Cadee grateful to retire on own terms

Jason Cadee didn’t get the championship fairytale with the Adelaide 36ers but he's grateful to have got to live his NBL dream and to end his career after 424 games on his terms.

Cadee played the last game of an NBL career that was all he ever dreamed of growing up when Adelaide's rollercoaster season ended at the hands of the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Sunday's Play-In Game.

Even in his very last game, Cadee was instrumental in the Sixers building a 21-point lead in the first half and while disappointed his career didn’t continue at least a few more weeks, it was a feeling of pride and gratitude for him afterwards.

After all, 15 years ago if you'd told him he'd amass 424 games in the NBL with two separate stints at the 36ers along with time at the Gold Coast Blaze, Sydney Kings and Brisbane Bullets, he would have taken it in a heartbeat.

"I'm just grateful. I grew up loving this league and being around it since I can remember when dad was with the Razorbacks as a GM," Cadee said.

"So to get to this stage after 15 years, it's really cool, and I'm really proud of myself. I've been in some interesting situations throughout my career and have always been true to who I am, and that's one thing I'll walk away really proud of."

Growing up all Cadee dreamed of doing was playing in the NBL after his father Robbie was a former player in the league and ended up in front office roles including at the West Sydney Razorbacks.

While that championship remained elusive, Cadee is grateful for the career he has been able to have after it almost never started thanks to a car accident ahead of his rookie 2010/11 season at the Blaze.

Potentially Cadee could still continue playing if he wanted to and that's how he did want to finish playing – still feeling healthy and loving the game, and still having something left in the tank.

Having something to dive straight into was important too and along with his young family, Cadee's focus will immediately turn to expanding his role with emerging underwear brand, Step One.

"I've seen a lot of people get to a point in their careers where no call comes and they sit there pondering about what's next," Cadee said.

"I still love the game and I probably could still play another year or two, but I've been fortunate enough to put myself in a position where I've done some things away from the game.

"It's just sparked different interests in me so while I will miss every bit of being part of this game, I'm also excited that I've met the person who runs Step One and it's shown me a whole different world to dive into.

"When you're looking to make an exit out of basketball being able to exit on my own terms, there's a little bit of that which leaves me proud.

"I can walk out and go play with my kids, and I'll still be around the game and probably be back in a change room one day, but I'm just excited for this next part of my journey."

If there was ever a player retiring who seems a natural to have a career in coaching, then it would be Cadee. There's been very few players who fit the bill as virtually being a playing assistant coach for much of his career.

His leadership, especially through some tough times at the Bullets and the last two seasons in Adelaide, has come to the fore, on top of what he's done of late in the NBL1 North, including captaining the Gold Coast Rollers to the 2022 championship as the league's MVP.

While Cadee does feel like coaching will be a natural progression for him at some point, it's not an immediate focus. 

"If you asked me 12 or 18 months ago I would have said I would have kept playing until the wheels came off and walked into an assistant coaches job, but opportunities present themselves at different times," Cadee said.

"There's probably no perfect time to retire and it would have been perfect to win it all, but coaching is something I will definitely do one day.

"I've done a lot of coaching kids the past few years in Brisbane and Adelaide, and I've helped a lot of young guys for their benefit. I'll end up coaching but I don't know when because I'm really excited for this next step."