{"id":714941,"date":"2026-06-04T14:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/714941\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:37:11","slug":"family-ties-bind-another-bruton-to-historic-nbl-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/714941\/","title":{"rendered":"Family ties bind another Bruton to historic NBL club"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rio Bruton joins Brisbane as a development player, continuing the Bruton family’s NBL legacy<\/p>\n

Brisbane Bullets sign 19-year-old guard Rio Bruton as a Development Player for NBL27Bruton follows father C.J. and grandfather Cal in donning the Bullets uniformThe 6’5″ sharpshooter is averaging 18.8 points per game in NBL1 Central this season<\/p>\n

New Brisbane Bullets head coach Will Weaver<\/a> has seen enough, signing Rio Bruton to a development player contract for NBL27.<\/p>\n

Rio, 19, is the third Bruton to join the Bullets<\/a> after grandfather Cal and father CJ both won championships in Brisbane.<\/p>\n

\u201cRio\u2019s ceiling is high; he\u2019s got a great ability to shoot, finish, and defend at a high level at a young age,\u201d Weaver said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe clearly has a strong work ethic and we\u2019re looking forward to helping him develop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rio has averaged 18.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 12 games for the South Adelaide Panthers in NBL1 Central this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m incredibly grateful to begin my professional journey as a Brisbane Bullet in my hometown,\u201d Bruton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving grown up watching games from the stands, it\u2019s special to now learn from players I once looked up to.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m excited to work with Coach Weaver and I\u2019ll come in ready to work and keep pushing my development and the team forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Date
\nMIN
\nPTS
\nREB
\nAST
\nSTL
\nBLK
\nTO
\nFGM
\nFGA
\nFG%
\n3PM
\n3PA
\n3P%
\nFT%<\/p>\n

Season Avg
\n30.72
\n17.75
\n4.17
\n2.25
\n1.25
\n1.25
\n1.08
\n6.58
\n13.33
\n49.3
\n3.25
\n7.25
\n44.8
\n72.7<\/p>\n

May 31, 202628.88153120061442.863650.000.00<\/p>\n

May 30, 202626.6310500033837.502450.0050.00<\/p>\n

May 23, 202631.78176234161540.0031127.2766.67<\/p>\n

May 9, 202627.23174102361060.003742.86100.00<\/p>\n

May 2, 202634.48204222071838.8951241.67100.00<\/p>\n

Apr 26, 202631.63188413171450.004757.140.00<\/p>\n

Apr 25, 202637.73204232281553.3341040.000.00<\/p>\n

Apr 18, 202624.18165600061154.552540.00100.00<\/p>\n

Apr 11, 202633.90226402081650.003650.00100.00<\/p>\n

Apr 2, 202635.38172210171258.331425.0066.67<\/p>\n

Mar 28, 202627.53232100191560.005862.500.00<\/p>\n

Mar 21, 202629.33181230161250.004757.14100.00<\/p>\n

Form earning the call-up<\/p>\n

Bruton arrives at the Bullets in red-hot form. The South Australian is suiting up for the South Adelaide Panthers in NBL1 Central<\/a>, where he is putting up impressive numbers across the board:<\/p>\n

18.8 points per game4.2 rebounds per game2.6 assists per game<\/p>\n

Those numbers have built his reputation as an elite shooter and versatile offensive threat \u2013 a key ingredient for last season’s wooden spooners.<\/p>\n

A pathway built on elite programs<\/p>\n

Bruton\u2019s journey to the NBL has not happened by accident. His resume already reads like that of a player marked for the next level, having moved through some of the most respected development pathways in Australian basketball.<\/p>\n

Key milestones in his development include:<\/p>\n

Time at the Basketball Australia Centre of ExcellenceInternational exposure through the NBA Global Academy Games in AtlantaLeading SA Metro to the gold medal match at the 2024 U18 National ChampionshipsStints with the Adelaide 36ers program\"\"Brisbane Bullets captain CJ Bruton celebrates the NBL championship with teammates Brad Williamson and Sam Mackinnon after Brisbane defeated the Melbourne Tigers in Game 4 of the 2007 NBL Grand Final Series at the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Melbourne on March 9, 2007. Photo: Quinn Rooney\/Getty Images.Rio Bruton \u2013 Career History<\/p>\n

2024\u201325 \u2013 South Australia U20 Team (U20 Championship)<\/p>\n

7 games17.0 points per game5.7 rebounds per game1.0 assists per game1.6 steals per gameField Goal Percentage: 51.3%Three-Point Percentage: 38.6%Free Throw Percentage: 90.3%<\/p>\n

2025 \u2013 BA Centre of Excellence (NBL1)<\/p>\n

4 games14.3 points per game3.8 rebounds per game1.0 assists per game<\/p>\n

2026 \u2013 South Adelaide Panthers (NBL1 Central)<\/p>\n

Awards \/ AchievementsAustralian NBL1 East Semifinals \u2013 2025Australian NBL1 East Regular Season Runner-Up \u2013 2025Australian U20 Championship Semifinals \u2013 2025\"\"Brisbane Bullets<\/p>\n

Head coach: Will Weaver<\/a><\/p>\n

Contracted: Tyrell Harrison, Jacob Holt<\/a>, Sam McDaniel, Taine Murray, Mitch Norton<\/p>\n

Incoming:<\/p>\n

Rio Bruton \u2013 Guard
June 4: Signed as a Development PlayerHanno M\u00f6tt\u00f6l\u00e4 \u2013 Assistant Coach\u200dLat Mayen – Forward (NBL26: Perth Wildcats)\u200d
\u200dMay 21 – Mayen signs a two-year deal to join the Brisbane Bullets\u200dHarry Rouhliadeff<\/a> \u2013 Forward\/Centre (NBL26: NCAA \u2013 University of Hawaii)
May 13 \u2013 Rouhliadeff signed a three-year deal with his hometown club after helping Hawaii reach the NCAA Tournament in his senior season.\u200dSam McDaniel \u2013 Forward (NBL26: Brisbane Bullets)
April 17 \u2013 McDaniel signed a new two-year extension to remain with the Bullets under incoming coach Will Weaver.<\/p>\n

Departed: Darryl McDonald (Interim Head Coach); Released Tristan Devers to NCAA.<\/p>\n

Free agents: Jensen Bradtke, Callum Dalton, Alex Ducas<\/a>, Javon Freeman-Liberty, Hunter Maldonado<\/a>, Dakota Mathias, Lamar Patterson, Casey Prather<\/a>, Jack Purchase, Tohi Smith-Milner, Terry Taylor<\/p>\n

Potential depth chart
PG: \u2014 \/ Mitch Norton \/
SG: \u2014 \/ Taine Murray \/ Rio Bruton (DP)
SF: \u2014 \/ Sam McDaniel \/ Lat Mayern
PF: \u2014 \/ Harry Rouhliadeff
C: Tyrell Harrison \/ Jacob Holt<\/p>\n

Remaining Roster Spots (11 Players)
\u200d4 spots remaining (7 players committed)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rio Bruton joins Brisbane as a development player, continuing the Bruton family’s NBL legacy Brisbane Bullets sign 19-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-714941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}