Aaron Grabau (born 8 February 1978) is an Australian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played 14 seasons for the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL).

Early life

Grabau was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria], and played as a junior for the Dandenong Rangers.

Basketball career

Grabau made his NBL debut in 1996 with the

Geelong Supercats Geelong United is a NBL1 South club based in Geelong, Geelong, Victoria. Previously known as the Geelong Supercats, the club fields teams in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is affiliated with Geelong United Basketball and plays ...

. He joined the inaugural

team in 1999. He scored a career-high 28 points against the

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertain ...

in January 2005 and in 2008 he finished runner-up for NBL Best Defensive Player. He retired in 2013 after 14 seasons with the team and 418 career NBL games. He finished as the Taipans' all-time leader in games played and second in club history in scoring. His number 8 jersey was retired late in his career while he was still playing and then again in 2019. At state league level, Grabau played for the Mackay Meteors in 1997 and won the

Queensland Basketball League NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

(QBL) Youth Player of the Year. In 1998, he joined the Cairns Marlins and helped the team win the QBL championship and the ABA National championship. He went on to help the Marlins win QBL championships in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2009, as well as ABA National championships in 2004 and 2007. He was named ABA grand final MVP in both 2004 and 2007. He was named QBL All-League Team in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2012. In 2020, Grabau was named the greatest QBL player of all time by ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

''.

Personal life

As of 2016, Grabau works as a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

with the

Queensland Police Service The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

References

External links

NBL profile (2001)NBL profile (2004)NBL profile (2005)NBL profile (2013)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabau, Aaron 1978 births Living people Australian men's basketball players Basketball players from Melbourne Cairns Taipans players Geelong Supercats players Guards (basketball) Queensland police officers Sportsmen from Victoria (state)