Former Breakers great Bruton sacked as Adelaide 36ers coach

Coach CJ Bruton has been sacked by the Adelaide 36ers as the club flounders near the foot of the NBL ladder.

The NBL great, who won three championships with the Breakers, has been axed with the 36ers second-last with four wins from 13 games this season.

Bruton departs just four days after Adelaide recorded their lowest score in the 40-minute NBL era, a 94-59 away loss to the Tasmania JackJumpers.

"We thank CJ for his tireless efforts both on and off the court, but we believe it's time to go in a new direction," 36ers chief executive Nic Barbato said in a statement today.

Adelaide legend Scott Ninnis, who had been an assistant under Bruton, has been appointed interim coach for the remainder of the season.

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"This is something collectively we will bear responsibility for," Ninnis told reporters.

"The playing group, the coaching group and the support staff, we are all partly responsible for this.

"So I am disappointed for CJ.

"But now we have got a very short turnaround and we have got to find a way to get some enjoyment back and start winning games."

The 36ers host Cairns on Saturday night.

Bruton, who led the club since 2022 and was under contract until the end of next season, notched only 27 wins from 67 games in charge at the 36ers, who have failed to reach the playoffs since the 2018-19 season.

He is the second successive coach axed before seeing out his contract with the 36ers - he replaced Connor Henry, who had a year to run on his deal.

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Bruton's appointment at the 36ers was his first head coaching role, joining the club after a stint as an assistant at the Brisbane Bullets.

The 47-year-old endured a rocky stint at the Adelaide helm culminating in last Saturday night's horror show in Tasmania.

After the record low, Bruton slammed the NBL's travel schedule for his team, which two days prior slipped to a 13-point away loss to the Breakers in Christchurch.

"You got to have a toughness and a heart in this competition and have a mindset that we are going out there to win," Bruton said post-match in Tasmania.

"We have to continue to believe, we have to build.

"And while it's not easy after taking a few lumps, it's about swallowing your own pride and make sure you come in with your hard hat and go and drive that and show up when the lights are on."

A six-time NBL championship winner as a player, Bruton is a dual Olympian who played for the Boomers 104 times.

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Born in America but moving with family to Australia aged three, he was part of the gold-medal winning Commonwealth Games team in 2006 in Melbourne and was an assistant coach for the national side when they won gold at the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast.