BIO: Shannon Shorter was born in Houston, Texas (USA).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Shannon Shorter made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 28 years of age. He scored 14 points in his first game.

With the 36ers’ roster proving it had what it takes to contend for the championship, coach Joey Wright locked in all eight Australian players from the previous season—Mitch Creek, Nathan Sobey, Daniel Johnson, Matthew Hodgson, Brendan Teys, Majok Deng, Anthony Drmic, and Adam Doyle—and aimed to take the team one step further. A notable departure was star US import Jerome Randle, who reportedly asked for $300k per season, a figure far beyond what Adelaide or other NBL teams were willing to pay. Randle opted to sign with Bahçeşehir in Turkey, and the team replaced him with experienced guard Shannon Shorter.

Philadelphian shooting guard Ramone Moore (via Melbourne) and athletic forward Ronald Roberts were brought in as the team’s other two imports, completing a roster poised for another deep run.

In mid-September 2017, Adelaide travelled to Singapore to participate in the Merlion Cup during the pre-season. The 36ers remained undefeated throughout the tournament, ultimately defeating the Shanghai Sharks in the final to be crowned the 2017 Merlion Cup Champions.

Import problems plagued Adelaide early in the season. Roberts was released a week before the season tipped off, with the team citing a ‘knee injury’, though Roberts later responded on social media, claiming he was ‘100 percent fine’. To replace Roberts, Adelaide signed veteran forward Alan Wiggins, but disaster struck when Wiggins broke his arm in his NBL debut against the Sydney Kings. Needing another replacement, the team signed former Sydney Kings star Josh Childress.

Despite the early import carousel, Adelaide impressed on the road but struggled to put together consistent performances, winning half of their first 16 games. During this time, Randle, who had left Turkey claiming he hadn’t been paid on time, inquired about returning to the 36ers. However, with the roster already finalized, Randle instead signed with the Sydney Kings as a replacement for injured import guard Travis Leslie.

Childress’s addition marked a turning point in the season. His October averages of 10.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 20.4 minutes per game tailed off to 7.2 PPG and 1.0 RPG in December, as Joey Wright reduced his minutes to 15.7 per game. The dip in playing time likely resulted from Childress’s arrival and Shorter’s 2.5 turnovers per 15 minutes, which were too high for someone not handling the ball often, indicating a tendency to force the action.

Shorter finished the season with averages of 13.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.

The second half of the season saw Adelaide turn things around, winning 10 of their last 12 games, including a seven-game winning streak that secured them the second spot on the ladder by the end of the regular season.

In the semifinals, Adelaide dismantled third-ranked Perth in game one (109–74), handing the Wildcats their second-largest finals loss in history. In game two, Adelaide narrowly edged out Perth (89–88), led by a dominant performance from Childress, who contributed 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Next came the Grand Final series against Melbourne United. In game one, Casper Ware (20 points) took over in the first half before exiting with a hip injury. Chris Goulding then led Melbourne with 26 points to a 107-96 victory. Daniel Johnson (18 points) and Mitch Creek (14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) were Adelaide’s top performers.

In game two, Adelaide tied the series with a 110-95 win behind Majok Deng (18 points), Mitch Creek, and Ramone Moore (both with 17 points). Melbourne was led by Casey Prather (20 points) and Goulding (19 points). However, the 36ers’ victory came at a cost, as Childress suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter, sidelining him for the rest of the series.

Tensions rose in game three when Nathan Sobey was ejected after clashing with Casey Prather at halftime. Melbourne narrowly won the game (101-98), with Goulding (15 points), Ware (25 points), and Prather (23 points) delivering clutch performances.

Game four saw Sobey (16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists) lead Adelaide to a commanding 90-81 victory, tying the series once more. Johnson (29 points and 10 rebounds) and Prather (23 points) led their respective teams in scoring.

In the deciding game five, Melbourne clinched the championship with a 100-82 win. Ware and Goulding (both with 23 points) and Prather (19 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals) were instrumental in United’s victory. Shorter led Adelaide in scoring with 20 points, while Goulding was named Finals MVP, averaging 16.6 points and 3.6 rebounds over the series. With the win, Prather claimed his third consecutive NBL championship, becoming the first player in league history to achieve the feat in his first three seasons.

Shannon Shorter played one season in the NBL. He averaged 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 34 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (815 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.