Bradley Ness OAM
Bradley Ness is widely considered to have been one of the best and most decorated wheelchair basketballers in the world.
A boating accident at age 18 severed Ness’ right leg below the knee and it was encouragement from Bill Mather-Brown, who represented Australia at the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, that inspired him to try wheelchair basketball after playing a multitude of sports as a teenager.
A strong-bodied centre with a high basketball IQ, Ness made his Rollers debut in 1999 in the Roosevelt Cup in the US then graced the biggest stage, a home crowd at the Sydney Paralympics the following year, his first of five Paralympic campaigns.
As captain, he guided the Rollers to an historic gold medal in 2008 in Beijing with Australian defeating Canada by 12 points.
His medal collection also features two silver medals from Athens (2004) and London (2012) and a pair of IWBF World Championship titles in 2010 and 2014.
Fittingly, Ness was chosen to carry the Australian flag at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio Paralympics in his international farewell.
After fulfilling a scholarship at the University of Texas in the US, he played professionally in Italy for 12 years. His international feats saw him claim multiple Sandy Blythe Medals for International Wheelchair Basketball Player of the Year On home soil, Ness carved out a brilliant career in the National Wheelchair League with the Dandenong Rangers, Perth Wheelcats and Red Dust Heelers winning an array of championships, MVP and All-Star Five honours.
Now head coach of the Rollers, Ness will lead Australia at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
