NBL EXPERIENCE

Fraser Roxburgh made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 17 years of age. He scored one point in his first NBL game.

After a difficult NBL22 season where injuries and a lack of cohesion derailed Adelaide’s campaign, head coach CJ Bruton was optimistic about turning things around with a full offseason under his belt. The 36ers retained key players from the previous season, including Mitch McCarron (captain), Anthony Drmic, Daniel Johnson, Sunday Dech, Hyrum Harris, and Kai Sotto, providing the foundation for the team.

To bolster their roster, Adelaide signed NBL imports Antonius Cleveland (via Illawarra) and Robert Franks (via Brisbane) to multi-year contracts, as well as G-League star Craig Randall II (Long Island Nets) to add firepower. Expectations were high as the team prepared for a new season.

Adelaide’s season started on a high note with a historic preseason win over the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Randall led the team with 35 points, setting a record for the most points scored by an NBL player against an NBA team. This victory made Adelaide the first overseas team to defeat an NBA opponent since Fenerbahce’s victory over the Brooklyn Nets in 2015. They followed it up with another strong performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder a few days later.

Despite the strong preseason, things began to unravel for Adelaide once the regular season began. After returning to Australia, the 36ers struggled to find consistency and ended the first month with a 3–4 record.

During this period, Randall (20.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.0 steals) was the team’s leading scorer, but his tenure was marred by multiple on-court verbal altercations with coach Bruton. After an argument over being benched in a game, Randall was released from the team six games into the season.

In Randall’s absence, Franks (17.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) and Cleveland (15.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.9 steals) stepped up offensively. However, Johnson (11.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) recorded his lowest-scoring season in nearly a decade, and the team continued to falter, losing six of their final eight games, ultimately missing the Play-In tournament.

McCarron (7.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.6 steals) and Drmic (10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals) had solid contributions, while NBL Next Star Sotto (6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds) showed potential NBA talent.

Mid-season, with a record of 6-8, Adelaide brought in former Sydney King Ian Clark (12.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) in hopes of making a late playoff push, but they could not gain momentum. At the time Clark joined, the team was vying for the final playoff spots with Melbourne, Perth, and South East Melbourne, but they ended their campaign with only two wins from their last eight games.

Although the preseason win over the Phoenix Suns built unrealistic expectations, Adelaide finished the regular season in eighth place with a disappointing 13-18 record.

As a development player, Roxburgh appeared in only one game for the 36ers, scoring just one point. He spent the following NBL24 season with Adelaide but did not appear in any games.

2023/24
Spent NBL24 as a development player with Adelaide but failed to play in any games.

Fraser Roxburgh played in one NBL game during the 2022-23 season, scoring 1 points, 1 rebounds, and 0 assists.

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.