The Greatest NBL Players at Every Age
April 11, 2021
Derrick Mcdonald
- Nationality: AUS/USA
- Date of Birth: 26/09/83
- Place of Birth: Harlem, New York (USA)
- Position: GRD
- Height (CM): 188
- Weight (KG): 93
- Junior Assoc: VIC - Bulleen
- College: None
- NBL DEBUT: 14/10/06
- AGE AT DEBUT: 23
- LAST NBL GAME: 3/11/07
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 24
- NBL History: Sydney 2007 | Melbourne 2007-08
- Championships: 2
- Melbourne (2008)
NICKNAME/S: Tater
BIO: Derrick McDonald was born in Harlem, New York (USA).
FAMILY: Derrick McDonald is the son of Darryl McDonald who played 523 games in the NBL.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Derrick McDonald made his NBL debut with the Melbourne Tigers at 23 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
After falling to Melbourne in the 2006 Grand Final, Sydney entered 2006/07 with CJ Bruton (to Brisbane), Ben Knight (to Singapore), Sedric Webber, Rolan Roberts, Luke Martin and Damon Thornton exiting the team.
Brian Goorjian returned as head coach, with Jason Smith, Luke Kendall, Mark Worthington, David Barlow, Ian Crosswhite, BJ Carter, Brad Sheridan and Anthony Susnjara back from the previous season, while the Kings added Rodney Elliott, Ed Scott, Jerome Beasley, EJ Rowland, Russell Hinder, Cameron Tovey, Blake Borgia and Derrick McDonald.
McDonald (1 point across 1 game) saw only limited court time for the Kings, appearing once during a season where Sydney’s rotation was built around its experienced core and deeper guard and forward group.
His only appearance also became his best game for the season, with McDonald (1 point and 1 rebound) adding a small contribution off the bench.
Sydney finished fourth with a 20-13 record, led by Worthington (15.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists), Barlow (15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists), Elliott (14.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists), Rowland (13.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2 steals), Scott (12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals), Smith (12.5 points, 4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals) and Kendall (11.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals).
Sydney opened the playoffs with a 122-89 win over Townsville behind Worthington (28 points), BJ Carter (20 points) and Smith (16 points), before Brisbane ended the Kings’ season in the semifinals, winning game one 91-84 and game two 93-86.
2007/08
After winning the 2008 championship, Melbourne entered 2008/09 with Darryl McDonald retiring, while Sean Lampley, Dave Thomas, Martin Muursepp and Daryl Corletto exited the team.
Al Westover returned as head coach, with Chris Anstey, David Barlow, Stephen Hoare, Nathan Crosswell, David Stiff, Tommy Greer, Matt O’Hea, Adrien Sturt, Boden Westover and Derrick McDonald back from the championship roster, while the Tigers added Ebi Ere, Rod Grizzard, Sam Mackinnon, Daniel Johnson and Luke Kendall.
McDonald remained listed with Melbourne but did not record an NBL appearance, with the Tigers relying on their main rotation as they pushed for a fourth straight Grand Final appearance.
Melbourne finished second with a 20-10 record, led by Ere (20.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists), Anstey (18.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks), Barlow (14.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists), Grizzard (13.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists), Hoare (8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists), Crosswell (7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Greer (4.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.5 assists).
Melbourne reached the Grand Final against South Dragons, where the series went five games before the Dragons defeated the Tigers 102-81 in game five behind Tremmell Darden (31 points) and Donta Smith (21 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists), while Anstey (12 points and 3 rebounds), Ere (16 points) and Barlow (16 points) led Melbourne.
Derrick McDonald played four seasons in the NBL..
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 0 | Melbourne | 22-8 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 | |
| 2006-07 | 0 | Melbourne | 25-8 (2) | 5 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0% | 0 | 4 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 | |
| 2006-07 | 0 | Sydney | 20-13 (4) | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 1 | 2 | 50% | 26% | 0% | 1 | Totals | 8 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0.0% | 0 | 7 | 0.0% | 1 | 2 | 50.0% | 0% | 0% | 1 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 0 | Melbourne | 22-8 (2) | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
| 2006-07 | 0 | Melbourne | 25-8 (2) | 5 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
| 2006-07 | 0 | Sydney | 20-13 (4) | 1 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0% | 1.0 | 2.0 | 50% | 26% | 0% | 1 | Total | 8 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.9 | 50.0% | 0% | 0% | 1 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- Bulleen (2003), Melbourne (2007), Warrnambool (2008), Hume City (2009), Bulleen (2014–2015), Knox (2017), Melbourne (2018–2019), RMIT (2022), Keysborough (2024), Blackburn (2025), Waverley (2026)
Derrick McDonald joined Bulleen for the 2003 Big V season.
McDonald played with Melbourne in the 2007 Big V season, then joined Warrnambool for the 2008 Big V season.
McDonald suited up for Hume City in the 2009 Big V season.
McDonald returned to Bulleen for the 2014 Big V season after coming from Hume City, then remained with Bulleen in 2015. During the 2015 Big V Championship Men season, Bulleen sat sixth at 9–8 in mid-June and McDonald was part of the Boomers’ bench scoring group.
McDonald joined Knox for the 2017 SEABL season.
McDonald played for Melbourne in 2018 and stayed with Melbourne for the 2019 NBL1 South season. In 2019, he played 17 games, scored 51 points, made 13 three-pointers at 30.952 per cent, went 4-of-4 at the free-throw line and averaged 3.0 points, 0.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.8 steals, while Melbourne finished sixth at 12–9.
McDonald joined Altona for the 2021 Big V Division 2 season. Altona was 10–1 in mid-May and beat Sherbrooke 86–79 during that stretch.
McDonald played for RMIT in the 2022 Big V season.
McDonald joined Keysborough for the 2024 Big V Championship Men season. His year included 10 points in 11:29 against Camberwell, 13 points in 14:19 against Bellarine on 4-of-9 shooting and 3-of-7 from three, and 3 points in 5:29 during the preliminary final against Wyndham.
McDonald moved to Blackburn for the 2025 Big V Championship Men season. He scored 6 points in 11:49 against Shepparton on 29 March 2025, then logged 3:28 against RMIT University on 6 April 2025.
McDonald joined Waverley for the 2026 NBL1 South season.
Related
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