Quick Facts
Biography
Gareth Dawson (born 21 February 1989) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Canterbury Rams of the National Basketball League (NBL).
High school
Dawson attended Roncalli College from 2004 to 2005, and Waitaki Boys' High School from 2006 to 2007.
Basketball career
In 2008, Dawson played for the North Otago Penguins of the Conference Basketball League (CBL). The following year, he began his New Zealand NBL career as a rookie for the Manawatu Jets.
In October 2009, Dawson signed with the Wollongong Hawks as a development player for the 2009–10 NBL season. Following the ANBL season, he joined the Southland Sharks for the 2010 New Zealand NBL season. In July 2010, he joined the Southland Flyers for the 2010 Conference Basketball League competition held in Porirua.
Dawson joined the Cairns Taipans as a development player for the 2010–11 NBL season. In September 2010, he re-signed with the Southland Sharks for the 2011 New Zealand NBL season.
In October 2011, Dawson signed with the Nelson Giants for the 2012 New Zealand NBL season.
Dawson returned to the Southland Sharks for the 2013 season. In May 2014, the Sharks were forced to stand down Dawson after he tested positive for a banned drug. Originally facing a two-year suspension, the Sports Tribunal were lenient after being satisfied he hadn't intentionally cheated and found his taking of prohibited substance tamoxifen was not for performance-enhancing purposes. He was instead suspended from playing for just 12 months in August 2014.
In April 2015, Dawson signed with the Canterbury Rams for the rest of the 2015 New Zealand NBL season. In December 2015, he re-signed with the Rams for the 2016 season. He helped the Rams finish the 2016 regular season in first place with a 13–5 record. It marked the Rams' first playoff appearance since 2002 and their first regular season title since 1993. In their semi-final match-up with the fourth-seeded Super City Rangers, the Rams were outclassed and heavily defeated 104–85.
On 10 June 2016, Dawson signed with the Mackay Meteors for the rest of the 2016 Queensland Basketball League season. In five games for the Meteors, he averaged 9.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
In March 2017, Dawson re-signed with the Canterbury Rams for the 2017 season.