Brad Ness

Bradley John Ness, OAM (born 24 November 1974) is an Australian wheelchair basketballer. He won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing and silver medals at 2004 Athens and 2012 London Paralympics. He was selected as the Australian flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. In December 2023, Ness was appointed the Head Coach of the Rollers - Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team.

Personal

Brad Ness was born on 24 November 1974, and is from the Western Australian country town of Wagin. On 19 December 1992, at the age of 18, he lost his leg in a boating accident aboard a high-speed ferry between Rottnest Island and Fremantle. The accident happened while the workers were preparing to leave the pier. Ness's leg was attached to the quayside when the ferry was moving out, the rope tightened and sliced off his right ankle. He was working on the ferry as a deckhand at the time.

In February 2013, thieves broke into his house and stole his Paralympic medals by blasting his safe out of its wall. During a ceremony at the Perth parliament house on 9 July 2013, he was given replacement medals by the Australian Paralympic Committee, a first for the organisation. and he currently plays basketball full-time as a professional. He captained the team at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics. where his team, The Rollers, finished sixth.

Other national team competitions Brad Ness (on floor) and Jannik Blair (No.10) of Australia. Great Britain vs Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team at Gliders & Rollers World Challenge on 21 July 2012. In 2001, Ness competed at the AOZ World Cup, where his team came in first, and he was named as part of the All-Star Five. In 2004, he was a member of the national team that came in first place at the Roosevelt Cup. He was also part of the AOZ Paralympic qualifying tournament team that finished first. He was named a member of the AOZ All-Star Five at the tournament. He was part of the team that competed at IBWF AOZ Oceania Championship 2009 and won gold. Ness was a member of the Rollers team that won the gold medal at the 2014 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.

Club basketball In 2000, Ness played for the Dandenong Rangers, and helped the team win the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) Championships.

University basketball He played university basketball at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he competed as a scholarship holder. In December 2023, Ness was appointed the Head Coach of the Rollers - Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team and will coach the team of the 2024 Paris Paralympics. In 2007, he was awarded the Sandy Blythe Medal for International Wheelchair Basketball Player of the Year. He was selected as the Australian flag bearer at the Rio Paralympics Opening Ceremony.

In 2022, Ness was awarded Western Australian Institute of Sport Coach of the Year.