Bradtke's faith in Bullets as best place to develop

Photo credit: Unity College

He might be a decidedly different playing big man than his famous father, but Jensen Bradtke couldn’t be more excited to be at the Brisbane Bullets in NBL26 on the back of a starring role in the NBL1 North at the Gold Coast Rollers.

Bradtke is now starting his own NBL journey this season with the Bullets as a development player and he's doing so in the same No. 50 jersey that his father Mark played in over a decorated 554-game career that included winning the 2007 championship with Brisbane.

He might be a decidedly different type of player with the 6'10 big man a highly skilled and proficient shooter for someone his size, but coming off a year playing at the University of Montana and now joining the Bullets, he still does try to take lessons from his legendary father.

"I do try to claim that I'm taller than dad now but we do have a bit of a different play style. I obviously still do some shooting with him and work on things some post moves and all of that kinda stuff all the time," Bradtke said.

"Even though I don't always love it, he does know what he's talking about so I don't disagree too much because he's probably right when it comes to that.

"We definitely have different play styles which is always nice but it also just shows how the game is ever evolving and there's not that many big, heavy and strong five men around like he was who could dunk everything.

"He does love it as well because he can explore the game in different ways now and the way it's heading by figuring out some drills to help me with that he didn't do when he was playing because I don’t think he was coming off too many ball screens for three-point shots.

"I still try to incorporate some stuff that he can teach me into my game wherever I can and it's just so good having them to support and help me as much as he can."

Returning home to start NBL career

Coming out of the Centre of Excellence and Bradtke did have a big decision to make with the help of his family about what the next best stop was going to be for his career.

Bradtke ended up settling on going to Saint Mary's University to continue the rich history of Australians with the Gaels, but he redshirted that 2023/24 season and ended up moving to the University of Montana.

Had his moments in the 2024/25 season for the Grizzlies with 3.2 points and 1.4 rebounds while part of a team that won the Big Sky Conference Tournament, but he did think the best thing might have been for him to return home.

Playing in college can often mean players are cornered into playing specific roles and don't get to work on their all-round games so Bradtke to decided to come home and then play in the NBL1 North with the Gold Coast Rollers.

"When I was coming out of the Institute, there was all that talk about should I stay at home or go over to college, and I thought for however long it was back then that it would be a good experience to go over there," Bradtke said.

"I still think it was just to go over to a different country and play with those American dudes, and all those other internationals that the teams have and that kind of stuff.

"But the main part behind the decision to come back was that even though I love Montana and couldn’t see myself playing anywhere else, but I had the opportunity to come back here and pounce on that opportunity.

"Obviously everyone loves coming back home so even though it was a good experience over there and I loved it and don't regret it, I also love being in Australia and that's why I came back."

Gold Coast helped him find love for the game

Bradtke had former Bullets hard man Anthony Petrie as his coach and former Bullets forward Reuben Te Rangi as a teammate, and he ended up being a key reason in them finishing the regular season in top spot in the NBL1 North.

The 21-year-old produced 16.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in over 32 minutes of court time with Gold Coast and he is thankful to Petrie, Te Rangi and everyone else at the Rollers for helping him find his strongest ever love for basketball.

"I thought it was unreal and having Petrie as a coach really helped me and even getting to play with someone like Reuben Te Rangi, I learnt so much from him as well before I even started playing with the Bullets or anything like that," Bradtke said.

"That was real good for me knowing that he was coming in to learn from another older veteran for me to learn off. Playing for the Rollers was unreal for me with all the people the club brought in and are around it, it helped me find that love for basketball even so much more.

"I was having fun with all those other dudes all there and at the same time Peach had faith in me to be able to do what I can do, and show everyone what I was capable of after being in college where I was more pigeonholed.

"But he put in the faith in me and that's something I can't thank him enough for and it helped me grow so much more as a player after that season with the Rollers."

Getting first chance at the Bullets

On the back of what Bradtke did in that NBL1 North season at the Rollers, he has now been signed for NBL26 as a development player with the Bullets.

That was a dream that he's long held, but now for it to actually become a reality and for him to have hit the court in a Bullets jersey during the NBL Blitz in Canberra, and he's still pinching himself that it has actually become reality.

"It was definitely a little bit surreal because you always want to be in the NBL, but then for it to actually happen and you're playing at the Blitz with Jaylen, Javon, Casey, Norton and all those guys, they are guys I watched when I was growing up some of them," Bradtke said.

"I remember going to games back in Melbourne when Casey was playing for United and winning championships but it was just good to be able to actually get on the floor in a proper game there at the Blitz.

"There's nothing like real game reps and it was really cool more than anything just to be out there and put that Bullets jersey on, and play with those guys."

Growth continuing already at Bullets

Bradtke is still finding his feet now in his first few months involved in a professional basketball environment, but he couldn’t be more thankful for the help he is getting in his development.

His dad still helps in every way he can, but then at the Bullets he is getting coached by one of the best coaching men in Australia Greg Vanderjagt and then has a tremendous variety of front court teammates to be learning from.

With Tyrell Harrison, Casey Prather, Tohi Smith-Milner, Cal Dalton and when healthy, Jacob Holt, Bradtke has already noticed rapid growth in his game since joining the Bullets for NBL26.

"Casey's unreal with being able to turn himself into a four man and then you've got Tohi, Tyrell and all those guys in our front court so for me to learn from them is a pretty unreal experience for me personally," Bradtke said.

"They've all been around for a while now and they know all the ins and outs of playing at this level, but for me to get on the floor and feel how much that pace and physicality ramps up is good to experience.

"It's a whole nother level from anything I've ever played before so they have helped me with that pathway to prepare as best as possible to be able to handle it. It was definitely faster and stronger than I even expected, but it's the best thing for me to experience it."