{"id":88893,"date":"2026-09-05T18:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T18:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/88893\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T18:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T18:15:16","slug":"perth-wildcats-star-kristian-doolittle-opens-up-on-fatherhood-and-raising-son-kristian-jr-with-wife-mackie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/88893\/","title":{"rendered":"Perth Wildcats star Kristian Doolittle opens up on fatherhood and raising son Kristian Jr with wife Mackie"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Kristian and Mackie Doolittle\u2019s American Midwest hometown was any further away from Perth, it would be closer.<\/p>\n

The trip from Oklahoma to Perth can take 52 hours, and the Doolittles do it with a two-year-old in tow.<\/p>\n

Yet rather than complain about the tyranny of distance, or the challenge of keeping a seated toddler entertained for over two days, the Perth Wildcats star focuses on the privileges his lifestyle has allowed for.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing away from family is never easy, but when you\u2019re with your family, it makes it easier. I consider my son and my wife my family, and everybody else is extended family,\u201d he tells STM.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate we have to be apart, but at the same time, I think we\u2019re in a great situation. A lot of people would want to trade places with us.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a blessing to be having the career that I\u2019m having in a place as warm as Perth is towards myself and towards my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KristianCamera IconKristian Doolittle with wife Mackie and son Kristian Jr. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n

The couple, who both grew up in Oklahoma and met seven years ago, are no strangers to travel.<\/p>\n

As Kristian went from one of the premier players in the American collegiate system to a high-level professional, Mackie has been there for every stop on the journey \u2014 from Puerto Rico to Israel, Japan, France and now, Australia.<\/p>\n

Thankfully for the Wildcats, they appear set on Perth for the long haul. Last year, Kristian committed to a three-year contract extension which will keep him with the team until at least the end of their 2027\/28 season.<\/p>\n

On Father\u2019s Day the couple are taking a moment to pause, not only to reflect on their boisterous son Kristian Jr, but also how navigating parenthood without their family support network has changed them for the better.<\/p>\n

When asked how grateful he was for Mackie\u2019s commitment to his career and the sacrifices she had made for it, Kristian replies: \u201cExtremely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m extremely fortunate that I have someone with understanding of what it takes to be someone in my position \u2014 the constant packing up and moving, and sometimes, you figure yourself out last-minute in terms of wherever we\u2019ve got to go,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

There is not a more demanding set of basketball fans in Australia than Perth\u2019s Red Army, but Doolittle immediately impressed them when he joined in September 2023 with his toughness, tenacity and willingness to do the dirty work.<\/p>\n

Plenty of additional responsibility has been thrust onto his broad shoulders since then.<\/p>\n

As he gears up for his fourth season with the Perth Wildcats, which tips off on September 19, the American import is dealing with the pressure and expectation that comes with his newfound role as the main man at the NBL\u2019s most successful club.<\/p>\n

\"KristianCamera IconKristian and Mackie Doolittle. Credit: Alan Chau\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

In his third campaign wearing their famous red jersey, he led his side in scoring at an average of 17.3 points per game, earning him a place on the All-NBL First Team on the strength of his performances.<\/p>\n

But his responsibilities on the basketball court pale in comparison with those once he steps off it.<\/p>\n

Mackie says the parallels between her husband as an athlete and a person are easy to draw.<\/p>\n

\u201cKristian doesn\u2019t do anything halfway \u2014 it\u2019s either all in or all out,\u201d she says. He\u2019s always committed to our family, committed to us, and committed to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same way he\u2019s a dependable teammate, he\u2019s a dependable dad, he\u2019s a dependable husband. The same way you can guarantee he\u2019s going to go out and do his job, I can guarantee he\u2019s gonna come home and do his job as a husband, as a father.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s my teammate, right? We\u2019re teammates in life. I don\u2019t really have to tell him anything in the father role . . . I\u2019ve never been a wife that\u2019s had to ask for a diaper change, or the laundry done, or the dishes done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same way, I think, his teammates would say you don\u2019t have to ask for him to do more than just what\u2019s required, he\u2019ll always do more than what\u2019s required of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professional athletes who become fathers often say it sharpens their performance. Doolittle is among them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say I\u2019m calmer,\u201d he says of how he had changed since \u201cKJ\u201d has entered his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be pretty extreme in terms of how difficult I was on myself when I didn\u2019t reach my goals that I set for myself, and so having my son to be able to come home to, and he just wants to play, helps me get over things a lot quicker.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe allows me to take some of the load off my shoulders and move on to the next day, to where I can go back in with the same mentality, trying to get better every single day and not dwell on a lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KristianCamera IconKristian Doolittle with wife Mackie and son Kristian Jr. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n

Mackie could not be prouder of the man she met when he was 21 in the college town of Norman.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s become more responsible. I like to say we got to see each other\u2019s frontal lobes develop like in real life, we really did,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s been very fun to see him grow into all the roles, even into the role here in Perth.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is fortunate to have that long-term contract. But with that long-term contract comes different roles, you\u2019re not just a new import on a new team every year. Seeing him step into these leadership roles that I think fall on him very naturally has been astonishing and amazing to watch within itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe character development we can see in each other is one of my favourite things about life.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Kristian steps on court he is known for his steady and balanced approach, yet Mackie says that he isn\u2019t always that serious at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he plays with our son, you hear laughs and giggles and all those things, but then, when it comes to disciplining, he\u2019s that serious person \u2014 obviously not as intense, but still that serious person that you see on the court,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201c. . . Kristian is a glass door. What you see is what you get, there\u2019s no facade. There\u2019s no on-court character, off-court character. He\u2019s just Kristian. Like, he literally is just Kristian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KristianCamera IconKristian Doolittle says becoming a father has helped him on the court. Credit: Steve Bell\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The couple light up when they talk about their son, describing him as fun-loving and cheeky.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll he does is play, all day,\u201d Kristian says. \u201cI don\u2019t know what I was doing when I was two, but I can almost guarantee he\u2019s having way more fun than I was.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe goes to the park, the zoo. We have a nanny, and so she has different activities for him to do anytime that she\u2019s working. All I know is whenever he goes to play and he comes back home, he\u2019s passed out. So I know he\u2019s playing hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

For American basketballers playing their trade away from home like Doolittle, stability is often a foreign concept. But in recent years, the calendar of his family has settled into a rhythm.<\/p>\n

From August to February, the family are in WA as he lines up for the Wildcats before they head to Puerto Rico, where Kristian has played since graduating college.<\/p>\n

Wherever possible, they return to Oklahoma to catch up with their families before the cycle starts again.<\/p>\n

Having transitioned through different homes in their early years in Australia, the Doolittles now have a lease on a home in Perth, which Kristian says has added a \u201cgreat level of comfort\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever we come back, all of our stuff is already here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife has done a great job decorating the place, and so it definitely feels like home for us. Especially for our son \u2014 this is really the only home that he\u2019s known for a consistent basis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been fortunate enough to have, I guess, a couple of homes . . . but still, I feel like Perth is home, just because we have a house. My son has parks he likes to go to. My wife has things that she likes to do around Perth. It just takes a lot of worry off my plate, so I can just play basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheCamera IconThe Doolittle family is settled in Perth. Credit: John Koh\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

Doolittle isn\u2019t sure what their future will hold beyond the Wildcats seasons, but he says the most important voice in where his family base themselves once he retires from the game he loves, will be that of his son.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially as he gets older and as he starts to build interests of his own, ultimately, it\u2019ll be based on what he wants to do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gonna be here as long as Perth allows me to be here and as long as things on the court take care of themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ll be here for a very long time, but I can\u2019t speak for my son.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If Kristian and Mackie Doolittle\u2019s American Midwest hometown was any further away from Perth, it would be closer.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[6946,335,16106,261],"class_list":["post-88893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-perth","tag-basketball","tag-perth","tag-perth-wildcats","tag-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}