Joe Ingles

Joseph Howarth "Joe" Ingles (born 2 October 1987) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Australian national basketball team internationally. Standing at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m), he primarily plays at the small forward and shooting guard positions, but he is versatile enough to play at the point guard as he often plays a point forward role.

Early career

Born in the Adelaide suburb of Happy Valley, Ingles played junior basketball for the Southern Tigers. Ingles attended both Lake Ginninderra College and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra with future Boomers teammate Brad Newley. He played for the AIS in the 2005 and 2006 SEABL seasons. Along with basketball, Ingles also played Australian rules football and cricket in his younger years but gave both sports away to focus on basketball.

Professional career

South Dragons

On 17 March 2006, Ingles signed a multi-year deal with the South Dragons, becoming the very first player to sign with the club. In the Dragons' first NBL game, the 18-year-old Ingles made league history by scoring the most points by an Australian on debut – 29, on 11-of-15 shooting from the field. His excellent first season earned him the 2007 Rookie of the Year award.