Brad Robbins (basketball)

Robbins made his debut in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Victoria Giants during the 2003–04 season. He scored 11 points in 13 games.[3] For the 2004–05 season, he played for the Cairns Taipans and averaged 1.6 points and 1.1 rebounds in 25 games.[3]

After not playing in the NBL in 2005–06, Robbins initially joined the Perth Wildcats as a development player for the 2006–07 season. He was elevated to a full roster sport in September 2006.[4][5] He played 67 games in his first two seasons in Perth averaging 4.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.9 assists a game, but was restricted to just three appearances in 2008–09 through injury.[2][6]

In the 2009–10 season, Robbins formed a tremendous point guard duo with Damian Martin to help lead the Wildcats to the NBL championship and in 32 games he averaged 4.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals a game.[2] In the 2–1 grand final series win over the Wollongong Hawks, Robbins played through broken ribs, a calf tear and sore hips to drag Perth across the line.[7] He was named co-captain of the Wildcats for the 2010–11 season and averaged 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals a game.[2] The 2011–12 season was his second as co-captain and he had career-high numbers right across the board with 7.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals a game as the Wildcats lost in three games to the New Zealand Breakers in the grand final series.[2]

Off-season wrist surgery forced Robbins to miss the first three weeks of the Wildcats' 2012–13 season,[8] but upon returning to action, he managed just eight games before announcing his retirement from the NBL on 11 December 2012.[9][10][11] He continued on with the team in an advisory role, but following an Achilles injury to Damian Martin in Game 2 of the Wildcats' semi-final series against the Wollongong Hawks, Robbins came out of retirement to fill in the back-up point guard role for the 2013 grand final series against the New Zealand Breakers.[12][13] He played in both games of the Wildcats' 2–0 series loss to the Breakers, finishing his NBL career with 215 games and averages of 4.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.[3]

Robbins revealed in January 2023 that a major depressive disorder was the reason for him retiring in 2012. He described his retirement press conference as a sham, telling the public his body had told him to retire when in fact other forces were the main factor.[14]

Robbins made his debut in the SEABL in 2001 with the Dandenong Rangers, playing one game. He was a regular member of the Rangers' squad in 2003 and played 21 games.[15] In 2004 and 2005, he played for the Knox Raiders in the SEABL and won the Youth Player of the Year for the South Conference in both years.[16]

In 2006 and 2007, Robbins played for the Willetton Tigers in the State Basketball League (SBL).[1] Between 2011 and 2013, he played for the Wanneroo Wolves in the SBL and helped them win a championship in 2011 and reach another grand final in 2013.[17][18][19] He did not play in 2014[17] but returned to the Wolves in 2015[20] for a short stint.[17]

Robbins came out of retirement to play for the Rockingham Flames in the 2019 SBL season.[21] He came into the season six kilograms lighter than he was when he was with the Wildcats,[22] but a hamstring injury suffered during pre-season forced him to miss the start of the regular season.[23] He made his debut for the Flames in round nine,[24] but soon suffered a career-ending Achilles injury.[25][26] In 12 games in his final playing stint, he averaged 5.25 points, 2.75 rebounds and 2.33 assists per game.[27]