16
May
Aussies in the NBA
Joe 'Jingles' all the way into basketball immortality
Joe Ingles: South Dragons, Barcelona, with Patty Mills after the Boomers won their first Olympic Games medal and with the Utah Jazz. Photos: Getty Images.
Highlights
Joe Ingles’ NBA career is over, but his Boomers, Jazz and autism advocacy legacy will endure
- 'I’d do it forever if I could': Joe shows he's still got game
- $145M Ingles, 38, linked with 37yo Chris Goulding
- Draymond Green laughs at 'old man Joe' Ingles
The definition of a jingle is a short, catchy piece of music or song used in advertising, branding, or broadcasting to make something memorable.
It usually includes:
- A simple melody
- Repetitive lyrics or slogans
- A strong association with a brand, product, radio station, or campaign
A jingle is designed to:
- Stick in people’s heads
- Reinforce brand recognition
- Create emotional recall through music
It’s also the plural nickname of one of Australia’s greatest modern era men’s basketballers – Joe Ingles.
The 38-year-old South Australian’s 12-year NBA career is more than likely over after the Minnesota Timberwolves were eliminated in six games by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 Western Conference Semi-Finals following a 139-109 loss today.
A simple melody
Ingles, in his late teens from Adelaide, came into the NBL in 2006 with the now-defunct South Dragons as a superb athlete with a developing perimeter game: There’s always something special about a left-handed big wing – he’s 2.03m (6’8”) – knocking down three-balls.
But as age wearied his legs, Ingles world class basketball IQ took over, and by the time he joined the Utah Jazz in 2014 as a 27-year-old in his prime, Ingles was an elite shooter, gifted facilitator with an evolving new nickname: “Slo-Mo Joe”.
Five years in Europe had given him a head start on the modern NBA – drive, kick and knock it down.
Ingles’ game wasn’t high-flying; it was at times Larry Bird-like in his ability to find teammates before they knew they were open and hitting big shots in big moments at an elite clip.
His pick-and-roll partnership with Rudy Gobert in Utah was as cerebral as it was sensational, with the action delivering near countless lob finishes. Ingles finished with 2,623 assists with the Jazz.
Repetitive lyrics or slogans
61% True Shooting (TS%) when the NBA’s average is right around 58% – that’s what Ingles delivered during his eight years with the Utah Jazz. His ability to repeatedly knock down threes made him one of the most dangerous perimeter threats in the NBA between 2014 and 2022.
About 65% of the field goals he made with the Jazz were threes.
In the 2020-21 season, Ingles's TS% was 67%… Prime Steph Curry was between 65% and 67%.
That season was one of the most efficient high-volume perimeter shooting seasons in the NBA:
- 6.1 three-point attempts per game
- 45.1% from deep
- 12.1 points in under 28 minutes
A strong association with a brand, product, radio station, or campaign
Ingles will forever be associated with the Australian Boomers' first Olympic Games medal – bronze in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021. But, significantly, his 16-year career (2008 to 2024) with the Australian national men’s team changed the entire fabric of Australian basketball on the global stage.
- One of Australia’s most-capped Boomers
- Five-time Olympian
- Historic bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 (11.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.0 APG).
- Two fourth-place finishes before a breakthrough medal:
- Rio 2016
- World Cup 2019
- Played in four FIBA World Cups
- Helped transition Australia from a fringe quarterfinal team to a genuine medal contender
Stick in people’s heads
One enduring photo: Ingles embracing “FIBA Patty” Mills after the Boomers claimed the bronze medal at the 2021 Olympic Games after beating Slovenia in the third-placed playoff on August 7.
Two generational stars finally winning Australia’s first medal, which famously brought Australia’s greatest ever men’s basketballer, Andrew Gaze, to tears.
One moment in a career of a million moments is all it took to etch Ingles into Australian basketball immortality.
Reinforce brand recognition
Since leaving the Jazz at the end of the 2021-22 season, Ingles has played just 160 regular-season games for Milwaukee, Orlando and Minnesota. But it’s his reputation as a veteran and community leader, both on and off the court, that has kept him in the league past his 38th birthday.
“Joe’s meant so much to us this season,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said after starting Ingles so his autistic Jacob son could watch him play live for the first time last season.
“I can’t begin to thank him for his leadership.
“Sometimes you gotta do the human thing.
“We always talk about all these minutes matter, and those minutes matter for another reason.
“His voice in the locker room, his presence, his personality on this team and his leadership have meant everything – particularly for our young guys.”
Ingles and his wife, Renae, a 67-time capped Australian netball Diamond, have an impact on autism awareness that continues to resonate after his son Jacob was diagnosed with autism in 2019. In Utah, Ingles became increasingly open about the family’s journey, admitting that basketball once felt “irrelevant” as he struggled emotionally to balance his NBA career with supporting his family.
Over time, the couple transformed that experience into advocacy, raising awareness through initiatives such as autism awareness nights, sensory room projects with the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Ingles Family Sensory Room at John Cain Arena.
Create emotional recall through music
While Ingles was rarely the lead singer or guitarist in the Jazz band, his “string music” will live long in the memories of Utah fans, especially May 4, 2018 (AEDT).
Western Conference Semi-Finals – Game 2: Utah Jazz 116 def. Houston Rockets 108
Joe Ingles: 36 MIN │ 27 PTS │ 10-13 FG │ 7-9 3PT │ 0-0 FT │ 3 REB │ 2 AST │ 3 TO │ 0 STL │ 0 BLK
“He didn’t have camouflage. We see him right there, and he’s not the fastest guy in the world,” then Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said of Ingles ability to get off 13 field goal attempts.
“He’s just a good basketball player, smart, picks his time, knows when to walk into a three, knows when you’re back a little bit, and then he got a little bit off of Donovan Mitchell too.”
Then Utah coach Quin Snyder and now Dyson Daniels and Jock Landale’s coach at the Atlanta Hawks said: “He knew tonight that we were gonna have to take and make some shots… I’m not surprised, but it’s certainly a very timely performance given the situation.”
It remains Ingles’ career playoff high after dropping back-to-back 20-point performances against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
Ingles splashed 1,071 threes (40%) in 590 games for the Jazz and scored 5,094 points in the process.
‘Football, meat pies, kangaroos and …’
The 82-game NBA regular season is a grind full of road trips, and, fittingly, one of Australia’s most memorable jingles is “Football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars”. Ingles storied professional basketball career is set to come full circle with a curtain call back where it all started in Melbourne.
Ingles, who turns 39 on October 2, has been heavily linked to Melbourne United in NBL27.
His reputation is enough, but he offered up a gentle reminder in his last NBA regular-season game after the Timberwolves had already made the 2026 Playoffs that shooters shoot regardless of how many miles are in their legs. He was four boards short of a triple-double.
32:23 MIN │ 15 PTS │ 6-10 FG │ 3-6 3PT │ 0-0 FT │ 6 REB │ 10 AST │ 1 STL │ 1 BLK │ 3 TO
“I just love – I’ve said it – I love being around the guys. I love the competitiveness of every day,” Ingles said after the game.
“Even playing in the sizzle games and that, I don’t know if you guys – you probably don’t get to see it – but it’s really competitive and it’s fun.
“I’ve always said to the young guys, you’re not going to play in the game much at all, or if any.
“This is a game for us, so take it as serious as you can. I’ve seen those days where you don’t have it.
“My first year in Orlando with a younger group, I really enjoyed that and helping those guys.
“Then obviously coming here, for a team that’s been in a lot of series and is still so young – Jaden’s so young, all these guys are still so young – so yeah, it’s been fine.
“Obviously, the only part that sucks is my family’s not here. Apart from that, I’d do it forever if I could.
“They need to put a spot like the kickers in football – just inbound.
“You can take half, take a little pay cut or something, and I’ll do it.”
It’s not a jingle: “Father Time waits for no one”, but for Ingles’ and Australian basketball fans, the memory of his two decades at the top of the basketball world will endure far beyond the moment he splashes his last three.
About the Author
Peter Brown is the head coach of the Sydney Comets Women’s Youth League team in the Waratah Basketball League in NSW. He is also the assistant coach for the Comets NBL1 women’s team in the NBL East Conference. Peter is a 30-year journalist, starting as a sports reporter at the NT News in the early 1990s. He played junior basketball for the Northern Territory at national championships from U16 to U20 and for the Territory’s senior men’s team at numerous international tournaments. Peter has been a basketball fan since the early 80s, especially the NBA. Basketball is his passion – and his opinions his own. Email peter.brown@basketball.com.au with feedback.
