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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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 Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

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 ...

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...

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 The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) is located on the Gold Coast Highway in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. The venue was opened on 29 June 2004 at a cost of A$167 million and is linked by a covered walkway to The S ...

(GCCEC) in

Broadbeach Broadbeach is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Broadbeach had a population of 5,514 people. Geography Development in the area today mostly incorporates low rise structures, consisting of single bedroom hous ...

, 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.

History

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

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 ...

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 The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) is located on the Gold Coast Highway in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. The venue was opened on 29 June 2004 at a cost of A$167 million and is linked by a covered walkway to The ...

. 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 franchise the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

. Another Queensland based NBL franchise, the

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 (Australia), National Basketball ...

head coach

Brendan Joyce Brendan Joyce (born 1 May 1960) is an Australian professional basketball coach. He has coached all levels of the game. He has been to 3 Olympic Games with both the Australian men's Boomers team 2004, 2008 and women's Opals team 2016 and 2 world c ...

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 the ...

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 was signed as the first import. In the 2008–09 season, Shane Heal, the former

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 ...

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 20 ...

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 Ater James "AJ" Majok (born 4 July 1987) is a professional basketball player for Al Riyadi Club Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2011 NBA draft with the 58th overall pick. He represents Le ...

1 season: '11-'11 * Mark Worthington 2 seasons: '10-'12 * Adris Deleon 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 Bull ...

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 Anthony Petrie (born 3 June 1983) is an Australian basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 2007 and 2018. He is currently the head coach of the Gold Coast ...

3 seasons: '09-'12 *

3 seasons: '07-'10

Honour roll

Season by season

References

External links