Matthew Nielsen
 Nielsen during his tenure with Valencia | |
| Perth Wildcats | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach |
| League | NBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
3 February 1978 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Listed height | 208 cm (6 ft 10 in) |
| Listed weight | 106 kg (234 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
St Marys (Sydney, New South Wales) |
| NBA draft | 2000 / Undrafted |
| Playing career | 1995–2013 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Coaching career | 2015–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1995; 1997–2004 | Sydney Kings |
| 2004–2005 | PAOK Thessaloniki |
| 2005–2008 | Lietuvos Rytas |
| 2008–2010 | Valencia |
| 2010–2011 | Olympiacos Piraeus |
| 2011–2013 | Khimki |
| As coach: | |
| 2015–present | Perth Wildcats (asst.) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
As player:
As coach:
| |
Matthew Peter "Matt" Nielsen (born 3 February 1978) is an Australian former professional basketball player who is currently serving as an assistant coach for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL).
Early life
Born and raised in the Sydney suburb of Penrith, Nielsen attended St Marys Senior High School where, three times a week, he needed permission to leave early in order to train with the Sydney Kings as a development player.[1] As a 17-year-old in 1995, Nielsen appeared in two games for the Kings before moving to Canberra in 1996 to attend the Australian Institute of Sport. There, he played alongside future Boomers teammate David Andersen.[2]
Professional career
In 1997, Nielsen returned to the Sydney Kings and won the NBL Rookie of the Year Award. He played a further seven seasons with the Kings and helped the club win championships in 2003 and 2004. In 244 career games for the Kings over nine seasons, he averaged 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.[3]
In 2004, Nielsen began a decorative European career playing for PAOK Thessaloniki in Greece, Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania, Valencia in Spain,[4] Olympiacos Piraeus also in Greece, and Khimki in Russia.[5]
On 10 October 2013, Nielsen was named in the Sydney Kings 25th Anniversary Team.[6]
Coaching career
During the 2013–14 NBL season, Nielsen served as a big-man coach for the Perth Wildcats.[7][8]
In 2014, Nielsen joined the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff in a player development role, on a contract that ran through to the end of the 2015 NBA Summer League.[9][10]
On 29 July 2015, Nielsen returned to the Perth Wildcats, signing with the club as an assistant coach for the 2015–16 NBL season.[11]
Australian national team
Nielsen won the gold medal at the 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Championship with Australia's junior national team. He has also been a member of the senior men's Australian national basketball team. With Australia's senior national team, he won gold medals at the 2001 Goodwill Games, the 2003 FIBA Oceanian Championship, and the 2005 FIBA Oceania Championship.
During the Boomers 2012 Olympic campaign, Australian Football League player Scott Pendlebury noted Nielsen's athletic ability and mentioned that he could have played in Australian Football League had he not chosen to play basketball.[12]
Euroleague career statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | ||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | ||
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating | ||
| Bold | Career high | ||||||
Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Lietuvos Rytas | 19 | 13 | 25.8 | .464 | .357 | .703 | 5.2 | 1.7 | 1.1 | .3 | 12.4 | 13.6 |
| 2007–08 | Lietuvos Rytas | 13 | 13 | 24.1 | .495 | .250 | .805 | 4.8 | 1.5 | .8 | .5 | 9.9 | 12.2 |
| 2010–11 | Olympiacos Piraeus | 14 | 9 | 16.0 | .386 | .143 | .750 | 2.9 | .6 | .6 | .1 | 4.4 | 3.9 |
| 2012-13 | Khimki | 15 | 2 | 11.5 | .462 | .000 | .500 | 1.7 | 1.6 | .3 | .3 | 1.7 | 3.1 |
| Career | 61 | 37 | 19.6 | .459 | .261 | .729 | 3.7 | 1.4 | .7 | .3 | 7.4 | 8.5 |
References
- ↑ The Kings and I: captain Nielsen reaches club record
- ↑ "Past Athletes". ausport.gov.au. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
- ↑ Player statistics for Matthew Nielsen
- ↑ "Valencia is Eurocup king!!!". Eurocupbasketall.com. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ↑ "BC Khimki lands Nielsen". Euroleague.net. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ↑ MightyMite Sydney Kings announce 25th Anniversary Team
- ↑ Damo's Dish: The Black Tape
- ↑ The Knightmare a defensive dream for Perth
- ↑ NBA: Plenty of Aussies calling San Antonio Spurs home
- ↑ Wildcats could sign long-time Boomer
- ↑ Matt Nielsen appointed lead assistant coach
- ↑ "Scott Pendlebury says Matt Nielsen would "be awesome in the AFL"". AussieHoopla.com. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matthew Nielsen. |