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 Bullets, going on to play for the
Perth Wildcats and
Gold Coast Blaze, before settling in Melbourne. In the NBL, Goulding is a two-time championship winner and a two-time
All-NBL First Team honouree. He also won the league's scoring title in 2014 and claimed
Grand Final MVP honours in 2018. Goulding is a regular with the
Australian Boomers, but he also holds a
British passport thanks to his father, which allowed him to play as a local in Spain and Italy between 2014 and 2016.
Early life
Goulding was born
Launceston, Tasmania.
He attended West Launceston Primary School and spent a lot of time around
Australian rules football thanks to his father
Steve.
He started playing
basketball in Launceston,
and upon moving to
Queensland with his family as an 8-year-old,
he began to play it competitively.
In
Brisbane, he continued primary school at Gumdale State School and then attended secondary school at
Brisbane State High School.
He graduated from Brisbane State High in 2005. As a junior, he played for the Southern Districts Spartans.
Professional career
NBL and Europe
Goulding began his professional career as a development player with the
Brisbane Bullets during the
2006–07 NBL season. He made his NBL debut and lone appearance of the season on 23 December 2006 against the
Townsville Crocodiles, recording one assist in 5½ minutes.
The Bullets went on to win the NBL championship in March 2007, earning Goulding his first title. He appeared in 15 games for the Bullets during the
2007–08 NBL season,
but following the club's collapse, he moved west for the
2008–09 NBL season to play for the
Perth Wildcats.
For the
2009–10 NBL season, Goulding returned to Queensland to play for the
Gold Coast Blaze. He spent three seasons with the Blaze before they too collapsed following the
2011–12 season.
For the
2012–13 NBL season, Goulding joined the
Melbourne Tigers.
In December 2012, he was named MVP of the
NBL All-Star Game for his 24 points.
After a stint with the
Cleveland Cavaliers during the
2013 NBA Summer League, Goulding continued on with the Tigers for the
2013–14 NBL season. On 9 March 2014, he scored a career-high 50 points in the Tigers' 92–82 win over the
Sydney Kings. It was the NBL's first individual 50-point game in the 40-minute era. He was subsequently crowned the NBL scoring champion for the 2013–14 season with a league-best 23.0 points per game.
After a stint with the
Dallas Mavericks during the
2014 NBA Summer League, Goulding moved to Spain for the 2014–15 season to play for
CAI Zaragoza. He averaged 8.6 points per game in 33
Liga ACB games, and 11.5 points per game in 16
EuroCup games.
Goulding returned to Australia for the
2015–16 season and re-joined the Melbourne franchise, now known as
Melbourne United. He helped United win the minor premiership after they finished the regular season in first place with an 18–10 record. However, they were defeated in the semi-finals by the
New Zealand Breakers. Following the conclusion of the NBL season, Goulding moved to Italy to play out the season with
Auxilium Torino. He averaged 4.2 points per game in 10
LBA games.
Goulding returned to United for the
2016–17 NBL season, but he played 22 of a possible 28 games after separate left ankle sprains.
United missed the finals in 2016–17 with a sixth-place finish and a 13–15 record, and following the season, he opted for surgery on his left ankle, which sidelined him for eight to ten weeks.
The
2017–18 NBL season saw Goulding lead United back to the top of the table with a first-place finish and a 20–8 record. They went on to reach the NBL Grand Final series, where they defeated the
Adelaide 36ers 3–2 in the best-of-five series. Goulding claimed his second NBL championship while winning the
Grand Final MVP.
Returning to United once again for the
2018–19 season, Goulding helped lead United back to the NBL Grand Final series, where they lost 3–1 to the
Perth Wildcats.
In December 2019, Goulding played his 300th NBL game.
On 17 July 2020, Goulding re-signed with United on a three-year deal. He was ruled out for the majority of February 2021 with a low grade calf strain.
Off-season State League stints
Between 2006 and 2009, Goulding played with the Southern Districts Spartans in the
QBL (2006) and
SEABL (2007–09).
In 2006, he was a member of the Spartans' championship-winning team. As a member of the Spartans for three seasons in the SEABL, Goulding won East Youth Player of the Year two consecutive seasons in 2008 and 2009 while also making the All-Star Five in his last year. In 2008, he averaged 24.5 points per game to finish second in the competition and had a season-high 43 points during the season. In 2009, averaged 20.8 points to finish fifth, second in free throw percentage (83%), ninth in three-point percentage (39%) and seventh in assists (three).
Between 2010 and 2012, he played three seasons for the Northside Wizards in the QBL, earning All-League Team honours in 2010. In 2013, he had a three-game stint with the QBL's
Gladstone Port City Power.
National team career
As a youth, Goulding represented Australia in under-18s, under-19s and under-20s, including playing at the
2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Serbia.
In 2014, he played for the
Australian Boomers at the
FIBA World Cup in Spain.
He went on to play for the Boomers at the
2015 FIBA Oceania Championship and the
2016 Rio Olympics.
In 2018, he won a gold medal with the Boomers at the
Commonwealth Games, and in 2019, he competed at the
FIBA World Cup in China.
In February 2021, Goulding was named in the Boomers'
Olympic squad.
Personal
Goulding is the son of
Steve and Christine.
He is married to wife Molly.
His father played and coached at
North Launceston Football Club, and was inducted into the
AFL Tasmania Hall of Fame in 2008.
Due to his father being
English, Goulding holds a
British passport.
References
External links
NBL profileMelbourne United profileLiga ACB profile"Chris Goulding targets 2019 basketball world cup"at examiner.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goulding, Chris
Category:1988 births
Category:Living people
Category:Australian expatriate basketball people in Italy
Category:Australian expatriate basketball people in Spain
Category:Australian men's basketball players
Category:Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino players
Category:Basket Zaragoza players
Category:Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Category:Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
Category:Brisbane Bullets players
Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Category:Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball
Category:Gold Coast Blaze players
Category:Liga ACB players
Category:Melbourne Tigers players
Category:Melbourne United players
Category:Olympic basketball players of Australia
Category:People educated at Brisbane State High School
Category:Perth Wildcats players
Category:Shooting guards
Category:Sportspeople from Launceston, Tasmania
Category:2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players
Category:2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players