Mackinnon ready to run his own race

In the 47-year history, there are a number of names synonymous with the Brisbane Bullets.

From Leroy Loggins to Derek Rucker, Steve Woodberry, Larry Sengstock and Sam Mackinnon, few have meant more to the Brisbane Bullets.

The latter helped the club win their most recent championship in NBL07, a season in which he won both the League MVP and Best Defensive Player award.

Now, during the Hungry Jack's NBL27 Season, the Bullets will have another Mackinnon lining up for them, with Sam's son Max putting pen to paper on a two-year deal.

While thoroughly looking forward to wearing the Bullets jersey once again, after being a development player in NBL22, Mackinnon is eager to write his own story in his hometown.

"Obviously, dad played back in the day, and he will always be there to support me, but I'm keen to run my own race," he said on NBL Now.

"Going to the US and playing college, [I learnt the importance of being my own person].

"But now I'm super keen to carve out whatever lies ahead for me in Brisbane."

Mackinnon's father isn't the only former Bullet who has had an impact on Max and helped him get to this point in his career.

"Jason Cadee has been great for me," he said.

"I remember growing up watching when I was super young, before playing with him at NBL1 level. He was a different dude at that level, dropping 40 [points regularly].

"But he was just someone for me to lean on, both basketball but also off-court wise.

"He's been a massive help for me, over the past few years, giving me pointers [when needed]."

In particular, Cadee has helped Mackinnon a lot during his US college career, which included stops at Elon, Portland and LSU - where the guard averaged 15.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in his senior season.

It was this standout season with the Tigers, and exceptional play at the 2026 adidas Eurocamp, where he won Finals MVP to guide Team Next Stars to the title, that put the 22-year-old on NBA radars and saw him take part in numerous workouts before the NBA Draft.

"It [the Draft process] was full on, and crazy," he said.

"You get you can get a phone call, and you've got to go to a city and work out.

"I can remember Dan Moldovan calling me straight after Italy and saying, 'You're going to the Clippers, then Memphis, Detroit, Cleveland and Charlotte, so be ready'.

"For instance, you'll fly up to Detroit the night before, stay there, eat. You might meet with the coaches, you might not. And if you get in super late, which I did, you might just have food at the hotel.

"You wake up the next morning, they pick you up, and then you're there, you're competing against five or six other dudes.

"Definitely the first one, you're a bit starstruck, but it was a cool experience and something I've worked my whole life for.

"You grow up watching this kind of stuff. During the workouts and flights, you're treated well, and at the end of the day, I'm super grateful to have experienced it, and I'm super stoked it happened."

After not being selected in the 2026 NBA Draft, Mackinnon signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Hornets, which saw him play for the franchise at the Las Vegas Summer League.

It would have also seen him compete for one of Charlotte's two-way spots at their training camp later in the year, but Mackinnon chose security and the exciting roster revamp that Will Weaver is putting together at the Bullets.

"Everyone's going to have opinions, and they're gonna say, this [Bullets] squad might not be as good as another one, but once the ball is rolled out, see what happens," he said.

"I believe in Will's vision, and we've got guys like Tyrell [Harrison], Sam [McDaniel] and Mitch Norton who have proved themselves in the NBL.

"Plus we have guys like Nate Hinton, who's going to be great, Jaylin Williams, who played with Minnesota [at Summer League] and Arnas Velička, who's a point guard that's a leader and [starred] in the EuroCup.

"Everyone's going to have their opinions, but I believe we can make some noise."

The Bullets open their NBL27 campaign with a historic Open Air Game against New Zealand at Pat Rafter Arena on Tuesday, September 22.