Matt Moore (basketball)

Matthew "Maddog" Moore is a former National Basketball League basketballer from Townsville Queensland, who won a NBL Championship with South East Melbourne Magic in 1996 and played in the 1997 NBL Final Series.^[1] He also played for Brisbane Bullets and Newcastle Falcons.

Moore attended St Joseph's College, Nudgee and played First V GPS basketball in 1988 whilst in only in year 10, achieving Most Valuable Player. As a senior in 1990 he captained Nudgee to their first ever GPS Basketball premiership whilst averaging a GPS record 38ppg as well as representing Queensland in U16, U18 And U20 national tournaments.

An athletic guard Moore joined the Brisbane Bullets in for the 1991 and 1992 seasons. In 1991 the rookie was a finalist in the NBL Sega Slam Dunk Contest. During the 1992 NBL season he accepted Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby, Illinois. After leading NJCAA Div II in steals, third in assists Moore accepted a Scholarship to the University of Maine, at the NCAA Division I level he was a two-year starter averaging 23.2 ppg. He was drafted 2nd round 58th overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. Moore played a major part of the Bulls' championship victory in the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. In the final seconds of Game 6 with the score tied at 86, he took a pass from Jordan and hit the title-winner. The Bulls won, earning the franchise's fifth title. Moore also placed second in the 3-Point Shootout at the 1997 All-Star Weekend.

Moore was awarded the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award for the 1998 season. He was the first Bull to win the award. He averaged a career high 18.1 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, 2.7 assists per game, and 1.3 steals per game in 33.5 minutes per game during the 1997-98 season. He played 80 games during the season. In the last minute of Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals against Utah, Moore missed a 3-pointer, grabbed his own rebound and made a pass to Jordan who made a crucial three-point play, putting them in the lead for good. The play helped Chicago win the game and tie the series at 1. The Bulls won the series in 6 games.

Matthew Moore is the brother of former NRL (Manly) State of Origin (QLD) and rugby league test player Danny Moore.

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