Shane McDonald (born 29 May 1985) is an Australian former 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. He had four stints in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the

Singapore Slingers The Singapore Slingers is a Singaporean professional basketball team that currently compete in the ASEAN Basketball League. The Slingers were known as the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers between 2009 and 2014, due to sponsorship ties with Job ...

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The majority of his career was spent in the

South East Australian Basketball League 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 ...

(SEABL) for the

Nunawading Spectres Nunawading Spectres 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 Melbourne East Basketball Association (MEBA), the major administrative basketball o ...

, winning a championship in 2011 and league MVP honours in 2013. In his final season, he helped the Spectres win the 2019

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia, consisting of NBL1 South, South, NBL1 North, North, NBL1 Central, Central, NBL1 West, West and NBL1 East, East Conferences with both men's and women's compet ...

championship.

Early life and career

McDonald attended Horsham College in

Horsham, Victoria Horsham () is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 Census, Horsham had a population of 2 ...

. He played for the Horsham Hornets in the Victorian Basketball League between 2002 and 2004. For the 2004–05 U.S. college season, McDonald played for the

Nova Southeastern Sharks men's basketball The NSU Sharks Men's Basketball team represents Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. They currently compete in the Sunshine State Conference. History The 2007–08 Nova Southeastern University men’s basketball team posted a 10–18 ...

team.

Professional career

NBL

McDonald made his debut in the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2007–08 season with the

. In 29 games, he averaged 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. In January 2009, McDonald joined the

during the 2008–09 NBL season. He played five games for the Wildcats. In January 2012, McDonald joined the

during the 2011–12 NBL season. He played in one game for the Tigers. For the 2015–16 NBL season, McDonald joined the

. In his debut for the Breakers, he scored seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. He lost his spot in the line-up for the playoffs after the coaching staff preferred development player

Shea Ili Shea Ili (born 6 October 1992) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). Ili was raised in Māngere Bridge, playing his basketball at Onehunga High School and appearing for Co ...

. The Breakers made the grand final series, where they lost to the

. In 22 games, McDonald averaged 1.3 points in 6.2 minutes per game.

SEABL

In 2005, McDonald played for the

Albury Wodonga Bandits Albury Wodonga Bandits is a NBL1 East club based in Albury, New South Wales. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 East. The club is a division of the overarching Border Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball or ...

in the

(SEABL). He joined the

in 2006 and played for them every year until 2019. In 2011, McDonald helped the Spectres win the SEABL championship while earning grand final MVP honours. In 2013, he earned SEABL co-MVP honours alongside

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 ...

centre John Pichon. In 2014, McDonald helped the Spectres win the SEABL East Conference title. They went on to lose to the

Mount Gambier Pioneers Mount Gambier Pioneers is a member club of NBL1 South based in Mount Gambier, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of Basketball Mount Gambier, the major administrative basketball organisation in t ...

in the SEABL grand final. In 2016, McDonald helped the Spectres reach the East Conference grand final, where they were defeated 76–64 by the

Bendigo Braves Bendigo Braves is a NBL1 South club based in Bendigo, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of the overarching Bendigo Braves Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball organ ...

. He was subsequently named in the All-SEABL Team for the sixth straight season. In 2017, McDonald was named the recipient of the SEABL's Golden Hands award and became the SEABL's all-time assists leader, overtaking Ben Harvey with 1,959. In 2018, McDonald led the Spectres to the SEABL Grand Final, where they lost 72–58 to the

Hobart Chargers Hobart Chargers is a NBL1 South club based in Hobart, Tasmania. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The Chargers play their home games at the Derwent Entertainment Centre and Kingborough Sports Centre. Club history Ear ...

. In 2019, McDonald helped the Spectres return to the grand final, this time in the

, where he had 12 points and 10 assists in a 99–90 win over the

to claim his second championship with Nunawading. He announced his retirement following the grand final.

Personal life

McDonald is married to wife Emily. McDonald is a physical education teacher and was the basketball coach at

Maribyrnong College Maribyrnong College, also known as Maribyrnong Secondary College, and formerly known as Maribyrnong High School, is a government-funded secondary day school that specialises in sports, located in Maribyrnong in the inner western suburbs of M ...

in Melbourne before signing with the New Zealand Breakers in 2015. In August 2022, the

Western Australian Institute of Sport The Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1983 by the Government of Western Australia to support athletes in Western Australia. Previously, if elite athletes from Western Australian needed to train or ...

(WAIS) appointed McDonald as its first Women's Basketball head coach. Despite being a left-hander, McDonald shoots the basketball with his right.

References

External links

New Zealand Breakers profileNBL profileSEABL stats (2005–2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Shane 1985 births Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Melbourne Tigers players New Zealand Breakers players Nova Southeastern Sharks men's basketball players Perth Wildcats players Point guards Singapore Slingers players