Daniel James Dillon (born 19 March 1986) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the Waverley Falcons of the

NBL1 South NBL1 South is a NBL1 conference based in South East Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2019, Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create NBL1 to replace the South East Australi ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

before starting his professional career in the Australian NBL. He has since played in Europe and Asia.

Early life

Dillon was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. He grew up in the Melbourne suburb of

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

. In 2003, he moved to the United States to attend North Laurel High School in

London, Kentucky London is a home rule-class city in Laurel County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 7,993 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the second-largest city named "London" in the United States and the ...

. He averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists per game for the school's basketball team.Daniel Dillon Profile
/ref>

College career

Dillon had a four-year

career with the

under coach

Lute Olson Robert Luther "Lute" Olson (September 22, 1934 – August 27, 2020) was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head co ...

from 2004 to 2008. He played sparingly for the Wildcats, averaging 1.6 points and 10.5 minutes in 113 career games with six starts. As a senior in 2007–08, he averaged 2.0 points, 1.3 assists and 14.4 minutes in 30 games with five starts.

Professional career

Dillon's post-college career began with a spot on the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

roster for the Las Vegas Summer League in July 2008. He appeared in one game for the Bucks, recording one rebound in seven minutes. Following his stint with the Bucks, Dillon returned to Australia and joined the

South Dragons The South Dragons were an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). They made their debut in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09. The club was based at MSAC in Melbourne's in ...

as a development player for the

2008–09 NBL season The 2008–09 NBL season was the 31st season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 10 teams contested the league. 2008–09 league participants * On 30 June 2008 the Brisbane Bullets confirmed they would be handing back th ...

. In March 2009, he was a member of the Dragons' championship-winning team when they defeated the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

3–2 in the NBL Grand Final series. He appeared in game three and game five of the series.Player statistics for Daniel Dillon – 2008/09
/ref> In 12 games, he averaged 1.8 points per game. He went on to win the 2009

SEABL The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

South Men Australian Youth Player of the Year as a member of the

Sandringham Sabres Sandringham Sabres is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Southern Basketball Association (SBA), the major administrative basketball organisati ...

.SEABL-SELECT TEAM TRAVELLING TO QATAR
/ref> In February 2010, he travelled with a SEABL Select Team to

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

to play the Qatar national team in a two-game friendly series. After another successful season in the SEABL in 2010 with the Sabres, Dillon joined the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

for the

2010–11 NBL season The 2010–11 NBL season was the 33rd season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2010 and April 2011, followed by a post-season involving the to ...

. He helped the Taipans reach their maiden NBL Grand Final series, where they were defeated 2–1 by the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

. After helping the Waverley Falcons win the championship in the

Big V Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

in 2011, Dillon joined the

ahead of the

2011–12 NBL season The 2011–12 NBL season was the 34th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 7 October 2011 and 25 March 2012, followed by a post-season involving t ...

. After initially agreeing to terms to stay at the Taipans, Dillon signed a three-year deal with his hometown team. However, he left after just one season. He then re-joined the Waverley Falcons for the 2012 season. In September 2012, Dillon signed with Romanian team

CSM Oradea CSM Oradea is a Romanian sports society from Oradea, Romania, founded in 2003. Men's Basketball section During the last few years, CSM Oradea became one of the most powerful teams in Romanian basketball. The ''Red Lions'' have won the champi ...

, where he went on to spend three seasons. In August 2015, Dillon signed with PGE Turów Zgorzelec of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English language, English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish basketball leag ...

. In 32 league games for Turów in 2015–16, he averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. He also averaged 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.5 steals in six

FIBA EuroCup Challenge The FIBA EuroCup Challenge was the 4th-tier level (it was the 3rd-tier level during the inaugural 2002–03 season), transnational professional continental club basketball competition in Europe. It was run and organized by FIBA Europe. The leag ...

games. In August 2016, Dillon signed with the

Hiroshima Dragonflies The Hiroshima Dragonflies (広島ドラゴンフライズ) are a professional basketball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. In October 2014 they commenced competing in the Western Conference of the Japanese National Basketball League. In Septembe ...

of the Japanese

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

. In 63 games for Hiroshima, he averaged 11.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. On 16 June 2017, Dillon signed with the Kilsyth Cobras for the rest of the 2017

season. Six days later, he signed with

Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

for the

2017–18 NBL season The 2017–18 NBL season was the 40th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2017 and February 2018, followed by a post ...

. However, on 10 July 2017, he was ruled out for six to eight months after suffering an

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

injury two days earlier playing for Kilsyth. He was a member of Melbourne's championship-winning team in March 2018. In April 2018, he joined the Waverley Falcons of the Big V. In August 2018, Dillon signed with

Paris Basketball Paris Basketball is a French professional basketball club based in Paris. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the first division of basketball in France, and the EuroCup. The club was founded in 2018 by David Kahn and Eric Schwartz. Th ...

of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

. In 33 games, he averaged 9.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. On 16 May 2019, Dillon signed a two-year deal with the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

. In 24 games for the 36ers during the

2019–20 NBL season The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. Teams Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 Season with the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix. Off-season changes *The ...

, he averaged 3.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. On 25 February 2020, Dillon signed with Polish team Polpharma Starogard Gdański for the rest of the

2019–20 PLK season The 2019–20 Polish Basketball League (PLK) season, the Energa Basket Liga for sponsorship reasons, was the 86th season of the Polish Basketball League, the highest professional basketball league in Poland. Anwil Włocławek were the defending cha ...

, returning to the country for a second stint. In 30 games for the 36ers during the

2020–21 NBL season The 2020–21 NBL season was the 43rd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested in the 2020–21 season. The regular season was played between January and June 2021, followed by a p ...

, Dillon averaged 3.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He then joined the Waverley Falcons for the 2021

season. In 2022, Dillon returned to the Waverley Falcons.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, 23 , , 0 , , 5.1 , , .444 , , .400 , , .500 , , .6 , , .4 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 1 , , 10.4 , , .326 , , .269 , , .714 , , .9 , , .5 , , .4 , , .1 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .400 , , .346 , , .478 , , .9 , , .8 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 5 , , 14.4 , , .327 , , .355 , , .889 , , 1.1 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 113 , , 6 , , 10.5 , , .361 , , .333 , , .651 , , .9 , , .8 , , .3 , , .9 , , 1.6

Early life

College career

Professional career

Career statistics

College

References

External links