Sam Mackinnon

Sam Mackinnon
Position	Shooting guard Small forward
Height	197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight	104 kg (229 lb)
Team	Melbourne Tigers
Nationality	Australia
Born	25 August 1976 (1976-08-25) Melbourne, Victoria
Junior Association	Diamond Valley
Debut	1994
Final Game	2010
Previous Clubs	South East Melbourne Magic (1994–98) Townsville Crocodiles (1999–2001) West Sydney Razorbacks (2002–2005) Brisbane Bullets (2005–2006) Basket Rimini Crabs (2006) Brisbane Bullets (2006–2008) Melbourne Tigers 2008-2010
Championships	1996, 2007
Career Highlights	1994 NBL Rookie of the Year 2000, 2004, 2007 All NBL First Team 2007 NBL Best Defensive Player 2007 NBL Most Valuable Player 2007 NBL Grand Final MVP 2006 Australian International Player of the Year Boomers Squad Member Competed at 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games

Samuel (Sam) Mackinnon (born 25 August 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a retired Australian professional basketball player whose last team was the NBL team Melbourne Tigers.

NBL Career

Mackinnon's career began in 1994 with the South East Melbourne Magic when he won NBL Rookie of the Year. Two seasons later, Mackinnon went to become one of the dominant players for South East Melbourne and they won the NBL championship in 1996.

After South East Melbourne folded, Mackinnon was signed by the Townsville Crocodiles at the beginning of the 1999 season, and it was not long before Townsville became serious title contenders. In 2001, Townsville made the Grand Final, however Mackinnon missed the series due to injury. Once his contract ended in Townsville, Mackinnon elected to sign with the West Sydney Razorbacks where he became their captain and put up career-best numbers in his first season. During the following season Mackinnon led West Sydney into the NBL Grand Final series against cross-town rivals the Sydney Kings. Sydney won the series 3-2.

Keen to win another NBL championship, Mackinnon decided not to sign with West Sydney and instead signed with the re-emerging Brisbane Bullets. And although Brisbane somewhat struggled during the 2005-06 season, Mackinnon demonstrated that he was still a dominant force in the NBL by putting up career-best numbers during the 2006-07 season and led the Bullets to their first NBL championship in 20 years.

He was the first player to win the MVP, Best Defensive Player and Grand Final MVP in league history in the same season (2006-07). Unfortunately, knee injuries sidelined him for most of the 2007-08 season.

On 8 July 2008, the Melbourne Tigers announced they had signed Mackinnon to a three year deal.

NBA

During the 2007 NBL off-season there was much speculation concerning whether or not Mackinnon would be signed as a free agent in the NBA. In June 2007 Mackinnon was reported as having "completed trials with Champions San Antonio Spurs, runners-up Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat." On the weekend of 23-24 June 2007, the Toronto Raptors included Mackinnon in a list of free agents invited to a camp to help fill out their roster. Unfortunately an offer of playing in the NBA did not materialize and Mackinnon re-signed with the Brisbane Bullets.

International Career

Mackinnon was a regular member of the Boomers squad, that saw him compete in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. Perhaps his greatest achievement whilst playing for Australia was winning a gold medal during the 2006 Commonwealth Games. In 2007 Mackinnon was also named captain of the Boomers squad for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Qualifying Series against New Zealand.

Retirement

On February 8 2010, Melbourne Tigers teammates Sam Mackinnon and Chris Anstey both announced their retirement from the game, their last game in the NBL being the following Saturday night when the Melbourne Tigers played the Gold Coast Blaze at The Cage.

The Melbourne Tigers coach at the time, Al Westover, lamented the retirement of two greats of the Australian basketball scene, and spoke of both players in glowing terms, saying "there was only one Sam Mackinnon. It's a big loss today. They are two legends of the game."

Awards

• NBL Rookie of the Year (1994)
• NBL Best Defensive Player (2007)
• NBL Most Valuable Player (2007)
• NBL Grand Final MVP (2007)
• Australian International Player of the Year (2007)

External links

• Sam Mackinnon profile

Awards
Preceded by Chris Blakemore	NBL Rookie of the Year 1994	Succeeded by John Rillie
Preceded by Darnell Mee	NBL Best Defensive Player 2007	Succeeded by Chris Anstey
Preceded by Chris Anstey	NBL Grand Final MVP 2007	Succeeded by Chris Anstey