BIO: Luke Travers was born in Adelaide (SA) and later moved to Perth (WA), where he attended Willetton Senior High School and began his junior basketball with the Rockingham Flames as a junior.

In 2017, Travers debuted in the State Basketball League (SBL) for the Rockingham Flames.

In 2018 Travers helped break a 17-year drought for Western Australia, winning gold at the Under 18 National Championships.

Opting to forgo college basketball in the United States to begin his professional career in Australia, he made his debut for the Wildcats as a development player in 2019. Travers received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2018. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Luke Travers made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 18 years of age. He scored three points in his first game.

The Wildcats’ first move of the 2019 off-season was re-signing four-time championship-winning coach Trevor Gleeson (three-year deal) as well as five-time championship-winning duo Damian Martin and Jesse Wagstaff and import Terrico White. In total, six members of the championship-winning squad would return, with Wani Swaka Lo Buluk being elevated from development player to the full roster and replace the retiring Greg Hire. The team also added Dario Hunt and Majok Majok to replace exiting big men Tom Jervis and Angus Brandt (to Europe).

Perth started the season in dominant fashion (5–1), but by round 10, had taken a step backwards (8-5) following back-to-back losses. The Wildcats regrouped behind four straight wins and closed out December with a 13–6 record. In December, Damian Martin played his 300th game for the Wildcats, then suffered a left heel injury, which saw him miss the entire month of January. After losing back-to-back games to start 2020, Gleeson and the Wildcat’s decided to release Dario Hunt (8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) and replace him with seven-year NBA veteran Miles Plumlee (9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks).

The addition of Plumlee gave Perth the inside presence they needed, showcased in a Perth win over New Zealand (80–79), when he recorded 23 points and 18 rebounds, becoming the first Wildcat to record 20+ points and 15+ rebounds in a game since 2007.

With seven games remaining and Plumlee required to play all seven to qualify for the postseason, the Wildcat’s won six of seven games to secure a 34th consecutive finals appearance with a second-place finish (19–9). Fresh off his World Cup experience playing for the Australian Boomers, Nick Kay (15 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals) delivered a breakout season alongside Bryce Cotton (22.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists) who etched himself into the history books, becoming the first import to lead the league in scoring three years in a row.

in the semifinals, Perth defeated Cairns (2–1) to advance to their 15th NBL Grand Final where thanks to a big games from Cotton (32 points) and Kay (14 points and 6 rebounds) they claimed game one (88–86) in front of 11,647 rabid Kings fans.

As the team’s prepared for game two in Perth, it was decided that the remaining games would all take place with no fans in the building. Without a single fan in the building, the Kings evened the series (1-1) thanks to Jae’Sean Tate (21 points) nailing seven of his nine shots and Andrew Bogut (24 points and 14 rebounds) having one of his best games of the season.

In game three of the grand final series against the Sydney Kings, Kay (30 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists) delivered a career high scoring effort, including seven three-pointers alongside Cotton (31 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists) to propel Perth to a game three victory (111–96).

Prior to game four, the Sydney Kings chose to withdraw from the series due to uncertainties of the coronavirus and travel restrictions. With multiple Kings players based overseas, many were concerned the restrictions would prevent any return home. After a week spent deliberating, it was decided Perth would be awarded the championship due to holding a 2-1 lead at the time, securing their tenth title. After averaging 30.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists over the three games, Cotton was named Grand Final MVP for the second time in four years, becoming the first player in Wildcats history to be named league MVP, Grand Final MVP and win a championship all in the same season.

Travers would see limited playing opportunities as a rookie, appearing in only 4 games, scoring a total of five points.

2020/21
After winning the previous season’s Grand Final after Sydney withdrew from the remaining two games due to COVID-19 health concerns, Perth struggled during the early stages of NBL21 as the league fought through a number of Covid obstacles. After losing Terrico White and Nick Kay to overseas offers, they chose to sign John Mooney to fill the enormous gap left in the team’s frontcourt. However, when the NBL chose to reduce the number of import roster spots from three to two, Perth was also unable to re-sign import Miles Plumlee. After multiple delays to the start of the season, the competition began but without a permanent schedule, resulting in team’s finding out each week who and where they would play depending on Covid travel limitations.

Perth struggled to find wins during this time, and after five rounds, they sat in seventh place, which is when the league made the decision to move all teams to Melbourne, where it would play eight games as part of the NBL Cup, a attempt to continue the season while escaping Covid related travel restrictions.

It was there Bryce Cotton (23.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.5 steals) would boost his production, a move which in turn, allowed new signing Todd Blanchfield (via Illawarra) to benefit from the space provided from Cotton’s brilliance and deliver a career-best season. Blanchfield (15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) would set a Wildcat record for most three-pointers made in a season and paired nicely with Mooney (16.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.3 steals) to form a powerful trio that soon led Perth back to the top of the ladder.

As the season entered its final round it seemed the Wildcats would be hoisting a third straight championship trophy. Fate would intervene, however, with Cotton suffering a season-ending injury during a loss to Melbourne (64–78) in their last game of the season. Cotton would go on to be selected as the league’s Most Valuable Player but was unable to suit up during in Perth’s playoff run.

After Melbourne knocked Perth out of the top spot on the ladder in round 13, a strong finish to the season saw United finish in first place (28-8), while Perth (25-11) claimed second position. After losing the opening game to Illawarra (72–74), Perth received a boost from Luke Travers (13 points and 10 rebounds), who, alongside John Mooney (18 points and 10 rebounds) led the Wildcats to a game two victory (79-71). In game three, Blanchfield (24 points and 5 rebounds) and Mitchell Norton (15 points and 4 rebounds) would step up in Cotton’s absence in game three and lift the undermanned squad over the Illawarra Hawks (79-71) in what was a wild semi-final series.

The Wildcats would then face off against a red-hot Melbourne United, who finished the regular season in first place and had been equally impressive all year.

Both games, one and two, were forced to be played in Perth due to travel restrictions. Despite a hot game from Blanchfield (27 points and 7 rebounds), United survived game one, winning by three points (70–73). Game two followed a similar story as Chris Goulding (21 points) and Jock Landale (12 points and 17 rebounds) proved too good for the limping Wildcats, falling short in game two also (74-83).

With Norton (8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists) battling through injury to end the season, the team’s backcourt became even weaker. Despite Kevin White’s best efforts, stepping up to deliver the best three-game performance of his career (10 points in game one, 12 points in game two and 14 points in game three), Perth were never in the series.. With restrictions lifted, game three was held on Melbourne’s home court and in front of a sold-out 5,000-strong crowd at John Cain Arena (the maximum allowed within Covid restrictions). United defeated Perth 81-76 in game three behind a truly dominant performance from Jock Landale (15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks). Landale would be named Finals MVP award as Melbourne collected their sixth NBL championship, their second under the United branding.

Travers would become a regular part of the Wildcat’s rotation this season, appearing in 40 games and averaging 4.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists.

2021/22
This season, Perth would see Trevor Gleeson, who coached the team to five championships in seven seasons, leave to coach in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors. The Wildcats would then suffer another blow, losing mid-season signing Will Magnay and half of Perth’s bench rotation (Clint Steindl, Jarrad Weeks, and Jarred Bairstow), all signing multi-year deals to play for Tasmania under former Wildcats assistant Scott Roth.

Perth then looked to rebuild its squad, bringing in US coach Scott Morrison to replace Gleeson, adding imports Vic Law (via Brisbane) Michael Frazier III and signing Matthew Hodgson (via Brisbane) with their last free roster spot.

With the Wildcats missing key players Mitchell Norton, Matthew Hodgson, Todd Blanchfield and Michael Frazier during the season, Travers would see increased opportunities and increase his production for the third year in a row, putting up 7.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in the Wildcat’s new system. His also developed a reliable three-point shot and improved his play-making significantly which saw a number of NBA scouts take notice.

Perth played its first five games at home before playing 14 games away due to the border closures resulting from COVID-19. Despite the obstacle of being away from family and friends, the Wildcats spent the majority of the year in the top four and and were a consensus favourite to make the Grand Final.

The dynamic duo of Cotton (22.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals) and Law (20.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks) was nearly unstoppable in the early stages of the season, with both players among the top three scorers in the league and Perth leading the league in total points scored (89.1 points per game).

The dynamic duo of Cotton (22.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals) and Law (20.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks) was nearly unstoppable in the early stages of the season, with both players among the top three scorers in the league and Perth leading the league in total points scored (89.1 points per game).

Perth, who were second on the ladder (13-6), returned to Western Australia to play their last nine games, all at home. During that time, the team decided to replace Frazier with big man John Brown III, who flew into the country and began training only to receive the news that his former team would not provide a clearance in time for him to make the playoffs. Perth was then faced with the uncomfortable situation of asking Frazier, who had been training alongside Brown, to return to the lineup while Brown III headed back to the USA.

Injuries saw Law go down to a season ending injury (knee) and Cotton miss several games during the run home, resulting in Perth winning only three of their nine home games before facing the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the last game of the season. Perth entered the game sitting in fourth place, with their playoff chances on the line, but when the team built a eight-point lead in the second half, it seemed a lock that the Wildcats would return to the playoffs for the 37th season in a row. The Phoenix, however, fought back and ended the Wildcats’ extraordinary run of finals campaigns with a thrilling two-point overtime win, ending the team’s run of consecutive playoff appearances, a streak which had begun in 1986.

At the conclusion of the season he signed a three-year extension at the club.

2022/23
During the 2022/23 season, Travers averaged 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists and helped the Wildcats finish in sixth place (15-13)

Luke Travers played five seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Perth Wildcats and the Melbourne United. He averaged 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 133 NBL games.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dan Boyce (815 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.