Sam Mackinnon
July 23, 2020
Max Mackinnon
- Nationality: AUS
- Date of Birth: 9/10/03
- Place of Birth: Sydney, NSW
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 198
- Weight (KG): 96
- Junior Assoc:
- College: Elon (2022–2024) / Portland (2024–2025) / LSU (2025-2026)
- NBL DEBUT: 15/01/22
- AGE AT DEBUT: 18
- LAST NBL GAME: 16/04/22
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 18
- NBL History: Brisbane 2022
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Max Mackinnon was born in Sydney, NSW. He later moved to Brisbane (QLD) where his father Sam had played for the Bullets during the 2000’s. MacKinnon would follow in his father’s footsteps, signing a deal to play with Brisbane as a development player after becoming a hotly pursued junior player, who led the Queensland U/20’s side to a gold medal win at the Australian Championships, averaging 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3 assists per game.
He attended Lake Ginninderra College after moving to Canberra to attend the Centre of Excellence. Mackinnon received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2021. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.
FAMILY: Max MacKinnon is the son of Sam MacKinnon who played 459 games in the NBL.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Max Mackinnon made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
After finishing sixth and missing the playoffs, Brisbane replaced Andrej Lemanis with former Sydney Kings assistant James Duncan. Vic Law (to Perth), Matt Hodgson (to Perth), Harry Froling (to Illawarra), BJ Johnson (to Orlando) and Callum Dalton (to Melbourne) departed, while Lamar Patterson returned and Robert Franks (18.2 points and 8.9 rebounds across 27 games), Jack Salt, Deng Deng, Liu Chuanxing and Next Star Tom Digbeu joined the roster.
Brisbane signed Max Mackinnon as a development player after he spent the previous year at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence. “Max is a high IQ athlete and has the ability to impact the game at both ends of the floor,” Duncan said.
The local guard made his NBL debut at Nissan Arena on January 15, playing the final 23 seconds without scoring as Brisbane defeated South East Melbourne 100-84, with Sobey (18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and Franks (17 points and 10 rebounds) leading the Bullets, while Creek (19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Phoenix.
Mackinnon (0.2 points across 5 games) remained outside Brisbane’s regular rotation, with his brief opportunities coming late in games. He missed the February 5 loss to Cairns under COVID protocols, while no basketball injury was reported during the season.
His best game came at WIN Entertainment Centre on March 31, where Mackinnon (1 assist) played 42 seconds as Brisbane lost 87-70 to Illawarra, with Franks (13 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists) leading the Bullets while Jessup (29 points and 2 blocks) led the Hawks.
Mackinnon (1 point) scored his only NBL point from the free throw line during Brisbane’s final home game on April 9, while Franks (19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) led the Bullets and Reath (28 points and 11 rebounds) led Illawarra to a 108-77 win.
His final appearance came against Melbourne at John Cain Arena on April 16, where Mackinnon (1 rebound) played 4:57 as Lual-Acuil Jr (25 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks) led United to an 88-79 victory.
After the season, Mackinnon (to Elon) left Brisbane to begin his college career in the United States.
Mackinnon was unavailable for Brisbane’s season finale against Cairns at Cairns Convention Centre on April 23, with the club not identifying his individual reason among a depleted roster. The Bullets used only seven players and lost 112-98, with Franks (30 points and 15 rebounds) leading Brisbane while McCall (42 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block) led Cairns, leaving Brisbane eighth with a 10-18 record.
Max Mackinnon played one season in the NBL. He averaged 0.2 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 5 NBL games.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 18 | Brisbane | 10-18 (8) | 5 | 10.6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 3 | 0% | 11% | 0% | 1 | Totals | 5 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 3 | 0.0% | 0% | 0% | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 18 | Brisbane | 10-18 (8) | 5 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0% | 11% | 0% | 1 | Total | 5 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0% | 0% | 1 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- BA Centre of Excellence (2021), Brisbane (2022)
Mackinnon joined BA Centre of Excellence for the 2021 NBL1 season, with his roster place forming part of his scholarship year at the Centre of Excellence.
Max Mackinnon joined Brisbane for the 2022 NBL1 North season, playing 17 games and recording 349 points in 504 minutes while shooting 140-from-300 from the field. He averaged 20.5 points and 6.4 assists, scored 35 points and five assists in a 100–87 win over Sunshine Coast, and won the NBL1 North Men’s Youth Player of the Year award.
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Won back-to-back gold medals with the U20 Australian National Team, and earned an All-Star 5 selection at the Australian National Championship.
COLLEGE
Max Mackinnon began his NCAA college career at Elon University, where he played for the Phoenix during the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons, establishing himself early as a key contributor and versatile two-way guard.
As a freshman in 2022–23 at Elon, Mackinnon appeared in 31 games with 27 starts and finished second on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game, while also ranking second in rebounds with 5.1 per contest, dishing out 75 assists, and recording 34 steals across the season. He averaged 29.5 minutes per game and was named the CAA Rookie of the Year, earning four CAA Rookie of the Week honours along the way.
That freshman season included multiple high-impact performances, including three double-doubles, a season high of 24 points and 12 rebounds at High Point (Nov. 30), and a 17-point, 13-rebound outing at College of Charleston on January 14.
In his sophomore season (2023–24) at Elon, Mackinnon started all 32 games and again made a significant all-around contribution, increasing his scoring to 12.1 points per game while leading the team in rebounds at 4.8 per game, adding 84 assists and shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three-point range. He scored in double figures in 22 games and posted a double-double against Warren Wilson University with 12 points and 10 boards.
Following two seasons at Elon, Mackinnon transferred to the University of Portland for the 2024–25 season, where he started 30 of 32 games, averaged 14.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, and shot 46.7 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three. He also shot 88.7 percent on free throws and delivered 22 games in double figures, including standout performances with 43 points against San Diego — tying Portland’s single-game scoring record — and 29 and 28-point games versus Loyola Marymount and San Francisco respectively.
Mackinnon’s junior year at Portland saw him become one of the All-West Coast Conference (WCC) second-team selections, leading the Pilots in scoring and showing efficient attacking play, particularly from deep.
AWARDS
- 2022-23 CAA Rookie of the Year
Related
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