Perth Wildcats are on the prowl, watch out if you’re in the way!
No club has captured the same sense of daring, professionalism and most of all team chemistry, quite like the mighty cats of the West. Since their inception in 1982, the Perth Wildcats have consistently set the standard of basketball in Australia.
Although their first five seasons in their existence were a struggle, when Bob Williams, the at-the-time owner of Interstruct, a leading construction company in Perth, took ownership of the club in 1987 and helped set the foundation for what has been a forever-standing empire in Australian sport. They have not missed the playoffs once during this time… that’s right, the last time the Western Australian’s missed the finals was 1986.
This is something the heavy-weight corporate entities of Australian sport, including Collingwood Magpies and Richmond Tigers (AFL), Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory (A-League) or Brisbane Broncos and Sydney Roosters (NRL) have not come close to accomplishing.
Thirty-four consecutive finals appearances, including fifteen Grand Final series for ten championships… five more than the next best club, places the Wildcats as the clear superior entity in the National Basketball League.
Throughout the years, the Wildcats have boasted some of Australia’s very best basketball talent. Some local-born talent, some who have ventured from across the seas.
Today, we delve into the top ten best players to ever represent the Perth Wildcats since 1982.
10) Jesse Wagstaff
6x NBL Champion (2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 & 2020)
NBL Rookie Of The Year (2010)
While not winning too many individual awards, Jesse Wagstaff has been a consistent performer during his ten years with the Perth Wildcats. An equal club-record six championships in counting, Jesse Wagstaff may have averaged only 19 minutes per game over his career but he could always be relied upon to make them count. A solid, reliable performer through the years.
9) Mike Ellis
2x NBL Champion (1990 & 1991)
No. 6 Retired At Perth Wildcats
Along with his late father Gordon, Mike Ellis will forever hold a special place in the Perth Wildcats history. He wasn’t the flashiest, quickest or high scoring player to don a Wildcats jersey but he was a workhorse and the ultimate team man.
A local Perth product who left everything on the floor, in every contest, something which every die-hard Cat’s fan became enamoured with in the late ’80s. Ellis holds the title of being the team’s inaugural championship captain. After his retirement, he also patrolled the sidelines as coach of the Wildcats during the 2003/04 season.
8) Kevin Lisch
1x NBL Champion (2010)
1x NBL Grand Final MVP (2010)
1x NBL MVP (2012)
1x All-NBL First Team (2012)
1x NBL Scoring Champion (2012)
The guy did it all in his first season in Perth, leading the team to a championship and claiming Grand Final MVP in the process.
Kevin Lisch was swayed to come to Perth due to the close friendship between Billikens coach Rick Majerus and Wildcats coach Rob Beveridge and after a modest debut season where he averaged 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists ramped things up each additional season he played for the club.
This culminated in 2012 when he led the league in scoring and averaged 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal and was named NBL MVP for his efforts.
He notched up 130 games across four seasons in Western Australia, which currently sees him listed top ten all time.
Listen to our podcast with Kevin Lisch
7) Shawn Redhage
4x NBL Champion (2010, 2014, 2016 & 2017)
2x All-NBL First Team (2008 & 2010)
The Wildcats have always been known as a “blue-collar” team and when it comes to import players, Shawn Redhage may be the most blue-collar of them all.
Redhage spent thirteen seasons playing for the Wildcats after a very brief stint in New Zealand where he was released only two months into the season.
Considered a “dirty” player by opposition fans but forever a crowd favourite among the “Red Army”, he averaged 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists over 380 games where he sits second all time for games played.
Listen to our podcast with Shawn Redhage
6) Scott Fisher
2x NBL Champion (1995 & 2000)
NBL 20th Anniversary Team
NBL 25th Anniversary Team
No. 30 Retired At Perth Wildcats
Australian Basketball Hall Of Fame
California product Scott Fisher was the league’s premier power forward during the late ’80s and once he became a naturalised Australia he quickly made the move west to the Wildcats.
He paired with other Wildcats greats Andrew Vlahov and James Crawford to form the feared front-line known as the “Perth Wall” that led to two titles.
Fisher averaged 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal over 247 games for Perth. He then followed the trend of many Wildcats legends who tried their hands at coaching the team (Cal Bruton, Mike Ellis, Alan Black) and led the team from the sidelines as head coach from 2004-2008.
Listen to our podcast with Scott Fisher
5) Damian Martin
6x NBL Champion (2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 & 2020)
1x NBL Grand Final MVP (2016)
6x NBL Best Defensive Player (2011–2015, 2018)
1x All-NBL First Team (2011)
The heart and soul of the Perth Wildcats for a decade. Damian Martin is revered among the Wildcats faithful who followed his Sydney Spirit coach Rob Beveridge and teammate Matthew Knight west to play in the red and black.
Martin’s arrival yielded immediate success, helping the Wildcats win the championship in his debut season for the Cats.
In 2011, “Damo” was named to the All-NBL first team and won the league’s Best Defensive Player Award for the first time.
He would go on to win that award six times and through his leadership and defensive tenacity, it was a logical choice for him to be named captain in 2013 a role he has maintained at the club ever since.
Perhaps the biggest nod to his ability to impact a game without scoring came in 2016 when national selectors made him a surprise inclusion in Australia’s Olympic team where he more than held his own.
A competitor since day one who never gave his opponent the light of day. Not to mention the engine which propelled the team to six NBL championships, a record he holds alongside Jesse Wagstaff.
Listen to our podcast with Damian Martin
4) Andrew Vlahov
3x NBL Champion (1991, 1995 & 2000)
1x NBL Grand Final MVP (1995)
2x All-NBL First Team (1992 & 1995)
NBL Rookie Of The Year (1991)
NBL 20th Anniversary Team
No. 21 Retired At Perth Wildcats
With two parents who represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games, Andrew Vlahov was born to represent Australia. Vlahov played 349 games in the NBL, all for the Wildcats, however, it could have just as easily been with the North Melbourne Giants.
The Giants heavily pursued Vlahov once his time at Stanford University was completed and Vlahov’s had decided he was making the move to Melbourne, but a last-minute change of heart led him to sign with his hometown team the Wildcats and the rest is history.
He played his entire NBL career with the Perth Wildcats, in his rookie season he captured Rookie Of The Year honours and helped the team win their second title in a row in 1991. By 1993 he had replaced club legend, Mike Ellis, as team captain, a role he remained in until his retirement.
Vlahov’s best season came in 1995 where he filled the stat sheet on a nightly basis. He averaged 20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block per game and led the team past (coincidentally) the North Melbourne Giants and captured his first title.
He would win another in 2000 in the unusual role of player/owner. Vlahov’s purchased the team with long time friend Luc Longley in 2000. Vlahov continued to play whilst owning the team until his retirement in 2002.
His play within the national team from 1988 to 2000 would have to see him considered as the greatest defensive player in Boomers history.
Listen to our podcast with Andrew Vlahov
3) James Crawford
3x NBL Champion (1990, 1991 & 1995)
1x NBL First Team (1987)
10x NBL All-Star (1988-1997)
NBL 20th Anniversary Team
NBL 25th Anniversary Team
No. 7 Retired At Perth Wildcats
Australian Basketball Hall Of Fame
Known as “JC” or “The Alabama Slamma”, James Crawford was a fan favourite in WA the minute he threw down his first “elevator jam” for the Wildcats.
The six-foot-eight power forward played a pivotal role in the first three titles for Perth. No matter if he was teamed up with Kendal Pinder, Andrew Vlahov or Scott Fisher he was a landlord of the paint, making opposition lay-ups a tough ask during the 80s and 90s.
Crawford has blocked more shots than any player in Wildcats history and ranks third all-time in NBL all-time numbers.
Ten years after his retirement and at 53 years of age, he was still able to get fans on their feet, throwing down dunks in the Wildcats’ 30th Anniversary Legends Game in 2013. That same year he was also inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame.
With his numbers at the Wildcats looking like a video game box score, 29 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks in 371 games, Crawford is an easy pick for Wildcats all-time greats.
2) Bryce Cotton
3x NBL Champion (2017, 2019 & 2020)
2x NBL Grand Final MVP (2018 & 2020)
2x NBL MVP (2018 & 2020)
3x All-NBL First Team (2018, 2019 & 2020)
3x NBL Scoring Champion (2017, 2019 & 2020)
The greatest player of the “Kestleman Era”.
Bryce Cotton even donning a Perth jersey for one game was pure luck. Cotton, who was nowhere near an option for the Wildcats due to NBL salaries, had just finished playing in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies and after narrowly missing out on another contract for 2016 due to his height, signed to play in Turkey with Anadolu Efes. Four months later Cotton fled the team due to safety concerns and found himself unemployed.
With nowhere else to go Cotton joined the Wildcats mid-season to play until he could attempt to make the NBA again. Cotton set a Wildcats scoring record on debut with a 26 point effort, a number which surpassed James Ennis’ 25 points in 2013. In his first year in year in the league, he put up 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal every night and guided the team to their eighth NBL title.
Perth defeated Illawarra in three games while Cotton averaged 27.7 points, which included setting a Grand Final scoring record with a 45-point effort in the deciding game three.
After attempting to re-enter the NBA at seasons end Cotton made the decision to return to Perth, turning down huge offers from Europe.
Cotton’s first full season in the NBL resulted in him leading the league in scoring (19.4 points per game) and being named the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2018.
In 2019 Cotton helped Perth return to their place as NBL champions, defeating Melbourne United and the following year repeated the effort in by defeating the Sydney Kings amidst a worldwide pandemic.
Three championships from four seasons, Cotton recently announced he will exit his contract with the Wildcats but the team is still hopeful to see him return in the near future.
Listen to our podcast with Bryce Cotton
1) Ricky Grace
4x NBL Champion (1990, 1991, 1995 & 2000)
2x NBL Grand Final MVP (1990 & 1993)
4x NBL First Team (1991, 2001, 2002 & 2003)
Perth Wildcats Record Holder for Games (482), Points (8802), Assists (3470) and Steals (734)
No. 15 Retired At Perth Wildcats
NBL 25th Anniversary Team
Australian Basketball Hall Of Fame
No other man entertained a crowd like ‘Amazing Grace’. The silky left-hander would confuse opponents by going left as his first move, left for his second move and then he’d go even lefter if they were still there.
His canny ability to put the ball in the basket from all angles and his defensive efforts see him among the top three in almost any statistic in Wildcats history.
After being drafted by the Utah Jazz in 1988 but failing to make the team Ricky Grace was invited by then Perth Wildcats general manager Cal Bruton to play for the Wildcats while he decided what he would do next. Grace would play his entire professional career for the Wildcats, captaining the club from 2002 until his retirement in 2005.
Grace controlled the Wildcats offence through six grand finals appearances, winning four championships. He was twice awarded Grand Final MVP, one when they bested the Brisbane Bullets in 1990 and another, unusually, in a losing effort to the Melbourne Tigers in 1993. Even in a losing effort, you couldn’t help but notice his greatness.
Grace was naturalised in 1994 and represented Australia from 1995-2000 which included a fourth-place Olympic finish, Australia’s best finish to date, in 2000.
Listen to our podcast with Ricky Grace
Dan is a self-confessed Aussie hoops tragic from Adelaide, South Australia. He is a young sports broadcaster and journalist with a passion for the NBL and Australian Boomers. Also hosts his own sports podcast; Amato's 5th Quarter.
