Samuel Mackinnon (born 25 August 1976) is an Australian

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 ...

coach and former player. He played in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 1994 and 2010, where he won two NBL championships (1996 and 2007) and was named the NBL Most Valuable Player in 2007. He currently serves as the head coach of the Taranaki Airs in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL).

Early life

Mackinnon 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. His junior association was Diamond Valley.

Professional career

In 1993, Mackinnon debuted in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...

(SEABL) for the North East Melbourne Arrows. The Arrows won the 1993 ABA national championship. Mackinnon's NBL career began in the 1994 season with the South East Melbourne Magic, where he won NBL Rookie of the Year. He helped the Magic win the NBL championship in the 1996 season and played in NBL grand finals in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. After South East Melbourne folded, Mackinnon joined 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 ...

for the

1998–99 NBL season The 1998–99 NBL season was the 21st season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. This season marked the first summer season for the NBL. The Townsville Suns were renamed the Townsville Croco ...

. In the 1999–2000 NBL season, he was named All-NBL First Team. In the 2000–01 NBL season, the Crocodiles made the grand final, however Mackinnon missed the series due to injury. For the 2001–02 NBL season, Mackinnon joined the West Sydney Razorbacks, but he missed the whole season and the Razorbacks' grand final appearance due to injury. He debuted for the Razorbacks in the 2002–03 NBL season. In the 2003–04 NBL season, he helped the Razorbacks return to the grand final, where they lost 3–2 to the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...

. That season, he was named All-NBL First Team for the second time and finished as runner-up for league MVP. Following the

2004–05 NBL season The 2004–05 NBL season was the 27th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league, the Victoria Giants has been folded. Regular season The 2004-05 regular season took place over 21 rounds bet ...

, he picked up his third consecutive Club MVP with the Razorbacks. In March 2005, Mackinnon signed a three-year deal with the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

. Following the

2005–06 NBL season The 2005–06 NBL season was the 28th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. Regular season The 2005–06 regular season took place over 23 rounds between 2 September 2005 to 5 February ...

, he had a four-game stint with Basket Rimini Crabs in Italy. In the 2006–07 NBL season, Mackinnon led the Bullets to the NBL championship while earning grand final MVP honours. He was named NBL MVP, All-NBL First Team, and NBL Best Defensive Player. During the 2007 NBL off-season, Mackinnon attempted to enter the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

after securing workouts with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

and

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. That same off-season, he played four games for the Southern Districts Spartans in the SEABL. Mackinnon returned to the Bullets for the 2007–08 season but a knee injury cut short his season. He also needed treatment for blood clots in his lungs. In July 2008, Mackinnon signed a three-year deal with the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Joh ...

. He retired from the NBL following the 2009–10 season.

National team career

Mackinnon was a regular member of the Australian Boomers between 1995 and 2007. He competed at the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, and helped Australia win a gold medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

. He was named Boomers captain in 2007 but missed the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

because of a knee injury suffered during the 2007–08 NBL season.

Coaching career

On 30 July 2017, Mackinnon returned to the

as an assistant coach. He remained as an assistant with the Bullets until 2020, when he moved into the front office. In November 2022, he took on the role of the Bullets' interim head coach after the team parted ways with James Duncan. He handed over the interim coach reins to Greg Vanderjagt on 13 December 2022. His tenure as General Manager of Basketball at the Bullets ended in February 2023. In May 2023, Mackinnon was appointed assistant coach of the South East Melbourne Phoenix for two seasons. In September 2023, Mackinnon was appointed head coach of the Taranaki Airs in the New Zealand NBL ahead of the 2024 season. On 13 October 2024, Mackinnon was elevated to the Phoenix's interim head coach after the club fired Mike Kelly following a 0–5 start to the 2024–25 NBL season. He served as interim coach in three games and went 2–1. He returned to his role as an assistant following round six. On 24 March 2025, he parted ways with the Phoenix. He re-joined the Taranaki Airs as head coach for the 2025 season.

References

External links

NBL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinnon, Sam 1976 births Living people Australian men's basketball coaches Australian men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basket Rimini Crabs players Brisbane Bullets coaches Brisbane Bullets players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in basketball Melbourne Tigers players Olympic basketball players for Australia South East Melbourne Magic players Townsville Crocodiles players West Sydney Razorbacks players 2006 FIBA World Championship players 1998 FIBA World Championship players Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Small forwards Shooting guards South East Melbourne Phoenix coaches Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Basketball players from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state)