1. Matthew Peter Nielsen was born on 3 February 1978 and is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association.
21 Facts About Matthew Nielsen
1. 2.
Matthew Nielsen served as an assistant coach for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League from 2015 to 2019.
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Matthew Nielsen played as a junior for Newcastle Basketball Association and attended St Marys Senior High School.
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In 1995, Nielsen played for the Sydney Sky in the SEABL and made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings as a development player.
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Matthew Nielsen was named SEABL East Youth Player of the Year in 1995 and 1996.
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Matthew Nielsen played six games for the Sky in 1997 and played for the Penrith Panthers in the SEABL in 2000.
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Matthew Nielsen played in the NBL Future Forces Game and finished third in the NBL Best Sixth Man Award in 1997.
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Brian Goorjian 8.
Matthew Nielsen was named in the All-NBL Second Team in 2001 and 2003 and won his first NBL championship in 2003.
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Matthew Nielsen led the league in scoring with an average of 23.5 points per game, was second in rebounds and second in blocked shots.
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In 244 games for the Kings over nine seasons, Matthew Nielsen averaged 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
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In 2004, Matthew Nielsen began a decorated European career playing for PAOK Thessaloniki in Greece, Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania, Valencia in Spain, Olympiacos Piraeus in Greece, and Khimki in Russia.
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Matthew Nielsen won the gold medal at the 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Championship with Australia's junior national team.
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Matthew Nielsen was a member of the senior men's Australian national basketball team.
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Matthew Nielsen represented Australia at the 2004,2008 and 2012 Olympics.
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In July 2024, Matthew Nielsen was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame.
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In 2014, Matthew Nielsen joined the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff in a player development role, on a contract that ran through to the end of the 2015 NBA Summer League.
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On 10 April 2019, after three championships in four seasons, Matthew Nielsen parted ways with the Wildcats in order to pursue coaching opportunities in the United States.
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On 5 November 2019, Matthew Nielsen was appointed assistant coach of the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League.
19.
On 8 September 2021, Matthew Nielsen was appointed assistant coach of the San Antonio Spurs.
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On 8 December 2020, Matthew Nielsen was named as assistant coach of the Australian senior men's national team under head coach Brian Goorjian.
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Matthew Nielsen was still in the position as of May 2023.