Shaun Bruce (born 13 January 1991) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL). He began his NBL career in 2012 as a development player with the Cairns Taipans, before earning a full-time roster spot in 2013. In 2016, he moved south to join the Brisbane Bullets. After half a season with the Adelaide 36ers in 2019, he joined the Kings.
Early life and career
Born and raised in Horsham, Victoria, Bruce attended Horsham College where he graduated from in 2008. Two years earlier, as a 15 year old, Bruce began playing for the Horsham Hornets in the Big V Division Two, joining his brother Cameron at the club. He played four seasons for the Hornets which culminated in a 2009 season where he averaged 27.5 points in 23 games, and had two triple-doubles during the year.
In January 2010, Bruce moved to Ballarat and joined the Ballarat Nuggets of the SEABL D-League. Under the tutelage of Ballarat Basketball Association elite program manager Guy Molloy, Bruce impressed early on for the Nuggets which earned him elevation to the senior squad, the Ballarat Miners, in April 2010. He completed his first season with the Miners having played in 19 games while averaging 3.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
In 2011, Bruce re-joined the Miners and completed his first full SEABL season, a season which culminated in him winning the SEABL East Golden Hands Award, which is calculated by adding a player's assists and steals and subtracting their turnovers. In 26 games for the club, he averaged 6.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.
In January 2012, Bruce had a three-day training stint with the Melbourne Tigers of the National Basketball League. He believed the experience was invaluable to his future development, and in his third season as Miner in 2012, the numbers demonstrated such development. In 28 games for Ballarat in 2012, he averaged 10.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.