BIO: Marshall Nelson was born in Perth (WA)

NBL EXPERIENCE

Marshall Nelson made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 24 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS
2018/19
After narrowly missing the playoffs with a 12-16 record the previous season, Illawarra underwent significant roster changes under coach Rob Beveridge. Oscar Forman (retired), Nick Kay (to Perth), Mitch Norton (to Perth), Rotnei Clarke, Demitrius Conger and Delvon Johnson departed, while Cody Ellis and Rhys Martin became free agents. AJ Ogilvy, Tim Coenraad and captain Kevin White returned, with Todd Blanchfield (via Sydney), David Andersen (via Melbourne), Cedric Jackson (via USA), Brian Conklin (via France), Jordair Jett, Daniel Grida and Emmett Naar among the additions.

Marshall Nelson had originally joined Illawarra (via Perth Redbacks) as a development player for 2017/18 after helping the Redbacks win the SBL championship, but did not appear in an NBL game that season. He spent the 2018 winter with the Canberra Gunners in the SEABL before returning to Illawarra on a contracted roster spot for 2018/19. Reflecting on his original move to the Hawks, Nelson said, “It was the time I spent training with Illawarra that I really changed my mind.”

Nelson (2.2 points across 15 games) was used as a depth guard and made all 15 appearances off the bench. There was no reported injury responsible for the games he missed, with his limited appearances instead coming as part of Illawarra’s guard rotation.

His season-high scoring game came in Melbourne on January 23, where Nelson (8 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist) made two three-pointers in 10 minutes as Illawarra lost 89-113. Blanchfield (22 points) and Jackson (10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) led the Hawks, while Casper Ware (25 points and 4 assists) was Melbourne’s leading scorer.

Conklin (14.4 points and 5.1 rebounds) led Illawarra in scoring, while Blanchfield (13.5 points and 4.2 rebounds) was named Hawks MVP. Jett (11.8 points and 1.5 steals) and Ogilvy (9.4 points and 6.6 rebounds) were the other major contributors.

Following the season, Nelson (to Perth Redbacks) became a free agent and returned home for the 2019 SBL season, ending his first stint with Illawarra.

Nelson’s best game and final appearance of the season came in Wellington on February 14, where Nelson (5 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) played 14 minutes as Illawarra lost 96-130 to New Zealand. Grida (17 points) and Ogilvy (12 points and 4 rebounds) led the Hawks, while Shawn Long (21 points and 8 rebounds) led New Zealand as Illawarra finished seventh with a 12-16 record.

2021/22
After finishing ninth with an 8-28 record, Cairns replaced Mike Kelly with former Sydney coach Adam Forde and lost leading scorer Cameron Oliver (to Houston), Fabijan Krslovic (to Tasmania) and Mojave King (to Adelaide). Scott Machado, Majok Deng, Kouat Noi, Nathan Jawai, Mirko Djeric, Jarrod Kenny and Jordan Ngatai returned, while Tahjere McCall (via Orléans), Stephen Zimmerman (via Nymburk), Keanu Pinder (via Adelaide) and rookie Bul Kuol (via Detroit Mercy) were added.

With Machado sidelined for four to six weeks by irritation at the base of his Achilles tendon, Cairns signed a former Illawarra development player from the Perth Redbacks as a nominated injury replacement on December 30. Marshall Nelson (2 points and 2 rebounds) made his Cairns debut the following night, playing five minutes as Deng (27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks) and Kuol (13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists) led the Taipans, while Cotton (29 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals) guided Perth to an 84-78 win at the Cairns Convention Centre.

Nelson (3.3 points across 10 games) remained available after Machado returned but worked outside the regular rotation and did not make a start. No injury was reported during his stint, with his limited appearances resulting from joining during the season as an injury replacement and later being released. Forde said, “His agenda is different to everyone else’s and he’s a guy trying to get a full-time gig.”

His best game came at Nissan Arena on February 5, where Nelson (6 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists), Deng (26 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Kuol (26 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists) helped an undermanned Cairns side defeat Brisbane 102-94 and collect its first road win of the season, while Franks (22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block) led the Bullets.

Nelson’s final appearance came against Tasmania on March 11, where he finished with 4 points and 2 rebounds as Zimmerman (19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block) and Deng (9 points) led Cairns, while Adams (20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block) guided the JackJumpers to an 85-69 win. Nelson remained unused against Sydney two days later before Cairns released him on March 17 and he returned to Perth.

McCall (16.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2 steals across 22 games) led Cairns in scoring, assists and steals and shared the club MVP award with Machado (10.2 points and 5.3 assists across 18 games). Deng (14.3 points and 4.7 rebounds across 28 games) finished second in scoring, Zimmerman (11.4 points and 9.6 rebounds across 16 games) led the team in rebounding before a right-knee injury ended his season, Pinder (10.9 points and 7.6 rebounds across 28 games) was named the NBL’s Most Improved Player and Kuol (10.4 points across 28 games) was named Rookie of the Year.

Nelson had returned to Perth when Cairns ended its season at the Cairns Convention Centre on April 23, where McCall (42 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block) and Deng (30 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led the Taipans to a 112-98 win over Brisbane, while Franks (30 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal) led the Bullets as Cairns finished ninth with a 9-19 record.

Marshall Nelson played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Illawarra Hawks and the Cairns Taipans. He averaged 2.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 25 NBL games.