NICKNAME/S: Bubbles

BIO: Matthew Shanahan was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Nunawading basketball program. Shanahan received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1993. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Matthew Shanahan made his NBL debut with the South East Melbourne Magic at 17 years of age. He scored one point in his first NBL game.

Matthew ‘Bubble’ Shanahan played 17 seasons in the NBL, playing for eight NBL team’s, which is the second most in NBL history behind Ben Knight who played for nine team’s. At 6 foot 5 inches tall, Shanahan was a versatile player who could play any perimeter position, he also led the NBL in three-point percentage in 1999.

He debuted in the NBL in 1992 at 16 years of age, signing with the South East Melbourne Magic and winning a title as a rookie despite playing any minutes in a NBL game.

Shanahan would help the Giants win the 1994 NBL championship as a rookie averaging two points per game in 10 games. His career would then include stops Brisbane Bullets (1998/99), Cairns Taipans (1999/00), Wollongong Hawks (2000-02), Canberra Cannons (2002/03), Hunter Pirates (2003/04), Perth Wildcats (2004-06), South Dragons (2006-08).

The 2000/01 season marked history for the Hawks as they won their maiden NBL Championship. Prior to the start of the season, coach Brendan Joyce changed almost half his roster, adding Shanahan, Charles Thomas, Damon Lowery, Grant Kruger and Axel Dench. Shanahan have a much larger role than previous years, regulary getting minutes as a backup to Damon Lowery, averaging 5 points in 10 minutes per game.

After finishing the regular season in fourth with a club-best 21 wins from 28 games, Wollongong upset Perth in game one of the Qualifying Final to win at home 97–90. Shanahan, who did not play In game one, added 9 points in ten minutes as the Hawks struggled against the Wildcat’s In game two, losing 106–95. This set up a game three in Perth, where although Shanahan did not take the court, the Hawks won in a major upset thanks to a 26 point, 16 rebounds performance from Glen Saville and a 20 point game from Damon Lowery to win 98–88.

This set up a semi-final matchup with the Adelaide 36ers and their stars Darnell Mee and Kevin Brooks. Shanahan did not play In game one, a narrow 84-83 game win for the Hawks in Adelaide and played only a minute in the Hawks game two loss at home, 100–111. The Hawks won game three in a nail biter at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre when Damon Lowery sunk three free throws with no time on the clock, propelling the team into the 2001 NBL Grand Final to face the Townsville Crocodiles.

There the Hawks would win game one against the Crocodiles at home 104-101 without Shanahan taking the floor. The series then shifted to Townsville for games two and three where the Crocodiles rebounded at home winning the second game 114–97 despite Shanahan playing his best game of the playoffs, scoring 11 points in 10 minutes. game three was a gruelling matchup, played the very next day where the blue-collar Hawks snuck out the three-point victory 97-94, Charles Thomas top scoring with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Glen Saville would add 18 points and 12 rebounds, and claim the NBL Finals MVP while Shanahan played the final two minutes of the game but failed to score. The Hawks 2–1 victory saw them become the first New South Wales club to win a NBL championship.

Shanahan’s best season came in 2003/04 in his first year playing with the Hunter Pirates. In 28 games he averaged 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Matthew Shanahan played eighteen seasons across eight NBL teams. This included the South East Melbourne Magic, North Melbourne Giants, Canberra Cannons, Hunter Pirates, Wollongong Hawks, Brisbane Bullets, Cairns Taipans, Perth Wildcats and South Dragons. He averaged 6.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 395 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (811 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.