BIO: Graeme Dann was born in Sydney (NSW) Dann received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2001. He spent three years year there and played for the program’s state league team (2001).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Graeme Dann made his NBL debut with the Townsville Crocodiles at 17 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

In 2001/02, Dann averaged 1.2 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists as the Crocodiles finished in ninth place with a record of 13-17.

2002/03
In 2002/03, Dann averaged 1.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.2 assists, helping the team finish reach a third place finish in the regular season with a 19-11 record.

SYDNEY KINGS
2003/04
After winning the 2003 NBL championship, team captain Shane Heal chose to retire from basketball. Strangely enough, while retired Heal was offered a contract to play with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, which he accepted. CJ Bruton was signed as Heal’s replacement for Kings as the looked to rebuild the roster for a chance at back to back titles. With the Kings losing both imports Chris Williams and Kavossy Franklin to bigger deals overseas, import Ebe Ere was signed, and instead of finding a second import, coach Brian Goorjian added Jason Smith, who had just returned from Europe, and Brett Wheeler, who had both played for Goorjian whilst with the Victoria Titans.

With only one import, this allowed up-and-coming talent, Matthew Neilsen (22.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steal, and 2.5 blocks), to deliver a breakout season and alongside Bruton (16.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists) and Ere (19.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals) that propelled the Kings’ to back-to-back championships.

The team began the season scorching hot, winning ten straight games before losing Smith (11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 steals) when he suffered a season-ending injury. Unable to return, Goorjian would replace him with import Chris Carrawell (13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 steals), who played out the team’s last 11 regular season games.

Sydney would finish first place finish in the regular season with a 26-7 record and go on to win their second championship after their best-of-five grand final series with crosstown rivals West Sydney Razorbacks went down to the deciding fifth game. Nielsen would win the regular season and finals MVP in 2003/04 before leaving to play overseas.

Dann would continue to see limited playing opportunities, appearing in 23 games and averaging 2.7 points, 1 rebounds, and 0.3 assists.

2004/05
During the 2004/05 season, Dann averaged 3 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists and helped the Kings finish with a record of 21-11 and end the regular season in first place.

WEST SYDNEY RAZORBACKS
2005/06
During the 2005/06 season, Dann averaged 9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists and was a part of the Razorbacks squad which finished in a first place with a record of 5-27.

2006/07
In 2006/07 Dann averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, and helped guide the Razorbacks to a second place finish in the regular season with a 5-28 record.

2007/08
By the 2007/08 season, the Razorbacks were in the midst of a multitude of financial problems. In a cost-cutting move, they would replace coach Cal Bruton with unproven young coach Rob Beveridge, who had been coaching the Australian junior men prior to his appointment and filled the roster with mainly NBL offcasts and young NBL talent.

Liam Rush was named team captain, and University of Loyola Marymount graduates Damian Martin, and Matthew Knight were added to bring a touch of youth to the squad. Ten games into the season, Martin suffered a knee injury that saw him miss the team’s remaining games, which saw Rhys Carter then elevated into the starting lineup.

West Sydney struggled to matchup against opposition team’s but were still able to double the number of wins from last season from 5 to 10. The team’s young frontcourt of Knight (12.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists) and Julian Khazzouh (11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) being the only positives seen during the Razorback’s dismal season.

Dann would appear in 28 games, averaging 8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.

SYDNEY SPIRIT
2008/09
After struggling through the 2007/08 as the Razorbacks, West Sydney changed their name to the Sydney Spirit for the 2008/09 NBL season. The change was influenced by the Sydney Kings folding in 2008 and the Razorbacks ownership hoping to rebrand to Sydney in a effort to capitalise on the Sydney market.

The Spirit struggled to be competitive during the first half of the season, partly due to Damian Martin (5.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.9 steals) playing through a broken wrist suffered during the pre-season. To make things even worse, it became clear the club was in dire financial straits with attendances at the State Sports Centre rarely selling more than 2,000 tickets. A game against the Cairns Taipans in Round 21 made history when only a paltry 920 fans showed up, the lowest NBL attendance since the early 1980’s.

As a solution to keeping the team afloat and the NBL season alive, the Spirit’s ten contracted players and three coaches, including head coach Rob Beveridge, all agreed to live off just $150,000 between them to keep the franchise going—roughly $700 per week for Dann. Shortly after team captain Liam Rush (who left for Sweden), big man Julian Khazzouh (Holland) and import Derrick Low would all leave the team for better deals overseas.

Despite the setbacks Dann would average 7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists as whilst the Spirit finished in eighth place on the ladder (11–19), missing the playoffs before exiting and leaving Sydney without a NBL team.

Dann was left without a NBL after the demise of the Spirit and played in the Waratah State League during the 2009/10 season.

SYDNEY KINGS
2010/11
After the Sydney Kings licence was revoked in 2008 after club sponsor Firepower collapsed and the Kings were unable to pay player salaries, new ownership relaunched the Sydney Kings for the 2010/11 NBL season, returning to the league after a two-year absence.

The ‘Resurrection Squad’, the name given to the Sydney Kings roster which had returned to the league for the first time in two years with the team’s first moves being the hiring former Kings player Ian Robilliard as head coach and convincing a number of European based aussies to return to play for the team’s latest reincarnation.

Julian Khazzouh (Israel), Luke Cooper (Latvia) and Damien Ryan (Italy) all signed deals for the 2010/11 season, as was college graduate Ben Madgen (Augusta State University). The Kings then filled the remaining roster with offcast NBL talent like Dann, Luke Martin (via Wollongong) and Ben Knight (via Melbourne), who had played for the previous iteration of the Kings, was added and named co-captain along with Khazzouh. Robilliard added imports Taj McCullough and Rod Grizzard for excitement and scoring punch to the roster and the team was ready to return to the NBL.

Grizzard, who had previously put up 19 points per game with Singapore and 13 points per game with Melbourne struggled to produce as a King. He produced a megre 8 points per game on a 36% field goal percentage, resulting in the import axe swinging quickly, as he was released five games into the season.

The axe then fell for fellow import McCullough who after being told his contract was on the line prior to a game against New Zealand he managed only ten points on a lowly 5 from 17 from the field in a 80-94 home loss. After eight games Taj McCullough (11.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game) would become the second import to be released by the Sydney Kings during the 2010/11 season.

Former NBA talent Trey Gilder (13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals) replaced Taj McCullough then Patrick Sanders (13.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) filled the shoes of Rod Grizzard as Robilliard looked to deliver a team capable of entertaining the valuable Sydney market while it was clear they would struggle to compete against other NBL team’s. The Kings limped home to a last place finish and a record of 8–20, the poor season likely costing Julian Khazzouh (17.4 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, 1 steal, and 1.8 blocks per game) a MVP trophy as mid-season he was the hot favourite for the award but ended up finishing second in the voting behind Wollongong’s Gary Ervin.

Dann (7.8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists) would appear in only 21 games during the Kings comeback season where Sydney finished in last place (8–20).

2011/12
The Kings’ retained their core group of Julian Khazzouh (team captain), Ben Madgen, Luke Martin, Luke Cooper and Dann and looked to build on their disappointing return to the NBL. Head coach Ian Robilliard was able to bolster the roster by signing former Australian Boomers guard Aaron Bruce (via Adelaide), college grad Anatoly Bose (via Nicholls State) and, after a import roller-coaster the previous season, signed Jerai Grant (son and nephew of NBA stars Harvey Grant and Horace Grant respectively) and state league talent, Kevin Ratzsch.

Additionally, due to the 2011 NBA Lockout, Australia’s highest profile basketballer, former Milwaukee Bucks centre Andrew Bogut, was looking to play in the NBL during the 2011/12 season. He was linked with the Adelaide 36ers, the Gold Coast Blaze and the Kings, whom Bogut had supported when growing up in Australia. Sydney was favoured to secure his services, and Bogut ultimately chose to make his NBL debut with the Kings. However, the insurance to cover his remaining US$39 million contract with the Bucks couldn’t be resolved, leaving the Kings and the NBL without the services of Australia’s highest profile player. It was expected that Bogut’s signing would see a increase in Kings membership and league attendances. Despite not being able to play, Bogut later expressed interest in joining the Kings’ coaching staff during the lockout to help the club. This ultimately did not happen either.

Khazzouh was unstoppable during the first two months of the season was clearly the best player in the competition. This was no clearer than in the Kings 23 point win over the Adelaide 36ers in October 2011 when he filled the box score with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 36 minutes, a game which gained the attention of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. In December 2011, halfway through the season, Khazzouh would leave the team to participate in the Warriors pre-season camp. Khazzouh was then waived on 18 December 2011 and returned to Sydney to finish out the season.

The Kings fared better in their second year back in the NBL, beginning the season by winning half their games each month for the first three months. This saw the Kings jostling between fifth and sixth position, vying for a playoff spot, and having equalled their win from last season by round 14.

It was around this time Aaron Bruce (13.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists) suffered a vertical fracture to his tibia which ended his season and created a huge void within the team’s backcourt. With Bruce going down, the team managed only three additional wins for the year, resulting in Robilliard being moved into a executive role and replaced by Tim Hudson as interim head coach until the Kings came to term with club legend Shane Heal who agreed to coach the team on a multi-year deal.

Sydney finished in seventh place (11-17).

Julian Khazzouh (16.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.1 blocks) would lead the team in scoring as well as finish the season as the NBL’s leader in rebounds and blocked shots before being named to the All-NBL First team. Jerai Grant (11.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.4 blocks) would have a inconsistent season, winning Player of the Week in some rounds and then disappearing totally in others and Anatoly Bose (15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists) was impressive in his debut season, earning the Rookie of the Year award. Dann would appear in 18 games and averaged 2.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.

2012/13
Having taken over the head coaching reigns mid-season the year before, Shane Heal set to work on helping the Kings return to the NBL playoffs for the first time since returning to the league in 2010. Heal began the season with some big roster holes to fill after losing both the leagues leading rebounder, Julian Khazzouh, Rookie of the Year Anatoly Bose and talented import Jerai Grant to European opportunities.

Heal would convince Former King Ian Crosswhite to return (via Cairns) and fill the shoes of Khazzouh, high-scoring shooting guard James Harvey (via Gold Coast) to cover the loss of Bose and recruit diminutive point guard Corin Henry and Darnell Lazare as the team’s import duo. Sydney was also bolstered by the return of Aaron Bruce, who had missed the second half of last season due to a tibia injury.

After losing to Illawarra in the opening game of the season (76–79), the team delivered a strong start to the season, and by the time of the league’s All-Star break, Sydney (9-5) was sitting in third place on the ladder.

The Kings’ second half of the season wasn’t as successful, managing just three wins from their remaining 14 games. Due to the dominance of the New Zealand Breakers (24-4) and Perth Wildcats (22-6), every other team in the NBL finished the season with a losing record. Thus, in unusual fashion, despite having a losing record, the Kings finished in fourth place and returned to the playoffs for the first time since returning to the league in 2010.

Once into the semi finals, the Kings were outclassed by the Breakers, who claimed game one in New Zealand (81-64) before closing out the series with a win on Sydney’s home floor (99-88). New Zealand would then defeat Perth in two games to become NBL Champions.

Sydney owed much of its success to a breakout season from Ben Madgen (18.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), who led the league in scoring, was awarded the league’s Most Improved Player award and named in the All-NBL first team. Ian Crosswhite (10.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists) was named in the All-NBL third team and announced his retirement shortly after. Dann would limited playing opportunities with the Kings this season, appearing in only 30 games and averaging 2.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists.

Graeme Dann played eleven seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Townsville Crocodiles, West Sydney Razorbacks, Sydney Spirit and Sydney Kings. He averaged 5.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 225 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (821 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.