Bassett made his SANFL debut for Norwood in 1994, he finished sixth in the club best and fairest as a 19 year old and was drafted at pick 3 by Melbourne Football Club in the inaugural AFL rookie draft.
Melbourne
Drafted with the third selection in the first AFL Rookie Draft by in 1997, Bassett was elevated to the senior list after Round 4 in 1997 to replace Craig Turley but suffered a fractured sternum in the next Reserves game and was unable to make his AFL debut for the Demons. When he made his return to the reserves he played six more games at full forward but didn't see much of the ball and wasn't suited to the role. At the end of the season he was traded to Adelaide for Matthew Collins and Brent Williams.
Adelaide
Bassett impressed in the pre season and made his debut at 21 for the Crows in round 11998, showing promise in defence. He was hardly beaten in his debut season, finishing tenth in the Best and Fairest despite only playing 13 games and missing out on finals. He played 210 games for Adelaide and topped off a great 2005 season by being named Best Team Man and coming runner up in the Club's Best and Fairest award. In 2006 Bassett was named to the All-Australian Team, along with his teammates Andrew McLeod and Simon Goodwin. Some of Bassett's nicknames include The Hound, Bassy, Bruce and Fred Basset – after the comic strip which appears in many Australian newspapers. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1997.
Bassett was the senior coach of the Norwood Football Club which plays in the South Australian National Football League. He coached them to the Grand Final in his first season in 2010, where they were runners up. He then led the Redlegs to their 28th SANFL premiership with a 12.7 to 3.12 win over West Adelaide in the 2012 Grand Final at AAMI Stadium. Back-to-back premiership success came in 2013 over North Adelaide. At the last match ever played at AAMI Stadium, in front of almost 37,000 fans, Norwood defeated North Adelaide 10.12 to 4.8. On 17 October 2013, Bassett was confirmed as an assistant coach to Mark Thompson at Essendon. The move reunited Bassett with former Adelaide coach Neil Craig, who Bassett played under from 2004 to 2008. He remained an assistant at Essendon until the end of 2015. On 18 September 2015, Bassett was announced as an assistant coach at the Port AdelaideFootball Club.
