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July 12, 2021
John Mooney
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 20/03/98
- Place of Birth: Altamonte Springs, Florida (USA)
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 206
- Weight (KG): 111
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Notre Dame (2016–2020)
- NBL DEBUT: 24/01/21
- AGE AT DEBUT: 22
- LAST NBL GAME: 25/06/21
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 23
- NBL History: Perth 2021
- Championships: 0
- None
NICKNAME/S: Mr. Double-Double, Moon-man, Moondog
BIO: John Mooney was born in Altamonte Springs, Florida (USA), where he attended Lake Brantley High School. As a senior, he averaged 24.8 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks per game and was named to the first-team all-state.
FAMILY: Mooney is the son of Margaret and Kevin Mooney, a builder/contractor for an appliance company who played Division II golf at Spring Hill College. He has two older siblings, Brendan and Caitlin. Mooney began playing for Nike Team Florida in AAU play alongside Florida coach Billy Donovan’s son Bryan in eighth grade.
NBL EXPERIENCE
John Mooney made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 22 years of age. He scored 13 points in his first game.
On August 14, 2020, Mooney signed a one-year deal with Perth during a difficult year where twice the league was delayed due to Covid. Perth and the rest of the NBL were then forced to play eight games in Melbourne in a attempt to escape Covid related travel restrictions.
As a result, the Wildcats struggled to begin the season, sitting in 7th position after the first 5 rounds but a strong showing in the mid-season tournament (The NBL Cup) allowed Perth to right their ship.
With league MVP Bryce Cotton firing alongside new recruit John Mooney (16.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists), the Perth juggernaut returned to the top of the ladder and appeared to be heading towards a third straight championship. Fate would intervene however, first with star import Bryce Cotton suffering a season ending injury in the last round of the regular season. Despite this they still managed to finish in second place and then magically pull through a wild semifinal series against Illawarra.
In his first NBL game, Mooney recorded a double-double (13 points and 14 rebounds) in a win over South East Melbourne (88–76), becoming the first Wildcat to do that since 2007, and went on to finish the season with 27 double-doubles in 42 games – the second most single season effort ever by a Wildcat. Mooney’s 11.4 rebounds per game also sits eighth highest in club history, with his total of 480 rebounds being the third highest single season effort in NBL history.
The Wildcats would then face off against a red-hot Melbourne United, who finished the regular season in first place and had been equally impressive all year.
Although game one and 2 of the Grand Final series had to be played in Perth as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions, Dean Vickerman’s side survived a late scare to win game one by three points before blowing the Wildcat’s out of the water in game two thanks to a 21-point performance from Chris Goulding.
Injuries to Mitch Norton saw Perth struggle with none of their key backcourt rotation at full strength. Kevin White stepped up during this time and delivered the best three-game performance of his career, but Perth seemingly had exhausted themselves overcoming Illawarra. Perth would be lose convincingly to Melbourne, losing three straight games.
With restrictions lifted game three was held on Melbourne’s home court and in front of a sold-out 5,000-strong crowd at John Cain Arena (the maximum allowed within Covid restrictions) United defeated Perth 81-76 in game three. Melbourne’s Jock Landale (15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks) delivered a truly dominating performance to finish the series, taking home the Finals MVP award as Melbourne collected their sixth NBL championship, their second under the United branding.
At the end of the season, Mooney was voted as the Wildcats Club MVP.
John Mooney played one season in the NBL. He averaged 16.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 42 NBL games.
CAREER RANKINGS:
– 33rd in rebounds per game.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 23 | Perth | 25-11 (2) | 42 | 1,373.0 | 710 | 479 | 121 | 143 | 336 | 48 | 28 | 67 | 86 | 290 | 547 | 53% | 29 | 64 | 45% | 101 | 138 | 73% | 58% | 56% | 30 | Totals | 42 | 1373 | 710 | 479 | 121 | 143 | 336 | 48 | 28 | 67 | 86 | 290 | 547 | 53.0% | 29 | 64 | 45.3% | 101 | 138 | 73.2% | 58% | 56% | 30 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 23 | Perth | 25-11 (2) | 42 | 32.7 | 16.9 | 11.4 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 8.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 6.9 | 13.0 | 53% | 0.7 | 1.5 | 45% | 2.4 | 3.3 | 73% | 58% | 56% | 30 | Total | 42 | 32.7 | 16.9 | 11.4 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 8.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 6.9 | 13.0 | 53.0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 45.3% | 0.7 | 1.5 | 73.2% | 58% | 56% | 30 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
He initially committed to play under Donovan at Florida but reopened his recruitment after Donovan took the coaching job of the Oklahoma City Thunder. After fielding offers from Indiana, Kansas, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Wake Forest, Alabama, Florida State, Vanderbilt, and Stanford, Mooneys father asked Donovan his opinion on Notre Dame. Donovan telephoned Notre Dame coach Mike Brey and informed him about Mooney, and Brey sent his brother to scout the prospect. Mooney committed to the Fighting Irish after taking his official visit.
As a freshman, Mooney served as a backup to Bonzie Colson. Mooney averaged 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game in his sophomore season.
As a junior, Mooney was named to the Third Team All-ACC and finished second to Jordan Nwora as the league most improved player.[4] He averaged 14.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, though the Fighting Irish finished 14–19 and were last in the ACC.
Coming into his senior season, Mooney was named to the Preseason All-ACC team and received three votes for Preseason Player of the Year. After scoring 28 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in a win against Howard, Mooney was named ACC player of the week on November 18, 2019. On January 4, 2020, Mooney tied his career-high with 28 points and had 14 rebounds in a 88–87 win versus Syracuse. As a result, Mooney earned his second ACC player of the week honours on January 6. He had his 12th consecutive double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds in a loss to Syracuse on January 22, breaking Luke Harangodys school record of consecutive double-doubles. He averaged 16.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game as a senior and was selected to the First Team All-ACC.
| Season | Team | PTS | AST | STL | BLK | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 87% | 87% | 86% | 87% | ||||||
| 2 | 0 | 30 | 7 | 5 | 3 | ||||||
| Total | 290 | 547 | 53.0% | 29 | 64 | 45.3% |
NBA TOTAL STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | TEAM | POS | GP | GS | MINS | PTS | TRB | AST | ORB | DRB | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 23 | Perth | 25-11 (2) | 42 | 1,373.0 | 710 | 479 | 121 | 143 | 336 | 48 | 28 | 67 | 86 | 290 | 547 | 53% | 29 | 64 | 45% | 101 | 138 | 73% | 58% | 56% | 30 | Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Japan - Chiba (2021-2026)
After a season in the NBL, Mooney signed with the Chiba Jets Funabashi of Japan’s B.League on July 15, 2021, ahead of the 2021–22 season. In his first campaign, the Jets finished first in the regular season, won the Eastern Conference title, and reached the B.League quarterfinals. Mooney re-signed with the team for a second year on May 27, 2022.
The 2022–23 season was one of the club’s strongest. Chiba again finished first in the regular season and repeated as Eastern Conference champions. They advanced all the way to the B.League Grand Final, ultimately finishing as runners-up. Mooney also helped the team capture the 2023 Emperor’s Cup, adding another piece of silverware to the club’s growing trophy case.
Mooney re-signed for a third year on June 12, 2023, returning for the 2023–24 season. The Jets finished third in the regular season and reached the B.League semifinals. That same year, Mooney was part of a dominant run that saw Chiba defend their Emperor’s Cup title and win the 2023–24 East Asia Super League (EASL) championship. He played a central role alongside fellow NBL players Xavier Cooks and Chris Smith as the team cemented its status as one of the region’s elite outfits.
The 2024–25 campaign saw Chiba finish second in the B.League regular season and once again reach the semifinals. In domestic cup play, the Jets were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Emperor’s Cup, marking a rare setback in an otherwise consistent stretch of top-tier performances. Despite missing out on championship success, the team remained firmly in contention throughout the season.
In May 2025, Mooney re-signed with the Chiba Jets for a fifth consecutive season, committing to the club for the 2025–26 campaign.
AWARDS
- 1x All-NBL First Team- First-team All-ACC (2020)
-
Third-team All-ACC (2019)
Related
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