessup being released after being unable to overcome his pelvis injury. In January, New Zealand (8–12) fell to the bottom of the ladder following three consecutive losses before turning things around, winning five of their last seven games to finish with a 13–15 record, equal with Sydney and Brisbane. Due to points percentage, Sydney (fifth) and New Zealand (sixth) advanced to the play-in tournament, while Brisbane (seventh) was eliminated.

Dane Pineau (1.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks) delivered a limited but efficient season for the Breakers, contributing primarily as a reserve center. His standout performances included a 6-point, 2-rebound, and 1-block game against Brisbane (27 Dec 2023), another 6-point, 3-rebound game against Brisbane (16 Feb 2024), and a 5-point, 1-rebound, and 2-block effort against Melbourne (22 Oct 2023). Pineau’s shot-blocking and energy off the bench were key in adding defensive depth to the team.

Alongside Pineau, the Breakers were led offensively by Parker Jackson-Cartwright (20.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, 1.9 steals) and saw strong contributions from Anthony Lamb (19.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals), Zylan Cheatham (15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, 0.9 steals), Mantas Rubstavicius (9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists), and William McDowell-White (9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists).

In the play-in tournament, New Zealand faced Sydney and secured a hard-fought win (83–76) led by Parker Jackson-Cartwright (34 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds) and Mangok Mathiang (10 points and 9 rebounds). Once into the second play-in game against Illawarra, Jackson-Cartwright (19 points and 9 assists) and Cheatham (12 points and 9 rebounds) produced solid efforts, but the inconsistency that highlighted the Breakers’ season all year returned, and they would lose by three points (85–88) and miss out on an NBL semifinal berth.

Dane Pineau currently plays for the New Zealand Breakers and has played 155 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 2.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.4 assists since entering the league in 2017.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

New Zealand Breakers – 2 Year Deal (2023-25)

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.