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INCREDIBLE as many will find it, the Bruton name is about to move into its third generation in the NBL with Rio, son of CJ, son of Cal, to debut next season at the club which has meant so much to the family over the journey - the Brisbane Bullets. This historic event is an exclusive "Bruton First" .

In fact it is an NBL first and if Rio follows in his family's footsteps, he will help bring another championship to the Bullets franchise.

It's a lot for the 19-year-old 195cm guard to negotiate while he finds his own way clear from under the massive shadow of the Bruton name.

Grand-dad Cal was with Brisbane when the NBL launched in 1979, led the league in scoring with 32.8ppg - and this was pre 48-minute games and the 3-point arc.

Cal was lighting it up from between the centre circle and top of the key way back in those days, next embracing life in Geelong and lifting the Supercats to SEABL and VBA titles before reaching the NBL Grand Final in the club's first season in the big league.

In 1985, he was back leading Brisbane to the club's historic first NBL championship and back to the 1986 Grand Final before revolutionising the struggling Perth Wildcats organisation.

Naturalised, Cal played for the Boomers at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, his name alongside the great Leroy Loggins on the NBL's annual Blitz trophy.

That's merely the tip of the iceberg of Cal's career, son CJ carving out his own special niche as a record six-time NBL championship winner and a dual Olympian (2004, 2008) with a FIBA World Championship in between.

Cal played in Brisbane's first NBL championship, CJ in its most recent (2007), before also following his father's footsteps into coaching.

The Bruton family has been hugely influential across NBL history, Cal with his associations at Brisbane Bullets, Geelong Supercats, Perth Wildcats, Hobart Devils, Canberra Cannons and West Sydney Razorbacks in playing and/or coaching capacities. CJ has been at Perth Wildcats, Brisbane Bullets, Illawarra Hawks, Canberra Cannons, Sydney Kings, New Zealand Breakers, Adelaide 36ers as a player or coach.

It's an extraordinary legacy which Rio Bruton now takes into a third generation.

Averaging 17.8ppg at 49 per cent, with 2.3apg, 1.3bpg, 1.3spg and 4.2 rebounds for South Adelaide Panthers who are equal-first in NBL1 Central with Forestville Eagles on 10-2 win-loss ratios, Rio looks very much a chip off a very successful block.