NICKNAME/S: J-Chill

BIO: Josh Childress was born in Harbor City, Illinois (USA) and grew up in Compton, California where he and his brother, Chris, played basketball and did their best to stay out of trouble. The neighborhood they lived in was very tight and supportive, but they lived under constant threat of gangsters in the area.

Childress attended Mayfair High School in nearby Lakewood. Besides playing basketball in high school and being named a McDonald’s High School All-American, he also played volleyball during his senior year. He led his high school volleyball team, the Monsoons, to a undefeated record and he was voted to the All-League volleyball team. Josh has his #22 jersey retired at Mayfair.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Josh Childress made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 31 years of age. He scored 26 points in his first game.

On August 12, 2014, Childress signed with the Sydney Kings for the 2014/15 NBL season. On October 28, he was handed a one-game suspension and a $7,500 fine for unduly rough play after striking Perth Wildcats’ forward Jesse Wagstaff with his elbow as he drove to the basket. Childress was ejected from the game following the incident and the attack made headlines across the globe.

a NBL tribunal cleared Childress of striking with his elbow but banned him for one game and fined him $3750 for another charge of unduly rough play. He was fined a additional $3750 for bringing the game into disrepute.

On January 28, 2015, Childress was ruled out for the rest of the season after scans revealed he required surgery for a torn pectoral muscle. In 18 games for the Kings in 2014/15, he averaged 21.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.1 blocks per game.

A man's jam, a King's slam ????

Josh Childress put the pain on Luke Schenscher with this monster dunk ???? pic.twitter.com/iL8az4XpMX

— NBL (@NBL) July 26, 2023

In 2015, he became the only player in history to lead the NBL in scoring and rebounding while also being top five in blocks and assists.

2015/16
Since re-entering the league in 2010, Sydney had never finished with a winning record, something they came narrowly close to last season, until a season-ending injury to Childress derailed things.

On July 2, 2015, Childress re-signed with the Kings for the 2015/16 NBL season. and the team loaded up on talent to surround him, and blossoming young stars like Jason Cadee, Tom Garlepp and reigning Rookie of the Year Angus Brandt. Veterans Julian Khazzouh, Steven Markovic and Rhys Carter were brought in, and NBA draftee Marcus Thornton was signed as the team’s second import.

Although Childress would miss the first four games of the season (1-3) with a foot injury, he returned to the court to face Adelaide (Oct 23) at home, only to break his right hand. Childress still managed to score 23 points and played out the Kings’ loss to the 36ers (91–80) before being ruled out for a further four to six games with a boxer’s fracture.

While out of action due to his hand injury, Childress was suspended for two games for demonstrating unsportsmanlike behaviour on the sidelines during the Kings’ loss to Adelaide (Nov 10). Childress verbally abused the referees in the tunnel of Titanium Security Arena following the conclusion of the match, further tarnishing his reputation in the NBL.

Childress returned to action in late November, but two games later, he suffered a fractured left hand back against Cairns, just two games back after recovering from his previous injury and subsequently ruled out for three weeks. He was reactivated once again on December 29 and played out the rest of the season.

All in all, Childress (21.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks) played in only 13 games for the Purple and Gold. Starting centre Khazzouh (13.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.8 blocks) delivered great numbers in his return before ripping his right quadriceps tendon off the bone in mid-December, missing a third of the season and Markovic (3.0 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) played a grand total of 3 games for the season due to illness and subsequent recovery. With most of the team’s starting line-up missing, the Kings were so decimated at one stage that assistant coach Ben Knight suited up for four games.

In early January 2016, Craig Moller and Jordan Vandenberg were also brought in to help cover the loss of Khazzouh and backup forward Jeromie Hill (4.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.4 assists).

During the absence of Childress, the Kings brought in former NBA players Damion James (7.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 0.6 assists) for 5 games, Al Harrington (17.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists) for 6 games with James being a disappointment and Harrington becoming a fan favourite during their brief stints, but both failed to deliver team success and coach Damian Cotter was released mid-season.

Former Washington Wizards assistant Joe Connelly was brought in as a new head coach and helped youngsters Cadee (14.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists), Garlepp (14.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) and Brandt (8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks) continue to develop (Brandt earning a gig with the national team at year’s end), it wasn’t enough for the under-manned Kings to avoid finishing dead last (6-22) during the regular season.

While healthy, Childress was clearly the best player in the league. Unfortunately, “J-Chill” logged only 31 games over the course of two stints with the Kings and was not re-signed the following season.

ADELAIDE 36ERS
2017/18
On October 21, 2017, after spending preseason with the Denver Nuggets, Childress signed with the Adelaide 36ers after he was unable to secure a NBA contract.

The 36ers’ roster had proven it had what it takes to contend the championship the season prior and coach Joey Wright locked in all eight Australian players (Mitch Creek, Nathan Sobey, Daniel Johnson, Matthew Hodgson, Brendan Teys, Majok Deng, Anthony Drmic and Adam Doyle) and looked to go one step further. One notable absence from the roster was star US import Jerome Randle, who reportedly had asked for $300k per season, which was far outside what Adelaide or other NBL teams were able to pay. Randle then chose to play in Turkey with Bahçeşehir instead of staying in Adelaide, and the team replaced him with experienced guard, Shannon Shorter.

Philadelphian shooting guard Ramone Moore (via Melbourne) and athletic forward Ronald Roberts were signed as the team’s other two imports, completing the roster.

In mid-September 2017, the 36ers travelled to Singapore in the pre-season to compete in the Merlion Cup. The team remained undefeated throughout the tournament and defeated the Shanghai Sharks in the final to be crowned the 2017 Merlion Cup Champions.

Import woes began early in the season for Adelaide. It began with import Ronald Roberts who was released a week before the season tipped off with the team citing the big man had suffered a ‘knee injury’ although Roberts responded via Twitter stating he’s ‘100 percent fine’. Veteran forward Alan Wiggins was signed as a replacement for Roberts, but he suffered a broken arm in his NBL debut against the Sydney Kings. With Wiggins requiring surgery and set to miss eight weeks, the team signed former Sydney Kings star Josh Childress.

Despite the import roller-coaster, the Sixers impressed on the road early but struggled to string consistent performances together, winning half of their first 16 games. It was around this time Randle, who had left Turkey claiming he hadn’t been paid his salary on time, enquired about returning to the 36ers, but with the team being already finalised, Randle instead signed with the Sydney Kings as a replacement for import guard Travis Leslie.

Injuries crippled the 36ers over the next month. Both Creek, who was ruled out for three weeks on December 12 2017, after tearing a small muscle from the bone from his hamstring and then Drmic (6.6 points and 2.7 rebounds), after a medial collateral ligament sprain in his left knee, would spend the next three weeks alongside him.

A disappointing 19-point loss against the Cairns Taipans at home on Christmas Eve summed up the Sixers start to the season. This loss, however, seemed to be the turning point for the Sixers, who went on to win 10 of their last 12 games, including seven in a row, and booked themselves a second spot on the ladder at the end of the regular season.

Childress finished with averages of 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.

in the semifinals, Adelaide would make short work of third-ranked Perth, defeating the Wildcats 109–74 in game one, the second biggest finals loss in Wildcats’ history. The 36ers rebounded in game two (89–88), defeating defeated Perth behind the stellar play of Josh Childress (25 points and 10 rebounds).

A grand final series against Melbourne came next, where United’s Casper Ware (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) erupted in the first half of game one before exiting the game with a hip injury. United’s Chris Goulding would then step up with a impressive shooting display (26 points) to propel Melbourne to victory (107-96) at Hisense Arena. Daniel Johnson (18 points) and Mitch Creek (14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) finished as the 36ers leading scorers.

In game two, Adelaide came out with a bang with Majok Deng (18 points) leading the team in scoring. Mitch Creek and Ramone Moore (both 17 points) also stepped up as the 36ers tied the series (110-95). Casey Prather (20 points) and Chris Goulding (19 points) finishing as United’s best on court.

The 36ers’ win came at a cost however, with import Josh Childress (13 points and 8 rebounds), going down with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter which would keep him out of the remaining Grand Final games.

The series returned to Melbourne for game three, where tensions exploded at the end of the first half, Adelaide’s Nathan Sobey clashing heads with Casey Prather after the United import hit a three-pointer on the stroke of halftime. The Adelaide guard was called for a disqualifying foul and ejected from the match. There was further drama at the end of the game with players from both teams needing to be separated after the final buzzer. The incident also resulted in 36ers head coach Joey Wright being fined handsomely for questioning the integrity of the referees.

When the smoke settled, United won a tightly fought contest over the 36ers (101-98) after Adelaide’s Majok Deng missed a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds. Casper Ware (25 points), Prather (23 points) and Chris Goulding (15 points), who hit three clutch triples to take control of the game, were among United’s best.

Game four saw Adelaide swingman Nathan Sobey (16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists), who was ejected in game three for his part in the halftime melee, lead the way for the 36ers in the first half with the scoreboard reading 55-31 at the halfway mark. Again the home team was victorious, Adelaide getting a comfortable win over Melbourne United (90-81). Johnson (29 points and 10 rebounds) and Prather (23 points) top scoring for their respective sides.

In the deciding game five, Goulding, Ware (both 23 points) and Prather (19 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals) came to play and Melbourne defeated Adelaide (100-82) in front of a sold-out crowd at Hisense Arena, winning their first title since rebranding from the Tigers. Shannon Shorter (20 points) led Adelaide in scoring, while Chris Goulding was named Finals MVP after averaging 16.6 points and 3.6 rebounds over the five-game series. With the win, Prather collected his third NBL championship to become the first player in NBL history to win three straight titles in his first three seasons in the league.

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Josh Childress played three seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Sydney Kings and the Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 17 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 58 NBL games.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dan Boyce (798 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.