BIO: Malith Machar was born in Adelaide (SA).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Malith Machar made his NBL debut with the Melbourne United at 23 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

In August 2022, Malith Machar signed a two-year development player deal with Melbourne United, with a team option for the second season. On the announcement of his signing, coach Dean Vickerman expressed his optimism, stating, “At 6’6 he’s a long, versatile athlete that can play at a high tempo, defend multiple positions and shoot the ball well from beyond the arc. I can’t wait to get him back in Melbourne and continue to see just how much he can do for us.”

Coming off a season where they finished on top of the ladder but suffered an early playoff exit, United entered NBL23 with championship expectations. However, the team faced significant challenges before the season even began. Star centre Jo Lual-Acuil, who had been keen to stay in Melbourne, departed for a lucrative offer in China. Jack White and Matthew Dellavedova, both under contract, secured last-minute NBA deals with Denver and Sacramento, respectively, leaving United scrambling to fill their roster.

United signed Isaac Humphries (via Adelaide), Xavier Rathan-Mayes (via Illawarra), and imports Rayjon Tucker and Jordan Caroline, while David Barlow came out of retirement to help address roster gaps. However, things went from bad to worse when Next Star Ariel Hukporti suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during the NBL Blitz in Darwin. With Humphries recovering from knee issues, the team lacked depth in the frontcourt, forcing veteran forwards Barlow, Brad Newley, and Caroline into extended minutes at centre.

Despite these setbacks, United opened their season with an overtime win against New Zealand (101–97), thanks to a stellar performance from Rathan-Mayes (33 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists). However, injuries and roster instability persisted. Shea Ili, who was expected to lead the second unit, appeared in just 13 games due to recurring concussions. Tucker, initially signed as the primary scorer, struggled to meet expectations but still managed solid averages of 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Caroline (5.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 0.7 assists) failed to adjust to playing as an undersized centre and was replaced mid-season by Marcus Lee (9.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks).

United endured a rough start to the season (5–6), including a shock loss to Illawarra (93–79), who had only one win at the time. However, following a crucial 104–88 victory over Brisbane, where Goulding (20 points), Tucker (20 points), Lee (18 points), and Ili (15 points) delivered strong performances, United turned their season around with an 11–3 run to close out the regular season. On the final day, Tucker’s 31-point effort secured a win over Adelaide (116–107), but United narrowly missed the Play-In Qualifier due to points percentage after Perth defeated Sydney.

A key highlight of the season was Melbourne’s involvement in the NBL’s first Pride Round, spearheaded by Isaac Humphries’ public announcement as the league’s first openly gay player. Additionally, United played a marquee Christmas Day game against Sydney, drawing over 300,000 viewers despite a 101–80 loss, with Tucker leading all scorers with 31 points.

Machar appeared in four games during the season, contributing a total of one point.

2023/24
After a challenging season, United looked to regroup by bringing back Jo Lual-Acuil from China and Matthew Dellavedova from the NBA. They also added NBA prospect Luke Travers, alongside young talents Tanner Krebs (via Brisbane), Kyle Bowen, and Flynn Cameron. Ian Clark (via Adelaide) was signed as the team’s lone import, filling a bench scoring role.

Led by Chris Goulding (16.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists), who delivered one of the best seasons of his career, United dominated the NBL24 regular season, finishing first with a 20–8 record. Lual-Acuil (14.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks), Dellavedova (12.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists), and Travers (11.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.3 blocks) contributed consistently across the board.

Despite their regular-season dominance, United’s playoff campaign ended in disappointment. After splitting the first two games of the Grand Final series against Tasmania, United fell short in Game 5 at home (83–81), with Jordon Crawford delivering a historic 32-point performance to secure Tasmania’s first championship. Machar played sparingly in three games during NBL24, failing to score.

Malith Machar played two seasons the Melbourne United..

Dan Boyce (828 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.