Brad Williams
July 23, 2020
Matthew Nielsen
- Nationality: AUS
- Date of Birth: 3/02/78
- Place of Birth: Sydney (NSW)
- Position: PF
- Height (CM): 208
- Weight (KG): 106
- Junior Assoc: NSW - Penrith
- College: None
- NBL DEBUT: 9/05/95
- AGE AT DEBUT: 17
- LAST NBL GAME: 6/04/04
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 26
- NBL History: Sydney 1995-04
- Championships: 2
- Sydney (2003, 2004)
BIO: Born and raised in the Sydney suburb of Leonay. He played his junior basketball with the Penrith Basketball Association and attended St Marys Senior High School. Whilst still a high school student he arranged to leave school early three times a week to train with the Sydney Kings as a development player. Nielsen received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1996. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1996).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Matthew Nielsen made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 17 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
As a 17-year-old in 1995, Nielsen appeared in two games for the Kings before moving to Canberra in 1996 to attend the Australian Institute of Sport.
In 1997, Nielsen returned to the Sydney Kings and by mid-season had moved into the starting lineup. He played a key role for the Kings who finished in tenth position during the regular season. He was awarded the NBL Rookie of the Year Award at the end of the season.
He played a further seven seasons with the Kings and helped the club win championships in 2003 and 2004. In 244 career games for the Kings over nine seasons, he averaged 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
In 2004, Nielsen began a decorated European career playing for PAOK Thessaloniki in Greece, Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania, Valencia in Spain, Olympiacos Piraeus also in Greece, and Khimki in Russia.
On 10 October 2013, Nielsen was named in the Sydney Kings 25th Anniversary Team.
Matthew Nielsen played nine seasons the Sydney Kings. He averaged 17.4 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 244 NBL games.
CAREER RANKINGS:
– 16th in total blocks
HIGHLIGHTS:
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.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | 26 | Sydney | 26-7 (1) | 40 | 1,548.6 | 887 | 424 | 139 | 119 | 305 | 41 | 100 | 118 | 140 | 330 | 630 | 52% | 22 | 67 | 32.8% | 205 | 287 | 71% | 58% | 54% | 41 |
| 2002-03 | 25 | Sydney | 22-8 (1) | 38 | 1,105.3 | 580 | 254 | 77 | 88 | 166 | 36 | 77 | 73 | 143 | 244 | 419 | 58% | 0 | 4 | 0.0% | 92 | 153 | 60% | 59% | 58% | 31 |
| 2001-02 | 24 | Sydney | 14-16 (8) | 30 | 1,113.2 | 584 | 266 | 114 | 92 | 174 | 38 | 45 | 87 | 120 | 225 | 419 | 54% | 15 | 57 | 26.3% | 119 | 165 | 72% | 59% | 55% | 36 |
| 2000-01 | 23 | Sydney | 17-11 (5) | 30 | 1,100.4 | 605 | 285 | 89 | 85 | 200 | 33 | 36 | 82 | 122 | 220 | 407 | 54% | 27 | 72 | 37.5% | 138 | 210 | 66% | 60% | 57% | 32 |
| 1999-00 | 22 | Sydney | 11-17 (7) | 28 | 973.4 | 467 | 187 | 63 | 65 | 122 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 110 | 183 | 351 | 52% | 4 | 25 | 16.0% | 97 | 130 | 75% | 57% | 53% | 33 |
| 1998-99 | 21 | Sydney | 9-17 (10) | 19 | 804.2 | 388 | 174 | 46 | 67 | 107 | 20 | 25 | 54 | 80 | 146 | 292 | 50% | 5 | 31 | 16.1% | 91 | 132 | 69% | 55% | 51% | 35 |
| 1998 | 20 | Sydney | 13-17 (8) | 28 | 944.3 | 460 | 232 | 62 | 57 | 175 | 36 | 19 | 81 | 108 | 175 | 323 | 54% | 5 | 24 | 20.8% | 105 | 153 | 69% | 58% | 55% | 38 |
| 1997 | 19 | Sydney | 12-18 (9) | 29 | 775.7 | 288 | 142 | 34 | 43 | 99 | 26 | 25 | 39 | 103 | 111 | 214 | 52% | 7 | 12 | 58.3% | 59 | 89 | 66% | 56% | 54% | 26 |
| 1995 | 17 | Sydney | 10-16 (11) | 2 | 1.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 0.0% | 0% | 0% | 0 | Totals | 244 | 8367 | 4259 | 1964 | 624 | 616 | 1348 | 247 | 357 | 581 | 926 | 1634 | 3055 | 53.5% | 85 | 292 | 29.1% | 906 | 1321 | 68.6% | 59% | 55% | 41 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | 26 | Sydney | 26-7 (1) | 40 | 38.7 | 22.2 | 10.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 7.6 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 8.3 | 15.8 | 52% | 0.6 | 1.7 | 32.8% | 5.1 | 7.2 | 71% | 58% | 54% | 41 |
| 2002-03 | 25 | Sydney | 22-8 (1) | 38 | 29.1 | 15.3 | 6.7 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 4.4 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 6.4 | 11.0 | 58% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0% | 2.4 | 4.0 | 60% | 59% | 58% | 31 |
| 2001-02 | 24 | Sydney | 14-16 (8) | 30 | 37.1 | 19.5 | 8.9 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 5.8 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 7.5 | 14.0 | 54% | 0.5 | 1.9 | 26.3% | 4.0 | 5.5 | 72% | 59% | 55% | 36 |
| 2000-01 | 23 | Sydney | 17-11 (5) | 30 | 36.7 | 20.2 | 9.5 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 6.7 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 7.3 | 13.6 | 54% | 0.9 | 2.4 | 37.5% | 4.6 | 7.0 | 66% | 60% | 57% | 32 |
| 1999-00 | 22 | Sydney | 11-17 (7) | 28 | 34.8 | 16.7 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 4.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 6.5 | 12.5 | 52% | 0.1 | 0.9 | 16.0% | 3.5 | 4.6 | 75% | 57% | 53% | 33 |
| 1998-99 | 21 | Sydney | 9-17 (10) | 19 | 42.3 | 20.4 | 9.2 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 7.7 | 15.4 | 50% | 0.3 | 1.6 | 16.1% | 4.8 | 6.9 | 69% | 55% | 51% | 35 |
| 1998 | 20 | Sydney | 13-17 (8) | 28 | 33.7 | 16.4 | 8.3 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 6.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 6.3 | 11.5 | 54% | 0.2 | 0.9 | 20.8% | 3.8 | 5.5 | 69% | 58% | 55% | 38 |
| 1997 | 19 | Sydney | 12-18 (9) | 29 | 26.7 | 9.9 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 7.4 | 52% | 0.2 | 0.4 | 58.3% | 2.0 | 3.1 | 66% | 56% | 54% | 26 |
| 1995 | 17 | Sydney | 10-16 (11) | 2 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0% | 0% | 0% | 0 | Total | 244 | 34.3 | 17.5 | 8.0 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 6.7 | 12.5 | 53.5% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 29.1% | 0.3 | 1.2 | 68.6% | 59% | 55% | 41 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 41 | 19 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- Sydney 1995 | AIS 1996 | Penrith 2000
Nielson first established himself as a future NBL star in the CBA where at the age of eighteen he led the Australian Institute of Sport in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and Field Goal percentage
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Nielsen won a gold medal for Australia at the FIBA Under 23 World Championships in 1997.
During his time playing for the Australian national team he also won gold medals at the 2001 Goodwill Games and was a member of 2002 Boomers Squad which failed to qualify for World Championships under coach Phil Smyth.
Neilsen remained a part of the national team as Australia looked to rebound from the loss to New Zealand with Smyth being replaced as head coach by Brian Goorjian. Goorjians first move as coach was convincing Shane Heal to return to the national program (he had retired after the 2000 Olympics) and build the team around teenage big man Andrew Bogut. In his first Olympics Bogut (13.7 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks) was the teams starting centre and leading rebounder while Heal (16.7 points and 3.5 assists) would lead the team in scoring and assists. selected a part of the national program as the team. Due to the teams inexperience, the Boomers (1-5) lost to every team in their pool bar Angola, missing the quarterfinals. Australia would then defeat New Zealand, 98-80, to determine who finished the tournament in ninth place.
Nielsen went on to play for Australia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where the Boomers defeated Iran, Russia and Lithuania to narrowly advance through to the second round. Due to their poor record (3-2) they would draw #1 ranked USA (5-0), who had earned the moniker of "The Redeem Team" and featured Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade. Despite a 20 point effort from Boomers debutant Patty Mills, Australia would lose to USA with Kobe Bryant (25 points) finishing as the game high scorer. The loss would see the Boomers finish in seventh place, their highest finish since 2000.
In 2010, Nielsen was part of the Boomers squad that competed at the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey, where the team placed 10th. The young roster saw Patty Mills lead the team in scoring (13.8 ppg) and assists (3.4 apg) and David Andersen finish second on the team in scoring (10.4 ppg) while leading the team in rebounds (7.4 rpg).
FIBA TOTAL STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 34 | 6 | 121 | 20 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 17 | 8 | 19 | 42.1% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 4 | 8 | 50.0% |
| 2010 | 32 | 6 | 146 | 56 | 35 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 21 | 45 | 46.7% | 2 | 10 | 20.0% | 12 | 20 | 60.0% |
| 2008 | 30 | 6 | 110 | 44 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 30 | 40.0% | 2 | 6 | 33.3% | 18 | 30 | 60.0% |
| 2004 | 26 | 6 | 144 | 76 | 28 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 17 | 22 | 31 | 65 | 47.7% | 2 | 5 | 40.0% | 12 | 19 | 63.2% | Total | 24 | 521 | 196 | 104 | 31 | 30 | 74 | 27 | 12 | 49 | 69 | 72 | 159 | 45% | 6 | 22 | 27% | 46 | 77 | 60% |
FIBA PER GAME STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 34 | 6 | 20.2 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 42.1% | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0% | 0.7 | 1.3 | 50.0% |
| 2010 | 32 | 6 | 24.3 | 9.3 | 5.8 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 4.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 7.5 | 46.7% | 0.3 | 1.7 | 20.0% | 2.0 | 3.3 | 60.0% |
| 2008 | 30 | 6 | 18.3 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 40.0% | 0.3 | 1.0 | 33.3% | 3.0 | 5.0 | 60.0% |
| 2004 | 26 | 6 | 24.0 | 12.7 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 10.8 | 47.7% | 0.3 | 0.8 | 40.0% | 2.0 | 3.2 | 63.2% | Total | 24 | 21.7 | 8.2 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 6.6 | 45% | 0.3 | 0.9 | 27% | 1.9 | 3.2 | 60% |
NBA EXPERIENCE
During his early years in the NBL Nielsen was scouted by multiple NBA scouts and was close to signing with the Chicago Bulls after developing a relationship with General Manager Jerry Krause.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Greece - PAOK Thessaloniki (2004/05), Olympiacos Piraeus (2010/11) | Lithuania - Lietuvos Rytas (2005-2008) | Russia - BC Khimki (2011/12) | Spain - Valencia (2008-2010)
AWARDS
- 1x time NBL Most Valuable Player (2004)
- 1x time NBL Finals MVP (2004)
- NBL Rookie Of The Year (1997)
- 1x All-NBL First Team
- 2x All-NBL Second Team
- 1x NBL Leading Scorer
- 2004 Eurochallenge Title with UNICS Kazan (Russia)
- 2003 ULEB Cup MVP (Russia)
- FIBA 22 & Under World Championships MVP (1997)
- ABA Youth Player of the Year 1996
COACHING HISTORY
Between 2015 and 2019, he served as an assistant coach for the Perth Wildcats of the NBL.
In 2020, Nielsen was named as assistant coach of the Australian senior men's national team under head coach Brian Goorjian which would win Australia's first olmypic medal.
Nielsen is currently an assistant coach for the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League.
Related
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