BIO: Paul Rees was born in Terang (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Terang basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Paul Rees made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 21 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Rees was known for his presence under the basket and while not blessed with a great jumping ability he was able to use his physical size to his advantage and was considered to be a strong rebounder.

Brisbane entered the season with a new-look squad, ready to rebound from their dismal eighth-placed finish in ’89, which saw the Bullets miss the playoffs for the first time under coach Brian Kerle. Only three of the 13 players who wore a Bullets singlet the previous year returned – Leroy Loggins, Robert Sibley, and Greg Fox.

Those exiting included captain Larry Sengstock and Ron Radliff, who had been with the team for eight and seven seasons, respectively, leaving to join the new Queensland expansion team, the Gold Coast Cougars and second-year guard Rodger Smith, joining them. John Dorge (to Geelong), Darren Perry (to Eastside), and Dan Clausen (to Adelaide) all headed elsewhere. Greg Giddings, Shane Edwards and import Winston Crite were not offered a contract to return, and Danny Morseu retired.

Loggins, who was used with mixed success in the off-guard spot the previous season, reverted to his more familiar and preferred small forward position. Moore and Sibley headed up a frontline that also included comeback player Chris McGraw and young Melbourne pair Paul Rees and Craig Adams, with locals Steve McLeod and Chris Clarkson making up the 12-man list. In a flash, the Bullets went from the oldest team in the league, a average age of 26.5 years, to probably the youngest at 23.1 years.

Together with new imports Derek Rucker (33.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 2.6 steals) and Andre Moore (26.9 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals), the Bullets improved to finish in third place after recording 18 wins and 8 losses. They would even reach the grand final once again, a rematch of the 1987 Grand Final, where they faced the Perth Wildcats. This time around the Bullets lost game one in Perth, 112–106, before levelling the series in Game two in front of the largest crowd the NBL had seen at the time. 13,221 fans filled the Brisbane Entertainment Centre to see the Bullets defeat Perth 106–90. This would stand the highest ever grand final crowd for a game played outside of Melbourne until game two of the 2012/13 Grand Final series between the Wildcat’s and New Zealand Breakers in Perth. The attendance record remains the eighth largest for a NBL Grand Final game. Game three was held in front of a near-equal crowd of (13,159), but this time, the Bullets would fall short, losing 86–109 as Perth won their first NBL championship. Additionally, Brian Kerle received the Coach of the Year award for the second time, while the Bullets would make history by having three players Derek Rucker (33.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.6 steals), Leroy Loggins (33.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.6 steals) and Andre Moore (33.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.6 steals) all named to the All-NBL First Team (something which has still never been replicated). Rucker, additionally, won the league’s MVP award, becoming the second Bullets player to do so.

Rees finished the year by averaging 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game also.

1991
The 1991 season was not nearly as successful, as the team finished in ninth place, way out of finals contention with a 13–13 record. Rees averaged 7.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.4 assists.

1992
However, in 1992, the Bullets were back in the finals, making it to the quarter-finals. Rees averaged 4.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.7 assists. After the club failed to make the playoffs in 1991, Rees signed with the North Melbourne Giants.

NORTH MELBOURNE GIANTS
1993
In 1993, the Giants chose not to re-sign long term head coach Bruce Palmer who since taking over in 1987 had led them to the semi finals five of six years and to the 1989 championship. His successor would be found in young Melbourne Tigers assistant Brett Brown whose appointment was deemed a cash saving move by a team beginning to face years of financial uncertainty. Another sign of the Giant’s financial struggles became evident when they lost star import Scott Fisher to the ‘deeper pockets’ of the Perth Wildcats.

Brown began his search for Fisher’s replacement first with import Chuckie White, who failed to cut it during pre-season, before settling on Jason Reese. Reese was known around the league as ‘workhorse’ and dominant inside scorer that had spent the past two seasons with Hobart (1991) and Canberra (1992) and Mark Leader, who had became a naturalised Australian in 1993, replaced Fisher as team captain.

Reese went on to lead the team in scoring (26.4 ppg and 8.9 rpg), fellow import Paul Maley led the team in rebounding (22.5 ppg and 9.1 rpg) and Rees also contributed 5.1 points, 3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game.

North Melbourne finished the season (13-13) sneaking into the final playoff spot. There, they would face familiar foes, Scott Fisher and the Perth Wildcats who had finished the season in first place (21-5). Despite winning game one at home (105-101), the Giants would lose games two (98-108) and three (104-117) to Perth to put a end to their season.

1994
1994 – ONE GIANT LEAP
North Melbourne’s financial struggles publicly came to light after 1993, but a group of new investors saved the team at the eleventh hour from its burgeoning financial woes. The new ownership made a number of changes, including a uniform design change, tossing away the team’s maroon uniforms and switching to the colours of the NBA’s most marketable outfit, the Charlotte Hornets.

The Giants’ roster had aged considerably in the years between its 1989 championship and 1994, with its roster now being the oldest roster in the league, their decision to replace high scoring forward Jason Reese with a 30-year-old point guard named Darryl McDonald was met with much surprise. The media and betting agencies promptly wrote off the Giants’ season, most tipping them to finish dead last. The pundits couldn’t have been more wrong however, with McDonald (17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 10 assists and 3.0 steals per game) leading the league in steals and assists and when the Giants came home undefeated after the ‘Doomsday Double’, first avenging a home loss to Perth then holding off Adelaide at the Clipsal Powerhouse (a feat which hadn’t been achieved since 1986) fans really started to become excited.

Pat Reidy (19.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 3.4) and Paul Maley (19.4 ppg and 6.7 rpg) became the main beneficiaries of many of McDonald’s flashy assists while Rees finished the season averaging 12.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists.

The Giants would finish the season in second place, winning 19 of their 26 games. At season’s end, Brown would be named Coach of the Year and controversially, McDonald finished second in both the NBL MVP (behind Andrew Gaze) and Best Defensive Player (Darren Lucas) awards but McDonald responded by taking his game to a entirely new level for the playoffs. After Sydney blitzed the Giants (131–109) in the opening game of the quarter-finals, McDonald led the Giants to a 112-91 victory in game two and a 104-95 victory in game three. In the deciding game ‘D-Mac’ played all 48 minutes and filled the stat sheet with 17 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists while shooting 70% (7/10) from the field.

On the other side of the bracket, South East Melbourne eliminated Perth before being knocked out by the Giants after a Adonis Jordan three-point heave (he could have found a open David Graham for a better shot but missed him) in the game’s closing moments missed its mark and the chance to force a third game.

Game one of the Grand Final series was held at the Clipsal Powerhouse in Adelaide and after Robert Rose had dragged the Sixers back into the match when they still had trailed by 14 inside the last six minutes of regulation the ball ended up in McDonald’s hands before he nailed the game-winning shot in overtime, delivering a 95–93 win.

As the series moved to the Glasshouse in Melbourne for game two Rose would come out firing, his 31 point effort would see him finish as the game’s high scoring. Still, a balanced attack from North Melbourne proved too strong for the 36ers. The Giants would control the first half, the scoreboard reading 51-41 at halftime and with 36ers forward Mark Davis in serious pain, the Giants were able to put the foot down in the third quarter and then closed out the game with a 117-97 victory.

Paul Rees, who benefitted greatly from McDonald’s passing all series, finished up earning the Finals MVP award after delivering 17 points and 5 rebounds in game one and 20 points (making all seven of his shots) and 7 rebounds in game two.

The 1994 NBL season made history bypassed the one-million spectator mark during the regular season for the first time.

1995
After winning the 1994 championship, North Melbourne entered Brett Brown’s third season with its title core still in place, with Darryl McDonald, Pat Reidy, Paul Rees, Larry Sengstock, Rod Johnson, Darryl Pearce, Mark Leader and John Stelzer all returning. Paul Maley (back injury) had also been due back, but was ruled out for the year in the final weeks before the season, forcing Brown to find a late replacement before the Giants signed former Ohio State forward Chris Jent (via Houston Rockets), who had won the 1994 NBA championship only months earlier.

North Melbourne opened the season on April 22 against Gold Coast, where Rees (14.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks) started at centre and finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks as the Giants defeated the Rollers 118-97.

On May 6, Rees (25 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks) delivered his first major performance of the year as North Melbourne edged South East Melbourne 96-94 at Melbourne Park, giving the Giants an early win over one of their main championship rivals.

Rees’ best regular-season game came on July 28 against Townsville, where he made 12-of-16 shots and finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals as North Melbourne defeated the Suns 112-103.

On September 9, Rees (21 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) controlled the glass as the Giants defeated Sydney 119-101 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and continued their late-season push towards the top of the ladder.

North Melbourne closed the regular season in Brisbane on September 16, where Rees (16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block) helped the Giants defeat the Bullets 122-109, closing the regular season on a five-game winning streak and finishing third with a 18-8 record during a season where Brisbane, Sydney, North Melbourne, South East Melbourne and Melbourne all spent time on top of the ladder.

Jent (25.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 steals) led North Melbourne in scoring after replacing Maley and earned All-NBL Third Team honours, while Reidy (20.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.5 steals) remained a major scoring and rebounding option on the wing. McDonald (17.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 10.4 assists, and 3.8 steals) led the NBL in assists and steals for a second consecutive season, earned All-NBL First Team honours and won the Good Hands Award.

Johnson (11.5 points) gave the Giants another scoring option, while Sengstock (5.7 points and 4.4 rebounds), Pearce (5.7 points) and Leader (4.6 points) completed Brown’s veteran rotation. Sengstock retired at season’s end as the NBL’s only five-time champion at the time.

The quarterfinals opened in Brisbane, where Jent (34 points and 7 rebounds), Reidy (25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals), Johnson (20 points and 4 assists) and McDonald (7 points, 6 rebounds, 19 assists, and 6 steals) led North Melbourne to a 115-105 win, while Rees (7 points and 8 rebounds) battled foul trouble and helped the Giants take control of the series. Leroy Loggins (42 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block), Mike Mitchell (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals) and Shane Heal (16 points, 12 assists, and 5 steals) kept Brisbane within reach.

Game two moved to Melbourne, where McDonald (32 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals), Reidy (28 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists), Jent (21 points and 5 rebounds) and Rees (18 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 blocks) dominated as North Melbourne completed the sweep with a 130-99 win, while Loggins (25 points and 8 rebounds), Mitchell (22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals) and Heal (14 points and 5 assists) led Brisbane.

The semifinals opened against South East Melbourne, where Jent (24 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block), Rees (17 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block) and McDonald (11 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) helped North Melbourne hold the Magic to 77 points and take game one 98-77.

Game two moved to South East Melbourne, where Jent (17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals), McDonald (17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) and Rees (12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) filled the stat sheet again, but the Magic responded with a 98-79 win and forced a deciding game.

Game three remained in Melbourne, where Jent (25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) and McDonald (14 points, 5 rebounds, 13 assists, and 8 steals) led North Melbourne to a 107-92 win, with Rees (9 points and 3 rebounds) helping the Giants move into the Grand Final for a second consecutive season.

The Grand Final series opened at the Perth Entertainment Centre, where Jent (29 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals), Johnson (21 points and 3 assists), Reidy (21 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists) and McDonald (18 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals) powered North Melbourne to a 104-97 win over Perth, while James Crawford (24 points and 9 rebounds) led the Wildcats and Rees (7 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) contributed inside.

Game two moved to Melbourne, where Perth trailed 53-45 at halftime and faced elimination before lifting its defensive pressure in the second half. Andrew Vlahov (29 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Wildcats, while Jent (28 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block), McDonald (17 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block) and Rees (6 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) kept North Melbourne close before Perth won 97-88 and levelled the series.

Game three returned to Perth, where the Wildcats scored 30 points while holding North Melbourne to 15 in the opening quarter, limited the Giants’ leading scorer to 5-of-14 shooting and forced North Melbourne to shoot 29-of-77 from the field. Crawford (32 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 5 blocks) made 15-of-18 shots and powered Perth to a 108-88 win, with Vlahov named Grand Final MVP after averaging 24 points across the series. Rees (13 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal) played 23:50 minutes in the 108-88 loss.

1996
After falling one win short of back-to-back championships, North Melbourne returned most of its roster for Brett Brown’s fourth season. Darryl McDonald, Pat Reidy, Paul Maley, Rod Johnson, Larry Sengstock, Matthew Shanahan and John Stelzer all remained in place, while Mark Leader and Darryl Pearce retired and Chris Jent (to New York Knicks) exited after his one-season stint with the Giants. Australian Boomers guard Tonny Jensen (via Townsville) joined the roster, while Maley returned from the back injury that had ruled him out for the entire 1995 season.

North Melbourne opened the season in Sydney on April 12, where Rees (12 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block) played 32:20 minutes, but the Kings defeated the Giants 102-97 despite Maley (20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals) and McDonald (16 points, 4 rebounds, 12 assists, and 2 steals) keeping North Melbourne close.

Rees (14 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks) remained North Melbourne’s main interior presence and four days later produced one of his strongest early games, finishing with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks as the Giants defeated Melbourne 105-85 at Melbourne Park. McDonald (20 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) recorded a triple-double, while Reidy (27 points and 10 rebounds) led the scoring in North Melbourne’s first win of the season.

Rees’ best game of the season came in Townsville on May 18, where he finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks, but North Melbourne fell 97-95 to the Suns despite Maley (23 points and 9 rebounds) and Reidy (13 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists) helping keep the Giants close.

Rees (18 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals) helped North Melbourne edge Adelaide 90-89 on May 24, with Reidy (23 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists) and McDonald (13 points, 3 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 steals) giving the Giants a narrow home win.

Rees (16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks) added another strong frontcourt game against Gold Coast on June 7 as North Melbourne defeated the Rollers 114-98, with Reidy (26 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists) and Maley (25 points and 15 rebounds) leading the Giants.

Rees (19 points and 9 rebounds) helped North Melbourne escape against Perth on September 7, with Reidy (25 points and 8 rebounds) and McDonald (16 points, 5 rebounds, 14 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks) leading the Giants to a 100-97 win over the Wildcats.

Reidy (20.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.5 steals) led North Melbourne in scoring, while McDonald (17.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3.9 steals) again led the NBL in assists, earned All-NBL First Team honours, won the Good Hands Award and was named NBL All-Star Game MVP. Maley (17.3 points, 7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals) returned strongly after missing the previous season, Jensen (14.6 points) gave the Giants another perimeter scorer, while Johnson (9.1 points and 1.3 steals), Shanahan (5 points), Sengstock (4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds) and Stelzer (2.1 points) completed Brown’s rotation as North Melbourne finished seventh with a 15-11 record in a tight ladder where only two games separated third place and eighth.

The quarterfinals opened at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre, where South East Melbourne defeated North Melbourne 96-82 behind Andrew Parkinson (19 points). Rees (28 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks) led the Giants, while Reidy (19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) and McDonald (11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block) also contributed as the Magic took control of the series.

Game two moved to Melbourne Park, where Tony Ronaldson (25 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) and Mike Kelly (17 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists) led South East Melbourne to an 87-77 win and completed the sweep. Reidy (17 points and 14 rebounds) led North Melbourne, while Rees (10 points and 10 rebounds) played 39:30 minutes in the 87-77 loss.

1997
Brett Brown had to rebuild North Melbourne’s frontcourt on a reduced budget after Tonny Jensen (to Newcastle) and Paul Maley (back injury) exited, but he kept Paul Rees, Darryl McDonald, Pat Reidy, Rod Johnson, Matthew Shanahan, Stephen Hoare and John Stelzer together. With the demise of Hobart and Gold Coast creating new free-agent options, Brown added David Stiff (via Hobart), Mike Mitchell (via Brisbane), Andrew Goodwin (via Brisbane), Matthew Reece (via Newcastle) and Cameron Jackson as the Giants entered the season with the league minimum of 11 players.

The season began with a 85-81 win over Sydney at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre, where Reidy (24 points) and Mitchell (23 points) led the scoring, McDonald (14 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, and 5 steals) controlled the backcourt and Stiff (8 rebounds and 6 blocks) immediately gave the Giants a new defensive presence inside. Isaac Burton (19 points) and Bruce Bolden (14 points) were Sydney’s best.

Rees (4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds) suffered a severe knee injury that kept him out for most of the regular season, leaving Stiff and Goodwin to absorb the frontcourt minutes while North Melbourne tried to stay in the top four. He returned late in the year and produced a season-high 14 points during his limited regular-season run, but the comeback was interrupted again when he broke his wrist against Brisbane in the second-last round.

The Giants started 4-0 with wins over Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle and Sydney again, giving Brown’s short rotation an early buffer before the injuries began to test its depth. North Melbourne later steadied with late-season wins over South East Melbourne, Perth, Wollongong, Sydney and Brisbane before closing the regular season with a 106-102 loss to Perth, finishing third with a 18-12 record.

Reidy (20.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 steals) led North Melbourne in scoring, while McDonald (17.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 8.9 assists, and 3.3 steals) again led the NBL in assists and steals, won the Good Hands Award, finished runner-up in MVP voting and earned All-NBL Second Team honours.

Mitchell (15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.7 steals) gave the Giants another reliable import option, while Stiff (13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) became the main interior presence in Rees’ absence. Johnson (10.8 points), Goodwin (10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds) and Shanahan (7.7 points) filled out the main rotation.

The elimination finals opened at the AIS Arena, where Canberra defeated North Melbourne 104-93 to take the early edge in the best-of-three series.

Game two moved to the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre, where North Melbourne answered with a 108-98 win, with Rees back in the lineup and giving the Giants a needed interior presence.

Game three stayed in Melbourne, where North Melbourne closed the series with a 102-75 win, with Stiff (16 points) helping the Giants handily defeat Canberra and move into the semifinals.

The semifinals opened against Melbourne at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre, where Bradtke (25 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks) played all 48 minutes for the Tigers, while Stiff (24 points) kept North Melbourne in touch before Melbourne took game one 107-99.

Game two moved to Melbourne Park, where Bradtke (26 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 assists) again played all 48 minutes as Melbourne completed the sweep, while Rees went scoreless in the 112-105 loss. Rees would leave North Melbourne at the end of 1997 as the Giants replaced him with former Newcastle big man Ben Pepper.

Paul Rees played seventeen seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Brisbane Bullets, North Melbourne Giants and Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1 assists in 508 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 13rd in total games played.
– 40th in total rebounds
– 19th in total blocks