The Gold Coast Blaze were an Australian men's 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 ...

team which competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The Blaze competed in their inaugural season in 2007–08. The club was based on the Gold Coast and 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 (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

, Townsville Crocodiles as the other two NBL clubs from

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. The Blaze played its home games at the Gold Coast Convention Centre (GCCEC) in Broadbeach, known as "The Furnace" within the NBL. The team was not related to the previous Gold Coast representative in the NBL, the

Gold Coast Rollers Gold Coast Rollers may refer to: * Gold Coast Rollers (NBL), former National Basketball League team *Gold Coast Rollers (NBL1 North) Gold Coast Rollers is a NBL1 North club based in Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Queensland. The club field ...

History

The first official reports of a new Gold Coast franchise surfaced in September 2006. Former

and Adelaide 36ers head coach Dave Claxton spearheaded a bid for a new NBL license for the Gold Coast. On 21 November 2006, the NBL Board officially accepted the bid and announced the addition of a new Gold Coast franchise and reported that the club would compete out of the 5,269 seat Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. At the beginning of 2007 the newly founded Gold Coast franchise held a competition to name the club. The franchise offered four options to choose from including the 'Heat', 'Marlins', 'Flyers' and 'Waves', as well as the ability to suggest another alternative. On 23 February the franchise announced that it would compete under the 'Blaze' moniker. Despite the 'Heat' name being voted the most popular in the naming competition, club officials decided it would be best to steer clear of the name following objections from the NBA, due to the name being held by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

franchise the Miami Heat. Another Queensland based NBL franchise, the Townsville Crocodiles had had the same trouble in 1998: founded as the Townsville Suns in 1993, they were forced to change to the Crocodiles in 1998 because the NBA's Phoenix Suns had the "Suns" moniker trademarked. Prior to the official naming of the franchise, the Blaze made their first major signing on 18 January in signing former

Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

head coach Brendan Joyce as their inaugural head coach. Following this signing, two days later the club signed former

West Sydney Razorbacks The West Sydney Razorbacks (known in its final season as the Sydney Spirit) were an Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The club was based in Sydney, New South Wales. They were th ...

head coach Mark Watkins as the assistant coach. On 5 April the Blaze announced the signing of their first player: former West Sydney Razorbacks captain Scott McGregor. On 2 May,

Juaquin Hawkins Juaquin Hawkins (born July 2, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. He played with the Houston Rockets during the 2002–03 NBA season. Professional Basketball Career After going undrafted in the 1996 NBA draft, he signed a ...

was signed as the first import. In the 2008–09 season, Shane Heal, the former South Dragons captain/coach joined the team along with

Pero Cameron Sean Pero MacPherson Cameron (born 5 June 1974) is a New Zealand basketball coach and former player. A FIBA Hall of Fame member, he captained the New Zealand Tall Blacks from 2000 to 2010, helping lead New Zealand to the semifinal of the 2002 ...

Casey Frank Casey Frank (born October 23, 1977) is an American-New Zealand former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his 17-year career in the New Zealand NBL and Australian NBL. After playing four years of college basketball for Nort ...

. On 17 July 2012, the Gold Coast Blaze owners, Owen and Ben Tomlinson, decided to withdraw their bid to stay in the NBL for the 2012–13 season.Blaze up in smoke as owners walk away
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Notable former players

Shane Heal Shane Douglas Heal (born 6 September 1970) is an Australian basketball coach and former player. Playing career International Heal's international career highlights include representing the Australian Boomers at the 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 S ...

1 season: '08-'09 *

Luke Whitehead Luke Edward Whitehead (born February 9, 1981) is a former professional basketball player. Born in Walnut Creek, California, he played forward for the University of Louisville. College After graduating from Oak Hill Academy in 2000, Whitehead jo ...

2 seasons: '07-'09 * Sam Dogan 2 seasons: '07-'09 * Ben Melmeth 2 seasons: '07-'09 * Scott McGregor 2 seasons: '07-'09 * Ater Majok 1 season: '11-'11 *

Mark Worthington Mark Worthington (born 8 June 1983) is an Australian former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). Early life and career Born in Bunbury, Western Australia, Worthington grew up in the nearb ...

2 seasons: '10-'12 *

Adris Deleon ''Eudocima'' is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae with numerous tropical species. The genus was first categorised by Gustaf Johan Billberg Gustaf Johan Billberg (14 June 1772, Karlskrona – 26 November 1844, Stockholm) was a Swedish bo ...

1 season: '11-'12 *

Chris Goulding Christopher James Goulding (born 24 October 1988) is an Australian professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). He made his debut in the NBL in 2006 as a development player with the Brisbane Bulle ...

3 seasons: '09-'12 *

Jason Cadee Jason Robert Cadee (born 15 April 1991) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He is also the team captain for the Bullets. Early life and career Cadee was born and rai ...

2 seasons: '10-'12 * Anthony Petrie 3 seasons: '09-'12 *

3 seasons: '07-'10

Honour roll

Season by season

References

External links