Paul Kuiper

Nationality: AUS/USA
Date of Birth: 8/02/63
Place of Birth: Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA)
Position: CTR
Height (CM): 210
Weight (KG): 110
Junior Assoc:
College: Vanderbilt (1981–1982) | Baylor (1983–1985)

NBL CAREER OVERVIEW

NBL DEBUT 26/04/86 Age 23

LAST NBL GAME 19/08/95 Age 32

TEAM HISTORY

10 seasons | 5 teams

1986SKSt. Kilda1 season
1987WMWestside Melbourne1 season
1988-89PWPerth Wildcats2 seasons
1990-91, 1995GRGold Coast Rollers—
1992-94NFNewcastle Falcons3 seasons

CHAMPIONSHIPS

None

BIO: Paul Kuiper was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Paul Kuiper made his NBL debut with the St. Kilda Saints at 23 years of age. He scored 14 points in his first game.

1986
In 1986, Kuiper averaged 14.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in his first year in the NBL playing for the St. Kilda Saints, who missed the playoffs after finishing 14th with a 5–21 record.

WESTSIDE MELBOURNE SAINTS
1987

In 1987, Kuiper had his best year in the NBL. He averaged 22.8 points and 11 rebounds but again, the Saints struggled, finishing 13th with four wins and 22 losses.

PERTH WILDCATS
1988
In 1988, Kuiper averaged 15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds, and helped the Perth Wildcats reach the semifinals before being eliminated by Scott Fisher, Tim Dillon and the North Melbourne Giants. On 13 February he contributed 23 points and 11 rebounds as Perth beat Adelaide 101–98 at Challenge Stadium.

1989

In 1989 Kuiper averaged 4.0 points and 4.8 rebounds, and helped the Wildcats finish third with a 16–8 record. The team would defeat the Adelaide 36ers in three games before losing to the North Melbourne Giants for the second year in a row.

Alan Black became Perth’s coach for 1989 with Cal Bruton remaining a player and Mike Ellis continuing as captain, while Crawford, Pinder, Trevor Torrance, Eric Watterson, Scott Fenton and Steve Davis were among the other returning Wildcats.

Kuiper registered 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block in Perth’s 132-93 loss at Adelaide on April 22, when James Crawford scored 32 points and Mark Davis and Mark Bradtke scored 24 points each for the 36ers.

Kuiper appeared in ten NBL games in 1989 and totalled 40 points and 48 rebounds in 139 minutes, averaging 4.0 points and 4.8 rebounds. His 1989 appearances ended before Perth’s playoff series; later results are the team’s achievements, not games credited to Kuiper.

Perth’s regular-season record of 16-8 placed the club third, with an 11-1 home mark under Black. Bruton (22.2 points), Crawford (26.2 points and 11.1 rebounds), Pinder (21.1 points and 14.0 rebounds), Mike Ellis (15.9 points and 7.2 assists) and Torrance (15.1 points) led the team’s scoring.

In elimination final game one on September 20 at Apollo Stadium, Adelaide defeated Perth 124-122 behind Mark Davis and Darryl Pearce (25 points each), despite Cal Bruton scoring 35 points for the Wildcats.

Game two on September 22 at Perth Superdrome saw the Wildcats win 114-94 behind Kendal Pinder (25 points and 14 rebounds) and Bruton (22 points and 5 assists), while Davis scored 22 points and collected 20 rebounds for Adelaide.

Perth won the deciding elimination final 112-108 at home on September 24, with Bruton scoring 29 points, while Davis scored 34 for the 36ers.

North Melbourne defeated the Wildcats 129-108 in the semifinal opener at Perth Superdrome on September 30, led by Scott Fisher (27 points and 13 rebounds) and Tim Dillon (23 points and 11 rebounds), despite 34 points from Bruton.

The Wildcats levelled the semifinals in Melbourne on October 6 with a 111-108 victory as James Crawford scored 42 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, Bruton added 23 points and 13 assists, and Ray Borner paced the Giants with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

North Melbourne ended Perth’s season with a 165-110 victory in game three on October 8, when Dillon scored 40 points and Fisher added 32, while captain Mike Ellis led the Wildcats with 18 points.

The Perth Wildcats are saddened to learn of the sudden passing of former player, Paul Kuiper.
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– Kuiper played 35 games for the Wildcats in 1988 and 1989. He played 188 NBL games in total over 10 years.
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– Our thoughts are with Paul's family and friends. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/sJjLbjjVos— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) April 10, 2022

GOLD COAST COUGARS
1990

Kuiper struggled to find a role within the Perth Wildcats roster and moved to play with the Gold Coast Cougars in 1990 where after his worst year in the NBL he returned to his previous form, averaging 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds. It was a rebuilding season for the Cougars, however, and the team missed the playoffs, finishing 11th with a 9–17 record. Kuiper scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds against his former team, Perth, in a 121–112 defeat on 14 April 1990.

GOLD COAST ROLLERS
1991

In 1991, Gold Coast re-branded themselves from the Cougars to the Rollers and although they recorded their best team result ever, finishing with 14 wins and 12 losses, the team still failed to make the playoffs. Kuiper averaged 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in what would be the franchise’s only winning season in its six-year existence. On 1 June, Kuiper recorded a 26-point, 20-rebound double-double against Brisbane in one of his standout games for Gold Coast.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS
1992
In 1992, Kuiper averaged 12.9 points and 7.7 rebounds across seven games as Newcastle finished 12th with a 9–15 record.

1993

In 1993, Kuiper averaged 11.2 points and 7 rebounds, and helped guide the Falcons to a fifth place finish in the regular season with a 15-11 record.

1994
Newcastle reworked its roster in 1994, moving on from leading scorer Everette Stephens and installing former MVP Derek Rucker at point guard, with Matthew Alexander (via North Melbourne) plus Paul Simpson and Tonny Jensen (both via Townsville) strengthening the rotation.

Rucker kickstarted the year with 18 assists and followed up with a 40-point outburst, but after an 0–3 opening coach Tom Wisman urged him to lift the collective, and in Round 4 at Geelong he handed out 24 assists, with some tallies noting 27, while piling on points to clinch the club’s first victory.

The Falcons finished 13–13, placed ninth, and missed the postseason to the Illawarra Hawks on a tiebreak despite identical records, underscoring the cost of the early slump.

Derek Rucker (25.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 10.6 assists, and 2.9 steals) led the league in assists, earned All-NBL Third Team honours, and drove the midseason uptick, with support from Terry Dozier (20.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists), Michael Johnson (14.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), and Tonny Jensen (13.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists).

Paul Kuiper (8.3 points and 6.0 rebounds) was the team’s starting centre across 26 games and anchored the interior, while Grant Kruger (7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds) rounded out the frontcourt mix.

GOLD COAST ROLLERS
1995
In 1995, Kuiper returned to Gold Coast and appeared in 14 games, averaging 1.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in limited minutes. The Rollers finished 13th with a 5–21 record and missed the playoffs, bringing his ten-season NBL playing career to an end.

Remembering Paul Kuiper.
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– One of the NBL's great characters, Kuiper was a well known personality off the court due to his involvement on Hoops TV after his final season in 1995.
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– On the court, Kuiper played in 188 NBL games, representing Australia at the 1986 World Championships. pic.twitter.com/Xm471UiYuQ— The NBL (@NBL) April 11, 2022

Paul Kuiper played ten seasons across six NBL teams. This included the St. Kilda Saints, Gold Coast Cougars, Westside Melbourne Saints, Newcastle Falcons, Perth Wildcats and Gold Coast Rollers. He averaged 12.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 188 NBL games.

HIGHLIGHTS:

We're still not sure how Paul Kuiper missed out on the best actor gong at the 1994 #Oscars for his role in Mission: Impossible – SAVING GAZEY.@carfinomagic, @derekrucker5, @markbradtke & @AndrewGaze10 were also hard done by in the best supporting actor category tbh. pic.twitter.com/tCKnEKGcu4

— The NBL (@NBL) February 24, 2019

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
1995	32	Gold Coast	5-21 (13)	14	82	27	19	6	8	11	2	5	11	21	11	23	48%	0	0	0%	5	8	63%	51%	48%	5
1994	31	Newcastle	13-13 (9)	26	457	216	156	5	45	111	8	14	42	75	92	154	60%	0	2	0%	32	61	52%	60%	60%	19
1993	30	Newcastle	15-11 (5)	22	482	247	153	5	57	96	6	16	33	63	105	161	65%	0	0	0%	37	70	53%	64%	65%	26
1992	29	Newcastle	9-15 (12)	7	167	90	54	6	17	37	1	4	16	24	39	73	53%	0	0	0%	12	23	52%	54%	53%	24
1991	28	Gold Coast	14-12 (8)	21	533	275	154	15	51	103	10	19	39	76	118	195	61%	0	0	0%	39	66	59%	61%	61%	26
1990	27	Gold Coast	9-17 (11)	26	725	399	227	13	91	136	9	16	64	75	178	344	52%	0	0	0%	43	70	61%	53%	52%	26
1989	26	Perth	16-8 (3)	10	139	40	48	0	15	33	2	7	12	28	19	39	49%	0	0	0%	2	6	33%	48%	49%	10
1988	25	Perth	13-11 (6)	25	634	388	186	14	60	126	16	14	60	81	177	288	61%	1	1	100%	33	69	48%	61%	62%	30
1987	24	Westside Melbourne	4-22 (13)	20	712	456	219	17	87	132	13	23	53	55	205	391	52%	0	0	0%	46	89	52%	53%	52%	47
1986	23	St. Kilda	5-21 (14)	17	0	239	129	8	42	87	7	17	45	58	111	214	52%	0	0	0%	17	49	35%	51%	52%	35
Totals				188	3931	2377	1345	89	473	872	74	135	375	556	1055	1882	56.1%	1	3	33.3%	266	511	52.1%	56%	56%	47

NBL PER GAME STATISTICS

SEASON	AGE	TEAM	TEAM RECORD	GP	MINS	PTS	REB	AST	OR	DR	STL	BLK	TO	PF	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	TS%	EFG%	HS
1995	32	Gold Coast	5-21 (13)	14	5.9	1.9	1.4	0.4	0.6	0.8	0.1	0.4	0.8	1.5	0.8	1.6	48%	0.0	0%	0.4	0.6	63%	51%	48%	5
1994	31	Newcastle	13-13 (9)	26	17.6	8.3	6.0	0.2	1.7	4.3	0.3	0.5	1.6	2.9	3.5	5.9	60%	0.1	0%	1.2	2.3	52%	60%	60%	19
1993	30	Newcastle	15-11 (5)	22	21.9	11.2	7.0	0.2	2.6	4.4	0.3	0.7	1.5	2.9	4.8	7.3	65%	0.0	0%	1.7	3.2	53%	64%	65%	26
1992	29	Newcastle	9-15 (12)	7	23.9	12.9	7.7	0.9	2.4	5.3	0.1	0.6	2.3	3.4	5.6	10.4	53%	0.0	0%	1.7	3.3	52%	54%	53%	24
1991	28	Gold Coast	14-12 (8)	21	25.4	13.1	7.3	0.7	2.4	4.9	0.5	0.9	1.9	3.6	5.6	9.3	61%	0.0	0%	1.9	3.1	59%	61%	61%	26
1990	27	Gold Coast	9-17 (11)	26	27.9	15.3	8.7	0.5	3.5	5.2	0.3	0.6	2.5	2.9	6.8	13.2	52%	0.0	0%	1.7	2.7	61%	53%	52%	26
1989	26	Perth	16-8 (3)	10	13.9	4.0	4.8	0.0	1.5	3.3	0.2	0.7	1.2	2.8	1.9	3.9	49%	0.0	0%	0.2	0.6	33%	48%	49%	10
1988	25	Perth	13-11 (6)	25	25.4	15.5	7.4	0.6	2.4	5.0	0.6	0.6	2.4	3.2	7.1	11.5	61%	0.0	100%	1.3	2.8	48%	61%	62%	30
1987	24	Westside Melbourne	4-22 (13)	20	35.6	22.8	11.0	0.9	4.4	6.6	0.7	1.2	2.7	2.8	10.3	19.6	52%	0.0	0%	2.3	4.5	52%	53%	52%	47
1986	23	St. Kilda	5-21 (14)	17	0.0	14.1	7.6	0.5	2.5	5.1	0.4	1.0	2.6	3.4	6.5	12.6	52%	0.0	0%	1.0	2.9	35%	51%	52%	35
Total				188	20.9	12.6	7.2	0.5	2.5	4.6	0.4	0.7	2.0	3.0	5.6	10.0	56.1%	0.0	33.3%	1.4	2.7	52.1%	56%	56%	47

CAREER HIGHS

POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS	STEALS	BLOCKS	TURNOVERS	TRIPLE DOUBLES
47	21	5	3	6	7	0

FIBA EXPERIENCE

Paul Kuiper represented Australia at the 1986 FIBA World Championship in Spain (5–20 July). The Boomers finished the preliminary stage with a 2–3 record and were placed in the group of teams tied for 13th overall in the 24-team tournament.

FIBAs official game-by-game archive credits Kuiper with two appearances: five minutes against Angola on 8 July and seven minutes against the Soviet Union on 10 July. Across 12 minutes, he collected two rebounds (one offensive, one defensive) and three personal fouls, shooting 0-for-3 from the field and scoring no points. His recorded participation was confined to the preliminary round; he did not play in Australias other three games.

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%
1986	23	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%	0	0	0.0%
Total		2	12	0	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	3	0	3	0%	0	0	0%	0	0	0%

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%
1986	23	1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.0	0.0%
Total		2	6.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.5	0.0	1.5	0%	0.0	0.0	0%	0.0	0.0	0%

COLLEGE

Kuiper's recorded US college career began in 1981/82 at Vanderbilt University, where he made four appearances in the Southeastern Conference, averaging 2.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game (eight points and five rebounds in total). He subsequently transferred to Baylor University, where he played the 1983/84 and 1984/85 seasons, appearing in 56 games (42 starts) and averaging 5.9 points and 4.2 rebounds across his Baylor career, giving the Bears steady frontcourt minutes during a transitional stretch in the Southwest Conference.

As a junior in 1983–84, Kuiper played 28 games and made 16 starts, averaging 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game while shooting 45.0% from the field, and his season totals included 162 points, 108 rebounds and 14 blocks as Baylor finished 5–23 overall and 1–15 in SWC play under head coach Jim Haller.

Heading into 1984–85, preseason publications listed Kuiper among Baylor’s key returning contributors, and in his senior season he again averaged 5.9 points per game while lifting his rebounding to 4.6 per contest and adding 0.6 assists per game as the Bears improved to 11–17 overall (4–12 SWC), with their scoring jumping to 81.8 points per game across the season.

Across his three recorded NCAA seasons at Vanderbilt and Baylor, Kuiper played 60 games with totals of 336 points, 241 rebounds and 26 assists, averaging 5.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists. Baylor accounted for 328 points and 236 rebounds in his 56 games there. The figures distinguish his two Baylor seasons from his complete collegiate record.

LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL

Following his final NBL season with Gold Coast in 1995, Kuiper became known beyond the court through his involvement with the basketball television program Hoops TV. When announcing his death in April 2022, the NBL recalled his personality and highlighted this television work, reflecting the popularity he developed within Australian basketball even after his playing career ended.

Paul Kuiper passed away suddenly in April 2022; the Perth Wildcats publicly announced his death on April 10.

The Wildcats extended condolences to his family and friends, while the NBL paid tribute on April 11, remembering Kuiper as one of the league's great characters.

Former coach Rick Martin and Australian basketball journalist and broadcaster Brent Costelloe were among those to share personal remembrances following his death.

The precise date and medical cause of his death have not been independently confirmed by the available reports.

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