BANDITS SIGN SE MELBOURNE CAPTAIN AND FORMER AUSTRALIAN BOOMER KYLE ADNAM

LANGLEY, B.C., May 12, 2022 – The Fraser Valley Bandits announced Thursday that the club has signed Australian floor general and South East Melbourne captain Kyle Adnam for the club’s upcoming season at Langley Events Centre (LEC).

Adnam has served as co-captain and captain of the Phoenix for the past two seasons in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL). His NBL tenure began in 2013-14 with Adelaide and he has improved at each successive stage of his domestic career, suiting up for the Illawarra Hawks (formerly known as Wollongong), Melbourne United and the Sydney Kings before joining South East Melbourne for the 2019-20 season. 

A native of Melbourne, Adnam won a 2018 title with United and returned to his hometown area in 2019-20 when the Phoenix expanded into the NBL. Adnam’s statistics immediately rose. In his second season (2020-21) with the Phoenix, Adnam averaged a career-best 22.2 minutes, 12 points and 3.5 assists per game on 40 per cent and 36.7 per cent shooting from field goal and three-point range, respectively.

“It’s an exciting time to join the Bandits and the CEBL. It’s been a great platform for talent and the opportunity to play alongside a great group of guys and coaching staff really stood out for me. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some amazing professional experiences and I can’t wait to meet everyone in Fraser Valley and I look forward to the group putting on a show,” Adnam said.

Adnam’s ability to lead his team as a playmaker and also as a threat from long-range has helped him become a fan favourite in Australia, especially during his past three seasons with the Phoenix. The 28-year-old point guard scored a career-high 28 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point territory against the Perth Wildcats on March 3, 2021.

In addition to climbing the ranks among a talented class of Australian guards, Adnam has also represented his country at the international level. As a member of the national team program (known as the ‘Boomers’), Adnam competed at the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei and in 2020 at the FIBA Asia Cup where he averaged 13 points and three assists per game in two games of action. 

Widely regarded as one of the top leagues in the world, the NBL is a pipeline for NBA pedigree talent, both in terms of showcasing Australian players on the rise, as well as international players who have developed their skills in the NBL before declaring for the NBA Draft. Notable homegrown players that have made the jump from the NBL to the NBA are Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Joe Ingles (Portland Trail Blazers). Similarly, recent NBA Draft picks LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton honed their craft in the NBL prior to going to the NBA. 

“We are really fortunate to have a player of Kyle's caliber join our team. He has been a consistent leader and a high level playmaker on his teams in Australia – one of the best leagues in the world for many seasons. We look forward to Kyle creating and generating offence for himself and others. Kyle will definitely enhance our culture,” said Bandits general manager Kyle Julius.

Fraser Valley opens its fourth Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season on the road on Wednesday, May 25 at 4:30 p.m. PT against the Ottawa BlackJacks. Following a three-game road swing to start the year, the Bandits will return to LEC for their home opener against the Rattlers on Saturday, June 4.

Full and partial season ticket packages, as well as group and single game tickets are available for purchase at thebandits.ca/tickets. Fans are kindly asked to call (604) 866-0529 or email tickets@thebandits.ca for any questions or ticket related inquiries.

Fans can also fill out this form to register their interest for tickets and to arrange to be contacted directly by a team representative.

All CEBL regular season games will be livestreamed on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices and CEBL+.

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