Joe Ingles

Date: 02/10/1987

Height: 203cm

Position: Guard/Forward

A stalwart of the Australian basketball program, Joe Ingles will look to lead the Boomers to Olympic glory in Tokyo 2020.

The Utah Jazz sharpshooter made his Olympic debut at Beijing 2008, where Australia was knocked out in the quarterfinals by a USA squad who went on to take gold.

The following year, Ingles left Australian shores for Spain, where he enjoyed strong stints with CB Granada and national powerhouse FC Barcelona.

At the 2010 FIBA World Championships, Ingles emerged as a key figure for the Australian setup, with the South Australian native averaging 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in six games. Ingles continued his strong tournament form with the Boomers at London 2012, where he was the side’s second topscorer behind star guard Patty Mills.

In 2013, Ingles left Barcelona for Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv, where in his lone season with the club won both domestic league and cup silverware, as well as the much-esteemed EuroLeague title.

In the 2014 FIBA World Championship tournament play, Ingles was again a hugely influential piece for the Boomers. The swingman averaged 11.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in six games for his side as they were eliminated by Turkey in the tournament’s round of 16.

After Ingles’ showing for his country, he attracted the lure of the NBA. He spent training camp with the Los Angeles Clippers before being cut from the side just days before the season’s opening day, but was acquired by the Utah Jazz and in a matter of months became a starter for his team and a staple of the Jazz culture.

Ingles was selected for his third consecutive Olympics in 2016, with the now Boomers veteran set on a maiden medal in Rio. After finishing with just one loss in the group stages, the Boomers earned a victory against Lithuania before being defeated by Serbia to meet Spain in the bronze medal match.

In the third place playoff match, Ingles’ side went down by the narrowest of margins after Spaniard Sergio Rodriguez hit two consecutive free throws to lift his compatriots a 89-88 victory.

In the years between Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Ingles has continued his progression on the NBA stage, and has quickly become one the sharpshooters of the league. In the 2020/21 NBA season, Ingles shot a career-best 45.1 per cent from three-point territory, ranking as one of the competition’s top-five in shooting efficiency. In the same campaign, Ingles was a critical piece to Utah’s season, where they finished with a league-best 52-20 record before being eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers in the second-round of the NBA Playoffs.

In 2019, Ingles was a part of the World Cup squad that yet again missed out on a medal at a major tournament, this time being eclipsed by France in the third-place playoff after the Boomers lost a double-overtime semi-final clash against eventual champions Spain.

Tokyo 2020 will be the fourth-straight Olympic campaign for Joe.