BIO: Mark Griffin was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Coburg basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Mark Griffin made his NBL debut with the Coburg Giants at 19 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

1987
In 1987, Griffin averaged 2.7 points and 1.1 rebounds, and helped guide the Giants to sixth place finish in the regular season with a 15-11 record. After missing the playoffs in 1986, the Giants moved home venues from Coburg to the inner city where they would play at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre, more commonly known as ‘The Glasshouse’. Thanks to a influx of finances the team then rebranded to the North Melbourne Giants and appointed a new head coach in Bruce Palmer and recruited star import Scott Fisher. Griffin added 1.2 points and 0.9 rebounds alongside Fisher (25.1 points and 11.0 rebounds), and together they helped guide the Giants back into the playoffs. North Melbourne finished in sixth place at the end of the regular season (15-11) and then went on to lose to Illawarra (97–105) in the Elimination Finals.

It was (almost) a Cinderella season for Griffin and the Giants in 1988. This year the team added bruising import Tim Dillon to play alongside Scott Fisher, a duo that quickly became known as the ‘Twin Boulders’ by media and fans. The team also acquired US born Mark Leader from Geelong, who had become a naturalised Australian during the off-season.

The Giant’s new frontcourt saw the team skyrocket to the top of the NBL ladder, causing regular sellouts at the team’s 7,000 seat home court. Griffin would contribute 1.2 points and 0.9 rebounds, and 0.4 assists for the season, alongside stars Fisher (27.5 points and 11.3 rebounds) and Dillon (33.2 points and 10.9 rebounds) who had statistically, two of the greatest individual seasons of all time. Together, they led the Giants to a second place regular season finish and an 18–6 record.

Griffin would not see any action in the NBL playoffs but had a courtside seat to watch the Giants fall one game short of winning the NBL championship. The Giants would lose the deciding game three 108-101 behind Willie Simmons 23 points and 10 rebounds, and another 21 points from both Simon Cottrell and Phil Smyth. Smyth would be awarded the Grand Final MVP after averaging 21.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.6 steals across the three-game series.

1988

1989
In 1989 would agree to play in Geelong in hopes of getting more playing opportunities. Griffin averaged 2.5 points and 2.3 rebounds during a rebuilding season with the Geelong Supercats who finished the season with a 5-19 record.

1990
During the 1990 season, Griffin averaged 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds, and helped guide the Supercats to slightly improved tenth place finish in the regular season with an 11–15 record.

1991
After three challenging years that saw just 16 total wins, the 1991 Geelong Supercats shocked the NBL by finishing 17–9 and making the playoffs for the first time since 1984. Backed by a new ownership group of four key local investors and 30 shareholders, the team rebuilt its roster and identity under head coach Barry Barnes.

The starting five did the heavy lifting—Bobby Locke (25.7 ppg), Vince Hinchen (24.1 ppg), Shane Heal (23.4 ppg), Terry Dozier (22.0 ppg), and John Dorge (14.3 ppg, 13.7 rpg) were all elite performers—but bench contributors like Mark Griffin played an important role in maintaining intensity. Griffin appeared in 16 games, averaging 2.8 points and 1.9 rebounds, offering size, hustle, and depth in the frontcourt.

After an 0–3 start, Geelong sparked a turnaround with a big road win over Brisbane and never looked back. They tied Eastside for second place, finishing third on a points differential tiebreaker. In the Elimination Finals, Geelong crushed North Melbourne 139–119 in Game 1, with Heal scoring 36 points and Dorge adding 23 and 6 blocks.

The Giants responded in Game 2, and in the decisive Game 3, Geelong fell 125–113 despite strong efforts from Locke (31), Heal (27), and Hinchen (23). While Griffin didn’t appear in the playoffs, his regular season minutes helped keep the starters fresh throughout a demanding campaign.

In his final season Griffin averaged 4.0 points and 2.8 rebounds with the Geelong Supercats only managed to win 2 games for the season, finishing with a 2-22 record.

Mark Griffin played seven seasons across three NBL teams. This included the Coburg Giants, North Melbourne Giants and Geelong Supercats. He averaged 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 74 NBL games.