PREVIOUS CLUBS

NZ NBL: Hawkes Bay Hawks

Auckland Pirates

International: Hottur Egilsstadir (Iceland)

SBL: Geraldton Buccaneers

NBL: New Zealand Breakers

Perth Wildcats

Adelaide 36ers

Representative: New Zealand Tall Blacks

New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks

CAREER SUMMARY

Persistence has paid off for the New Zealand-native as he earns his first full contract with the Perth Wildcats for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 NBL seasons after patiently waiting in the wings for an opportunity to open up.

The Hawkes Bay-native has long been one of the most exciting talents in New Zealand, but moved to Perth back in 2010 to be with his partner and young child.

He started training with the Perth Wildcats to stay active and immediately impressed anyone who saw him in action, but there was no spots open on the roster for him to slide into.

His fist chance in the NBL came during the 2011/12 season when he came into the Wildcats team as an injury replacement for Damian Martin, but when Martin was fit to return it was back to being a training player for Bartlett.

However, when Nathan Crosswell went down for Adelaide the 36ers were quick to sign him for the rest of the 2011/12 season before the Wildcats were quick to snap him up heading into the 2012/13 campaign.

It has been quite a journey for the exciting combo guard who is athletic, a tremendous ball-handler and good shooter to earn himself an NBL contract.

Having grown up in the Hawkes Bay region of New Zealand, it was a natural fit for him to begin playing in the NZ NBL with the Hawks and he made his senior debut in 2005 as just a 19-year-old.

He always shown a tremendous athletic ability and his shooting has been something that has continued to develop and improve over time. His athleticism was on full show when he won the 2006 Slam Dunk contest.

He did get noticed by the New Zealand Breakers in 2005 not long after beginning to play some encouraging basketball with Hawkes Bay, but despite being with the Breakers he didn’t break through for an NBL debut.

Frustrated with the lack of opportunities from his home NBL franchise, Bartlett decided to head to Iceland to play with Hottur Egilsstadir for a season in 2007/08.

He returned to New Zealand after just that one season, though, and settled back in with Hawkes Bay and in fact he didn’t miss a season with the Hawks between 2005 and 2010.

However, the big move of his life then came after he returned from Iceland when he pulled up stumps in New Zealand and headed to Australia, and to Perth to live with his partner and child.

He started training with the Perth Wildcats during the 2010/11 season and impressed, but he was just that – a training player before returning to the NZ NBL during 2011 to play his one and only season with the Auckland Pirates.

Now too old to be a development player, he was happy to stay on as a training player with the Wildcats for 2011/12 season, but when Damian Martin injured his toe, Bartlett was there waiting as a readymade replacement for him.

Bartlett came in to play a dual role as point guard and shooting guard, and made his NBL debut against the Wollongong Hawks on November 5. He went on to play six games for the Wildcats averaging 6.3 points a game including a high of 11 against Cairns on November 13.

However, Martin was back for the December 4 game against Adelaide seeing Bartlett lose his spot in the team.

He had made his impression, though, and when Nathan Crosswell went down hurt, Adelaide was quick to sign him up and he suited up for the 36ers on December 23 against Gold Coast. Over the 14 games he played with the Sixers, he averaged 6.0 points, 21 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

He then returned to the NZ NBL and the Hawkes Bay Hawks where he averaged 17.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game. He was then also a key member of the New Zealand Tall Blacks squad that just failed to qualify for the London Olympic Games.

Now he is ready to make his mark with the Perth Wildcats long-term after signing a two-year contract.