Almanac Basketball: Action-thriller Bullitt speeds off with Not Bad Thanks world records

Following Almanac’s August 27 report on Not Bad Thanks Basketball Club playing its 2,000th game, Graeme Willingham follows up with a story about the club claiming new world records.

 

 

Action-thriller Bullitt speeds off with Not Bad Thanks world records

 

Bullitt has set new Not Bad Thanks Basketball Club world records with a runaway Season 2025 Steve O’Baugh Memorial Golden Elbow award.

 

He won his third GE with 112 votes, 52 votes ahead of the field. He became the first player in the Club’s 91 seasons to break the Century Votes ceiling, and to win with the biggest margin, achievements accorded him NBT World Record status.

 

The previous highest tally was 89, according to Club Statistician, Numero Sums, who couldn’t confirm the previous highest winning margin … “but I know there’s never been anything like this!”

 

This odd-ball one-team men’s community basketball club in Melbourne is fixated with awards, statistics, club nicknames, kilometrestones and world records. In the latter regard, they have claimed NBT World Records for: most consecutive games (200 by 2x6Packs); highest season points (417, Czar); highest season fouls (69, Instigator and 2x6Packs); highest per game average fouls (4.31, Instigator); most consecutive 5-foul games (7, Instigator); most consecutive 3-pointers (7, Czar);  highest player game score (41, Czar); the club’s first-ever 3-pointer,  an underarm ‘granny” shot (Lord Albert); first court-length basket (Doktor); youngest player (9, Scoop); youngest premiership play (15, Bullitt); first father-son premiership (Scuds – Bullitt); first to reach 10,000 points (Czar); first to play 1,000 games (Doktor); first to notch 2,500 fouls (Instigator); etc

 

Their world records are not judged by an international or national industry or association body, but by the club itself, for itself, and trumpeted, unchallenged, through the Not Bad Thanks community.

 

Bullitt, played 16 games, scored 162 points and notched 23 fouls. He polled 1 x 1 vote, 9 x 2, and 31 x 3 votes, which included six games when he polled 3 x 3 (BoC). Each week, three alternating players lodge secret 3,2,1 votes for the player ‘giving it most heaps’ or ‘most giving it heaps’ on the court.

 

Like his namesake Steve McQueen 1968 detective movie, the ‘action-thriller’ tag applied to his game, according to Court Captain, Czar.

 

“Bullitt drives exceptionally fast but is always in control, is dead-accurate shooting passes and baskets, is athletically cool off the boards at both ends and precise in his prosecution of his opponents. Importantly, though, it is his attitude to ‘giving it heaps’ every game which wins recognition from his teammates. He is taking the Not Bad Thanks game to an exciting and exhilarating new dimension.”

 

Bullitt, 33, played his first game with his father Scuds at the age of 15 but stopped playing when he entered the elite AFL draft system which ultimately took him to Fremantle and Melbourne clubs, before he returned to Old Collegians. In 2007, he again paired with his father to help Not Bad Thanks win the C Grade premiership, the club’s second flag. It was that first father-son premiership. When he started, he was nicknamed Bullet, a tag associated with Scuds. On his return though players thought his name should be changed to Bullitt … ’as in the 1968 pistol-carrying cool cop Steve McQueen movie character, because it better reflected Bullet’s super-calm and collected demeanour’.

 

The Golden Elbow dinner was held at the Thornbury home of Plasma, a scientist, which was dubbed Plasma’s Stem Cell 2 for the event.

 

Another NBT World Record was set when Plasma presented the Facts and Figures for the season. It spotlit a threatening shortage of players in Season 2025. A massive 13 fill-ins were required, a never seen before support entourage. NBT endured, though, reaching the semi-finals.

 

Before the count, Czar was presented with a wine decanter to mark his 900 games kilometrestone and fill-in Skip was invited to join as a fulltime player. He was introduced as Joey, so won the NBT nickname Skip, along with his ’euro-step’ hop-skip-and-jump game routine.

 

As of the other major awards:

 

• Squeaker’s Basket for most points: Czar 182, Bullitt 162, Skip 152, Plasma 124, Phiz 103, Axe 44, Scoop 42, Biscuit 37 and Flash 17. It was Czar’s 48^th
• Bloody Gloves Bowl for most fouls: Scoop 33, Flash 23, Bullitt 2, Axe 20, Plasma 18, Skip 19, Phiz 14, Czar 9. It was a threepeat for Scoop. He now has seven Bowls.

 

NBT’s renowned GE hospitality style was on show again. Pride of place on Plasma’s dining table were bottles of The Not Bad Thanks Red Premiership Red created for the 2022-2023 premiership by vigneron player Big John, choice of firewater Devynerios ‘knapes in citrusai’ or Krupnikas for the NBT Loyal Toast, and a convoluted ‘Twister’ decanter filter for Lord Albert’s Marli Russell RP2 and Czar’s white label 2005 Yarra Valley Cabernet.

 

Deep fried Szechuan squid and whitebait with aioli was followed by two servings of beef, both from organic grassfed animals in The Otways. One was from Plasma’s mum’s farm and the other from her next-door neighbour. Plasma said his mum’s cow had a broken leg so ended up on the chopping block! The meat was ‘a little tough’ so needed to be slow cooked, declared Plas. The other cut was oven roasted. They were served with salads and salsa verda.

 

New boy Skip declared the meal ‘scrumptious’.

 

Not Bad Thanks is back on the boards at MSAC in Melbourne Central’s B Grade comp for the club’s 92^nd season.

 

 

Read more about this brilliant club and their celebrated book HERE.

 

 

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Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

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