Mark Bradtke

Mark Bradtke
Position	Center / Power Forward
Nickname	Hogey
Height	208 cm (6 ft 10 in)
Weight	120 kg (264 lb)
Nationality	Australia
Born	27 September 1968 (1968-09-27) (age 43) Adelaide, South Australia
Junior Association	Australian Institute of Sport
Debut	1988
Final Game	2007
Games Played	554[1]
Previous Clubs	Adelaide 36ers 1988-1992 Juver Murcia (Spain) 1992 Melbourne Tigers 1993-2005 Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) 1996-97 Olympiacos (Greece) 2002 Brisbane Bullets 2006-2007
Championships	1993, 1997, 2007
Career Highlights	NBL Most Valuable Player 2002 All NBL First Team 1994, 96, 97, 1999-2004 NBL 20th Anniversary Team 1998 NBL 25th Anniversary Team 2003 NBL's Most Improved Player 1989 NBL Leading Rebounder 1994, 1999-2004 NBL All-Time Leading Rebounder (6,283 @ 11.3pg) Played for the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) in 1996-97 Australian Boomers Olympic Squad Member in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 Attended the AIS 1986-87 Australian U/19 World Championship Squad Member 1987

Mark Robert Bradtke (born 27 September 1968 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a retired Australian professional basketball player who played mainly in Australia's National Basketball League but also had a single stint in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996-97. As well as his outstanding play, Bradtke was known in the early part of his NBL career for his mullet haircut.

Australian Career

Bradtke was born in the southern Adelaide suburb of Noarlunga and began playing basketball in 1985 while attending Redcliffe State High School north of Brisbane in Queensland. His potential was quickly realised and he was awarded a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport where he attended in 1986 and 1987.^[2]

Mark Bradtke started his NBL career with the Adelaide 36ers in 1988. That same year saw Bradtke a member of the Australian Boomers team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul helping the team to finish fourth with a 4-4 record. At the time Bradtke was the youngest player ever having represented Australia in Basketball at the Summer Olympics.

His star continued to rise in the NBL and in 1989 was named the NBL's Most Improved Player. He would spend another three seasons with the 36ers before asking the club to release him so he could sign with the Melbourne Tigers. The 36ers tried to convince him to stay but eventually granted his release so that he could be with his girlfriend and future wife, Australian professional tennis player Nicole Provis who lived in Melbourne. During his last two seasons in Adelaide, Bradtke would lead the 36ers in blocked shots and despite playing only 17 games in 1992 was second in total rebounds for the 36ers to Mark Davis. In all, Bradtke played 118 games for the 36ers, including 9 finals games, averaging 15.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

Bradtke started with the Tigers in 1993 and after a slow start came on strong from mid-season helping the team to their fifth NBL playoffs in a row and their second grand final series in succession. Melbourne won their first ever NBL Championship with a 2-1 series win over the Perth Wildcats, averaging 17 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in 33 games played. Combining with star players Andrew Gaze and Lanard Copeland, Bradtke's arrival helped transform the Tigers from a pretenders to a genuine championship team. The team would win their second NBL title in 1997 when they defeated cross-Melbourne rivals the South East Melbourne Magic 2-1 in the Grand Final, reversing the result from the 1996 series.

It was while with the 36ers that Mark Bradtke would establish himself as one of the premier centres in the NBL and he would only further his reputation with the Tigers and in 2002 he finally received the ultimate individual NBL accolade when he won his first and only NBL Most Valuable Player award. He was also voted to the All NBL First Team in 1994, 1996, 1997 and consecutively from 1999–2004 and was also selected to the NBL 20th Anniversary Team in 1998 and the NBL 25th Anniversary Team in 2003.

After 377 NBL games with the Melbourne Tigers, Bradtke played his last season with them in 2004-05. For the 2005-06 season he signed with the Brisbane Bullets, winning his third NBL title when the Bullets defeated his former team the Melbourne Tigers 3-1 in the 2006-07 NBL Grand Final series. After the grand final, and 59 games in two seasons with the Bullets, the 38 year old Bradtke retired from playing professional basketball having played in four NBL Grand Finals (winning three)

Mark Bradtke retired as the NBL's all time leading rebounder pulling down 6,283 rebounds (4,279 def, 2,004 off) at 11.3 per game. This record still stands as of the end of the 2010-11 season. He is also third on the all time list of NBL blocked shots with 763 at 1.3 per game

International career

Mark Bradtke was a prominent player for the Australian Boomers playing in the 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympic Games, and at the 1990 and 1994 FIBA World Championship. Despite playing almost all of his NBL career as a centre owing to his 6'10" (208 cm) height, Bradtke played most of his international career for the Boomers as a starting Power Forward as the preferred starting centre was Chicago Bulls championship winning centre Luc Longley who stands at 7'2" (218 cm) tall.

NBA

At the age of 28, Bradtke signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA during the 1996–97 NBA season for a reported $247,500. He played 36 games for Philadelphia, averaging 1.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.1 blocks and 7 minutes court time per game.

Europe

Following the end of the 1992 NBL season with the 36ers Bradtke played the 1992-93 Spanish League season with Juver Murcia. The team unfortunately finished 22nd and were relegated the next season. He also spent part of 2002 playing with Greek League club Olympiacos.

Personal

Mark Bradtke has been married to the Australian former professional tennis player Nicole Provis since 1994. Together they have two boys, Austin (born 2000) and Jensen (born 2004).

Honour roll

NBL career:	1988–2007
NBL Grand Final appearances:	4 (1993, 1996, 1997, 2006–07)
NBL Championships:	3 (1993, 1997, 2006–07)
NBL Most Valuable Player:	2002
All-NBL First Team:	10 (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999–2004)
NBL Most Improved Player:	1989
NBL 20th Anniversary Team:	1998
NBL 25th Anniversary Team:	2003
NBL Leading Rebounder	7 (1994, 1999-2004)

NBL career stats

Games:	554 (Adl 118, Melb 377, Bris 59)
Rebounds:	6,283 (4,279 def, 2,004 off - 1st All-time - 11.3pg)
Points:	9,621 (17.3pg)
Blocked Shots:	763 (3rd All-time, 1.3pg)

References

1. ^ http://www.nbl.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/_temp_/leaguewide_career.pdf
2. ^ Mark bradtke Bio

External links

• Mark Bradtke at Basketball-Reference.com

Awards
Preceded by Darren Lucas	NBL Most Improved Player 1989	Succeeded by Shane Heal

Persondata
Name	Bradtke, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 September 1968
Place of birth	Adelaide, South Australia
Date of death
Place of death