Matthew Adekponya

Matthew Adekponya (born 9 June 1990) is an Australian-born Ghanaian[1] basketball player and filmmaker.

Matthew Adekponya
Personal information
Born (1990-06-09) 9 June 1990
NationalityAustralian / Ghanaian
Listed height194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Career information
Playing career2009–present
PositionGuard
Career history
2009–2012Cairns Marlins
2013–2015Mackay Meteors
2013–2014Barcelos Hotel Terco
2014PAVI Depiro
2014–2015Nidaros Jets
2016Geraldton Buccaneers
2017Team FOG Næstved
2017Perry Lakes Hawks
2018Gold Coast Rollers
2021Mackay Meteors
Career highlights and awards

He played in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) every year between 2009 and 2015, winning QBL championships with the Cairns Marlins (2009) and Mackay Meteors (2015). After two years in the State Basketball League (SBL) in Western Australia, he returned to the QBL in 2018 and then had a stint in the NBL1 North in 2021. Elsewhere, he played in Europe between 2013 and 2017.

Early life

Adekponya was born in Australia and grew up in Cairns, Queensland.[1] He attended Lindsey Wilson College in the United States in 2010–11 but did not play for the basketball team.[2][3]

Basketball career

Australia

Adekponya made his debut in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) in 2009 with the Cairns Marlins. The team won the QBL championship in his first season. He played for the Marlins every year until 2012.[4] During this time, he was a development player with the Cairns Taipans in the National Basketball League (NBL).[5] He failed to make his NBL debut during his two-year stint in 2011–12 and 2012–13.[6]

Between 2013 and 2015, Adekponya played for the Mackay Meteors. He helped the Meteors win the 2015 QBL championship.[4]

Adekponya spent time with the Townsville Crocodiles during the 2014 and 2015 NBL pre-seasons.[7]

In 2016, Adekponya played for the Geraldton Buccaneers in the State Basketball League (SBL)[8][9] and earned All-Star Five honours.[10] He continued in the SBL for the Perry Lakes Hawks in 2017.[4]

Adekponya returned to the QBL in 2018 to play for the Gold Coast Rollers.[11]

In May 2021, Adekponya had a two-game stint[4] with the Mackay Meteors in the NBL1 North as a short-term replacement for an injured player.[12][13]

Europe

Adekponya's first stint in Europe came in the 2013–14 season. After nearly two months trialling in Spain, he joined Barcelos Hotel Terco in Portugal in October 2013.[14] He moved to Malta in January 2014[4] and helped PAVI Depiro win the regular season.[15]

For the 2014–15 season, Adekponya played for Nidaros Jets in Norway,[16] [17] where he earned BLNO All-Star honours and was the league's top scorer with 30.2 points per game.[18]

After attempting to crack the NBA D-League in 2016,[19] Adekponya joined Team FOG Næstved in Denmark in January 2017 for the rest of the season.[4][20]

Digital career

Off the court, Adekponya is a filmmaker.[21] In 2017, he released his first documentary.[22]

During the 2019–20 NBL season, Adekponya worked with the Illawarra Hawks as digital content creator. The Hawks subsequently won the NBL's Best Digital/Social Media award.[23]

Adekponya was the director of Building Titans, a film based on rugby league club the Gold Coast Titans.[21]

As of March 2022, Adekponya was working on a documentary highlighting the bronze medal won by the Australian Boomers at the Tokyo Olympics.[24] He is close with Australian Boomer Patty Mills.[24]

Personal life

Adekponya's sister Rachel is married to former NBA player Aron Baynes.[25]

References
  1. "Meet the Team: Matthew Adekponya". teammillsfoundation.org. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  2. "Matthew Adekponya". lindseyathletics.com. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  3. "Lindsey Wilson Athletics – 2010–11 Men's Basketball". lindseyathletics.com. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  4. "Matthew Adekponya". australiabasket.com. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  5. "'Sweet gig' for young Cairns Taipans learning trade". QBL. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  6. "Player statistics for Matthew Adekponya". NBL. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  7. "Meteors star playing for Townsville Crocs". couriermail.com.au. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  8. Woodley, Matthew (16 February 2016). "New Buccs guard looks to impose himself". geraldtonguardian.com.au. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  9. "Geraldton Buccaneers look to keep up win streak against Slammers". The West Australian. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  10. "MSBL Allstar 5 & Defensive 5 2016". facebook.com/WABasketball. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  11. "Future's looking reel bright for Adekponya". heraldsun. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  12. "Matthew Adekponya returns to Mackay Meteors team". goldcoastbulletin.com.au. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2023. A former club MVP and premiership hero will return to the Meteors' line-up on Friday night as a short-term replacement for an injured player.
  13. "Meteor Matt Returns To Help Out Mates". mackaybasketball.com. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  14. "Meteor's European dream comes true in Portugal". couriermail. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  15. "Depiro finish at the top". independent.com.mt. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  16. "Matt Adekponya packing winter woollies ready for Norway". couriermail. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  17. "Norway trip a life-changer for Adekponya". couriermail.com.au. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  18. "Historikk BLNO M". basket.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  19. "Meet Grand Rapids Drive's six selections from NBA D-League draft". mlive.com. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  20. "Ex-Taipan shifts to Denmark". cairnspost.com.au. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  21. Wenzel, Murray (12 May 2021). "Deep-dive sports docos here to stay: Watt". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  22. "Cairns basketballer Matthew Adekponya releases first documentary". heraldsun. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  23. "Hawks Win NBL Media Award". hawks.com.au. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  24. Davis, Samuel (26 March 2022). "Pro basketballer Matthew Adekponya courts new career as filmmaker with Boomers doco". abc.net.au. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  25. "Family a blessing for Mareeba's Aron Baynes' outstanding NBA playoffs form". cairnspost.com.au. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2023. The 31-year-old has one son, Mason, with wife Rachel, younger sister of Gold Coast Rollers guard Matthew Adekponya...
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