Kyle Adnam and the journey to 250 NBL games

When Kyle Adnam ran onto the Cairns Convention Centre floor on Wednesday night, the scoreboard wasn’t kind — the Taipans fell 78-110 to the Perth Wildcats — but for the 186cm (6ft 1in) point guard, the night still carried something far bigger than the final score.

It marked his 250th career NBL game, because for Kyle Adnam, the journey was never about shortcuts. It was about earning everything one game at a time.

The Kid Who Wanted To Be Steve Nash

Long before Adnam was orchestrating offences across Australia, he was a kid glued to Steve Nash highlights.
“Steve Nash was someone I could try and be like,” Adnam recalled. 

“A role model who’s easy to relate to and aspire to as a smaller player. The creativity of his game — the pace, the pick-and-roll, how he dictated the game on his terms — that’s what I wanted to replicate.”

Like Nash, Adnam learned that control was a skill, not a by-product of size. 

“I knew I wasn’t going to beat guys athletically,” he said. “But you can still dictate the tempo and be in control of the ball. For me it was always about having a high level of skill.”

Growing up, he’d study AND1 Mixtape Tour clips and Rajon Rondo highlights, mimicking behind-the-back passes and flashy plays — learning, unknowingly, the artistry that would later define his game.

Battles Against The Brothers

If Nash was his inspiration, his two brothers were his first rivals. His older brother Frazer stood 193cm (6ft 4in) and his little brother Jorden was not so little at 198cm (6ft 6in) — the odds were never in his favour.

“I was the underdog in my own backyard,” Adnam laughed.

“I had to scratch and fight for everything. It taught me how to lose and how to respond. I’d go inside and have a sook to Mum after a game, but it made me obsessed with the details, how to finish around bigger players, how to use angles, how to bump at the right time. Those lessons in the backyard shaped me.”

He credits his mother Belinda, for instilling the grit that would underpin his career.

“Mum gave me a lot of emotional skills as a kid figuring myself out,” he said.

“She was always so strong, no matter what was going on, she’d get up, kick the can, and get to work. She was huge on effort: if you’re going to do something, do it properly. That resilience, I got from her.”

Kilsyth Cobras — Where Obsession Took Root

For Adnam, Kilsyth Sports Centre wasn’t just a court, it was home.

“Just hours and hours of basketball, I’d spend six days a week there,” he said.

“It was the first environment I had with like-minded players who took the game seriously. I was the furthest from the best early on, I was in the second squad from Under 12s through to Under 15s, but when I made the first team at 16, that’s when it all clicked.”

He grew into his frame, refined his reads and merged discipline with flair. “It gave me confidence to make plays. I was seeing the same reads in games that I saw playing at my local court.”

“A lot of my peers were at a crossroads with basketball and footy where I was just all chips in on basketball. Loving the game, that’s what I was going to do and nothing was going to stop me.”

Championship Chapter

In 2013, Adnam broke into the NBL with the Adelaide 36ers as a development player, before joining Wollongong (now Illawarra) Hawks. 

Continuing to grind for opportunities, he headed south for a crack with Melbourne United. 

Adnam’s defining season came in 2018, when he became an NBL champion.

“That was the year that moulded me,” he said.

“I was still figuring out how I’d fit in the NBL and what I could bring every night. Playing alongside incredible players, then winning it all — it’s something you never forget. 

“When you all share one goal for that long and you finally achieve it, it’s something that is incredibly special and you never forget the people you won with. That’s what I remember most on this journey. Not my performances but more the moments as such, the people you meet and the relationships you build.”

Across 250 games, Adnam absorbed knowledge from the best.

“Andrew Bogut was huge for me at Sydney Kings,” he said. “His point guard before me was Steph Curry when he was at the Warriors, so listening to him talk pick-and-roll reads was like a masterclass.”

He credits Chris Goulding and Casper Ware for sharpening his edge at United, while Australian Boomer and NBA forward Joe Ingles — his brother-in-law — remains a big influence.

“Joe’s pace and demeanour, the calming influence, the way he sees the game — he’s got one of the best basketball minds around,” Adnam said.

The World’s Best — OKC Thunder & Dallas Mavericks

Adnam’s rise brought surreal moments few could imagine — like staring down NBA superstar Russell Westbrook in 2017, when Melbourne United took on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBL vs NBA preseason series.

“Westbrook had just won the 2017 MVP,” Adnam said.

“Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Steven Adams were all there. I remember in the second quarter thinking, ‘Wow, I’m guarding the MVP of the world right now.’ Then instinct takes over and you just play.”

He even hit a dagger three over Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony — a story he won’t forget anytime soon.

A year later came another pinch-yourself moment — attending an NBA mini-camp run by the Dallas Mavericks during the 2018 off-season, after they had just drafted Luka Dončić and Jalen Brunson. 

“As a kid, Dallas was my 2K team and Dirk Nowitzki was my brother’s favourite player,” he said. 

“I remember getting to the gym early and just seeing (Nowitzki) already there with his longtime coach (Holger Geschwindner). It was actually his 40th birthday because they had a cake for him, yet he was in a full sweat getting yelled at by his coach.

"I remember thinking so vividly, this guy is going to be in the Hall of Fame, it’s his 40th birthday and he has spent the morning with the same coach since he was a kid shooting jumpers. That is what it is about, what an incredible moment to see, to feel, this guy doesn’t have to do anything anymore, he’s an NBA champion, he can walk away tomorrow  but he’s in here working with a learner mindset chasing his final NBA season. That stuck with me. That’s what greatness looks like.”

He described that camp as one of the most incredible experiences of his career.

“For a smaller guard from Kilsyth to be on that floor — it just doesn’t happen. When you shoot for the stars, maybe fall slightly short, you still end up in an amazing position. I’m so grateful for my career to date. 

Green & Gold Dreams

Of all his milestones, representing Australia remains the most personal after making the team for the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

“When you’re a kid, you write your goals down,” Adnam said. “For me it was always: play for Australia, then the NBA. When I got the Boomers call-up, it was incredible.”

He shared the experience with Josh Giddey, Sunday Dech and Angus Glover, receiving his jersey from C.J. Bruton — one of his childhood heroes.

“We were all ticking off a childhood dream together,” he said. “Standing in line with Australia across your chest, singing the anthem — it gives me goosebumps now.”

He also fondly recalls the 2018 World University Games with Jack McVeigh and Xavier Cooks — his first representative team after never making a Victorian state squad. “I’d never made a state team, then the first one I made was for Australia.”

The playmaker later suited up for his hometown during the SEM Phoenix's inaugural season in the NBL — later named co-captain — before heading abroad to play for Fraser Valley Bandits (Canada), Wellington Saints (New Zealand) and Romanian side CSU Sibiu. Another stint with the Hawks followed before venturing to the Far North and hitting the floor in front of the Orange Army.

Behind every milestone was someone who made it possible. For Adnam, that’s his wife, Anastasia, whom he met in Year 11. The pair married in Bali earlier this year.

“I don’t think I’d be able to have the career I’ve had without her,” he said. “We’ve moved so many times, lived in so many cities. She’s been there through all the tough stretches with unwavering support. I couldn’t have reached this without her.”

NBL icon Andrew Gaze, who coached Adnam at the Sydney Kings, said he was a joy to coach. 

“Kyle’s done a terrific job getting the most out of his body. For him to have the career he has, given his size, is a credit to him. He’s found a way to survive and that’s because of his character. On the floor he’s been a great scorer, plays with a high basketball IQ, much loved by his teammates and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to coach him. An outstanding contributor and I’m wrapped to see he’s been able to have such a career.”

Taipans coach Adam Forde was full of praise for the playmaker.

“He’s a terrific locker-room presence, great with the younger fellas. When you’ve got someone with his experience — multiple clubs, different roles — it’s invaluable. He provides stability in offence, he’s composed and brings energy.”

‘Nothing Is Given, Everything Is Earned’

That phrase could hang over every chapter of Adnam’s story.

“Work is something you have to do over a really long time,” he said.

“Talent gets you in the door, but consistency keeps you there. That comes from repetition — hours and hours of making the same read until it becomes instinct.”

He talks about basketball like a craftsman.

“Some of the best decision-makers are also the most creative people,” he said. “Decision-making and creativity — if you can put those together, that’s where you find the elite level.”

He still watches film nightly. “The minute you stop being a student of the game is the minute you fall backwards,” he said. “I still study opponents every day.”

At 31, the milestone symbolises persistence over privilege and decades of resilience from one of the league’s most respected journeymen — a player who built a career on detail, discipline and an unrelenting belief that nothing is given, everything is earned.