Cam Oliver explains how playing for Cairns helped him reach the NBA and potentially returning to the NBL

Cam Oliver joins the podcast to discuss his time playing for the Cairns Taipans, how it shaped him as a player and a person, and how it helped him reach the NBA.

Since leaving Australia, Cam has played in Spain, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, France and China, and he shares some of the highs and lows from each of these stops.

Currently looking for a team to play with in 2024/25, he confirms that he'd love to return to the NBL.

During his first NBL season, Oliver averaged 17.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 54 percent from the field. This earned him a spot on the All-NBL Second Team.

In his second NBL season, Oliver had to cut his season short due to complications with his wife's pregnancy but averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds across the 24 games he played.

Over his two seasons in the NBL, Oliver averaged 17.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 52 NBL games.

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Topics include...

• Experiences playing in China (2:00)
• Where he’d like to play the 2024/25 season and a potential return to the NBL (8:00)
• How he was recruited to play for the Taipans, and how close he got to signing with the Wildcats (10:00)
• The trio of Cam Oliver, Scott Machado and DJ Newbill (17:00)
• Thoughts on Bryce Cotton and falling short of the NBL Grand Final in 2020 (19:00)
• How Cam used his experience in Cairns to mature and develop as a player and a person (21:00)
• What caused the Taipans to fall from one win away from the Grand Final his first season, to near the bottom of the ladder the next (27:00)
• The NBA calls and his experiences with the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks (31:00)
• Why he thinks he hasn’t been able to latch on to an NBA team (38:00)
• Stories from playing in countries such as Israel, Spain, Puerto Rico, France and more (42:00)
• Biggest hurdles and learning moments from his career (45:00)
• The highlights of his career so far and of travelling Australia (49:00)

Head to Aussie Hoopla to check out previous podcasts featuring;

Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, Phil Smyth, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, Sam MacKinnon, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Damian Martin, Brad Newley

Current NBL Stars - Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Tyler Harvey, Dejan Vasiljevic, Thomas Abercrombie, Daniel Johnson, Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron, Anthony Drmic, Luke Travers, Sam Froling, Jesse Wagstaff

Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Barry Barnes, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole, Will Weaver, Bruce Palmer

NBA Stars Past & Present - Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Jack White, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff, Doug Overton

The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Dwayne McClain, Darnell Mee, Shawn Redhage, Al Green, Steve Woodberry, Doug Overton, Kevin Lisch

And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Mal Speed, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chris Pongrass, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner, Danny Mills

All that and much more.

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