BIO: Grant Anticevich was born in Sydney (NSW) and began playing basketball with Bankston Basketball Association.

He attended Newington College where he was captain of his basketball team. Newington compiled a 80-17 record in his final two seasons which both culminated in Newington winning back-to-back championships in 2015 and 2016.

At a state level he was selected to the New South Wales (NSW) U20 team, claiming a silver medal at the Australian U20 National Championships in 2017. He was also selected to the NSW State Schoolboys Team in 2015 and 2016, where he was named Most Valuable Player in both seasons and was captain of the NSW team under 18 team.

FAMILY: Parents are John and Sinthia Anticevich

NBL EXPERIENCE

Grant Anticevich made his NBL debut with the South East Melbourne Phoenix at 24 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Grant Anticevich signed a one-year deal with South East Melbourne on August 10 after completing five seasons at California, where he became the school’s all-time leader with 139 appearances. The Phoenix entered NBL23 after finishing sixth with a 15-13 record and missing the previous season’s finals, retaining Mitch Creek, Ryan Broekhoff, Kyle Adnam, Reuben Te Rangi, Dane Pineau and Owen Foxwell. Xavier Munford (to Hapoel Tel Aviv), Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa (to New Zealand), Cameron Gliddon (to New Zealand) and Adam Gibson (retired) departed, while Gary Browne (via Piratas de Quebradillas), Trey Kell III (via Olimpia Milano), Alan Williams (via Lokomotiv Kuban), Junior Madut (via Hawaii), the local forward and Anzac Rissetto (via Franklin Bulls) were added.

Williams had initially been signed to replace Zhou Qi, but Qi made a late decision to return and created a twin-towers frontcourt, increasing the competition for minutes among South East Melbourne’s reserve forwards and centres. Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell believed the spacing of the professional game would suit his new rookie.

“He is an exciting young Australian forward who has had a very good career in the storied Pac 12. I think his skill sets may be better suited to the pro game, with a more wide-open floor. His catch and shoot, pick and pop game should flourish in the NBL,” Mitchell said.

South East Melbourne opened the season against Tasmania at John Cain Arena without Broekhoff, Browne and Kell III through preseason injuries, while Qi had not yet arrived. The rookie (0 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block) played 6:47 from the bench, while Adnam (30 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Creek (23 points and 6 rebounds) led the Phoenix to an 84-79 victory, with Jack McVeigh (20 points and 5 rebounds) leading Tasmania.

Anticevich (2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds across 18 games) came off the bench in all 18 regular-season appearances. He was available throughout NBL23 and did not miss a game through injury, illness or suspension, with his ten regular-season non-appearances resulting from selection decisions as a first-year professional behind South East Melbourne’s deeper frontcourt rotation. Mitchell and his coaches continued working with him on his defensive positioning and consistency, while Qi’s return to China for family reasons during December created further opportunities during the second half of the season.

One of his best performances came against Illawarra at John Cain Arena on December 8, where Anticevich (6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal) made two three-pointers in 14 minutes. Broekhoff (21 points and 7 rebounds) and Creek (19 points and 5 assists) led South East Melbourne, while Michael Frazier II (20 points) was Illawarra’s leading scorer as the Phoenix made 16 three-pointers and recorded the largest victory in club history with a 111-72 win.

His highest-scoring game came against Brisbane at Nissan Arena on December 21, where Anticevich (7 points and 2 rebounds) made 3-of-6 field goals, including his only three-point attempt, during almost ten minutes from the bench. His opportunity increased after Williams suffered a lower-leg injury during the second quarter, although the centre later returned, with Creek (29 points and 5 rebounds) and Kell III (17 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals) leading South East Melbourne to a 104-77 victory, while Nathan Sobey (31 points) was Brisbane’s leading scorer. “Grant Anticevich when he had his moments came in and was very productive,” Mitchell said.

Creek (23.4 points and 7 rebounds across 29 games) produced the highest-scoring season of his career, finished third in MVP voting, earned All-NBL First Team honours and won the Phoenix MVP award. Williams (16.6 points and 9.9 rebounds across 28 games) led the NBL in rebounding, while Browne (12.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.5 steals across 20 games) led the league in assists. Kell III (12.5 points and 3.8 rebounds across 24 games), Broekhoff (10.3 points and 4.1 rebounds across 20 games), Adnam (8.4 points across 27 games), Qi (6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds across 9 games) and Te Rangi (5.1 points across 29 games) provided the other main contributions.

Madut (4 points across 28 games), Foxwell (3.8 points and 1.2 steals across 17 games) and Rissetto (1.2 points across 5 games) received additional opportunities whenever the Phoenix were undermanned. Broekhoff and Browne each missed nine regular-season games, Kell III missed five and Williams missed one, while Qi did not return after leaving for China. South East Melbourne rose as high as second on the ladder but again struggled to maintain a healthy rotation and fell to fifth.

Anticevich was unused in South East Melbourne’s final regular-season game against Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena, where Creek (29 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals) and Kell III (18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists) kept the Phoenix close, while Xavier Cooks (16 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists) recorded a triple-double as the Kings won 111-106. South East Melbourne finished fifth with a 15-13 record after going 11-3 at home and 4-10 away.

He was again unused during the Play-In Qualifier against Perth at John Cain Arena, where Creek (24 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists), Browne (20 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals), Williams (16 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 steals), Kell III (14 points and 4 rebounds) and Te Rangi (14 points and 9 rebounds) helped South East Melbourne lead by 13 points early in the fourth quarter, while Broekhoff (5 points) returned from his groin injury but remained restricted to 14 minutes. Bryce Cotton (26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals), Brady Manek (24 points) and TaShawn Thomas (13 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists) led Perth, which outscored South East Melbourne 41-23 in the fourth quarter and eliminated the Phoenix 106-99.

Grant Anticevich played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the New Zealand Breakers and the South East Melbourne Phoenix. He averaged 3.3 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 44 NBL games.