Cadee 350: A Career Timeline

The NBL career of Jason Cadee is a testament to what hard work and graft can do for you in the professional sporting landscape.

After escaping from a severe car crash with a badly broken pelvis just months after signing his first professional contract, Cadee has put together one of the most consistent careers of any active player in the NBL.

As he prepares to play his 350th career game this weekend, NBL Media takes a look back at his his time in the league so far.

Gold Coast Blaze: 2010-2012

After plying his trade as a junior for his local Bankstown Bruins and a stint at the AIS, Cadee signed his first professional terms in the NBL with the now defunct Gold Coast Blaze ahead of the 2010 season.

The then 19-year-old Cadee rebounded from the horrific car accident he suffered in that pre-season to come back and put together promising averages in his first season in the NBL, racking up over three points, an assist and a rebound in 13 minutes a game, however the Blaze would slump to a sixth-place finish with a 13-15 record.

Year two with the Blaze saw Cadee experience his first taste of playoff basketball as his side finished third before suffering a game three loss to Perth in the semi-finals. Despite experiencing a good measure of success on the court this would be Gold Coast’s final season in the NBL and Cadee would be forced to move on to continue his NBL career.

Jason Cadee's headshot for the 2011/12 NBL season.

Adelaide 36ers: 2012-2014

Cadee made the move to Adelaide ahead of his third professional season in the hopes of pulling them off the bottom of the ladder – his new side had won just eight games the season prior to his arrival. Now 22 years old he would still come off the bench as he had done for the Blaze – and despite once again experiencing an increase in his minutes per game, the 36ers would once again finish last with just eight wins for the season.

The 2013/14 season was far more productive for the 36ers as they rose from the foot of the table to finish second, however they would go on to lose the NBL grand final to Perth after losing game three by a whopping 34 points.

After seeing his minutes per game drop in his second season in Adelaide, Cadee headed to New Zealand in the off-season to turn out for the Super City Rangers in the NZNBL. He showed his brilliance while playing for the Auckland-based side, winning the league’s scoring title with 26 points per game and earning All-Star Five honours.

Jason Cadee representing the Adelaide 36ers in the 2013-14 season.

Sydney Kings: 2014-18

In his first season with the Kings Cadee set new career-highs in both points and assists per game despite playing fewer minutes than his first season with the 36ers. However the up and down nature of his team’s ladder finishes continued as just one season after making it all the way to the grand final with Adelaide, Cadee’s Kings would finish second last on the table and end the season with five straight losses.

His second season in the Harbour City brought even more struggles, as the Kings would win just one of their 14 road games for the season and finish bottom of the ladder with a 6-22 record. Despite the team’s struggles Cadee showed more signs of strong development in his fifth season in the NBL and hit a double-digit scoring average for the first time in his career with just over 14 points per game.

In the 2016 off-season he returned to his hometown Bankstown Bruins and experienced Waratah League success, as he led the side to the title.

The Kings showed massive signs of improvement in the 2016/17 season under Andrew Gaze and spent nine straight weeks on the top of the ladder. However, they unravelled in the second half of the season however to finish with a 13-15 record and finish in seventh place on the ladder.

Jason Cadee directing traffic for the Kings in 2017

It was after this season that Cadee experienced European basketball. In the off-season he travelled to Greece to represent Kymis for eight games. He averaged over 11 points, two assists and a steal a game in Kymi. He also represented the Boomers at the FIBA Asia Cup in 2017 and helped them to the gold medal with a game-high eight assists in the final against Iran.

In his final season at the Kings, Sydney experienced the inverse of what they had the season before – they spent 14 weeks rooted to the foot of the table before a final day win lifted them to seventh place.

He would go on to represent and Australian NBL side in exhibition games against China and win Commonwealth Games gold after his final season with the Kings.

In addition to a successful NBL career, Jason Cadee has put together a strong career representing Australia.

Brisbane Bullets: 2018 – Present

After four seasons at the Kings, Cadee returned back to Queensland with the re-formed Brisbane Bullets, who had only re-entered the NBL two season prior.

Since returning to Queensland he’s averaged over four assists a game in four his five seasons – the only four times he’s reached that mark in his career.

After spending much of his career as a high-quality, consistent and reliable backup point guard – often to star imports – Cadee was recognised for his ability to change the game from the bench by winning the 2020 Sixth Man of the Year award after averaging 11 points, and a pair of rebounds and assists from the pine.

Jason Cadee poses with his 2020 NBL Sixth Man of the Year award.

This season he’s moved into the starting line-up at the expense of former Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson to great effect and has formed a dangerous Australian guard combination with Nathan Sobey.

Cadee will take to the floor for the 350th time in the NBL on Saturday evening as the Bullets take on Tasmania at MyState Bank Arena.