Few nicknames have been as fitting as that attached to Ricky Grace: ‘The Amazing One’. For fifteen years, Ricky terrorised opponents and won a place in fans’ hearts with his sparkling play at the point guard position. He arrived in Australia in 1990 following two NCAA Tournament appearances with the University of Oklahoma (reaching the National Championship game in 1988).
Ricky’s Australian career was loaded with honours including four NBL championships (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000), two Grand Final MVP awards (1990 and 1993) and four All-NBL First Team selections (1991, 2001-03).
Still ranked third on the NBL all-time list for assists with 3,470, Ricky was named a member of the NBL’s 25th Anniversary Team in 2004.
A winner of six Gordon Ellis Medals as the Perth Wildcats’ Best and Fairest (1991, 1997-99 and 2001-02), he is one of only five Wildcats to have their playing number retired.
Making his Boomers debut in 1996 Ricky was a member of one of the most successful Boomers teams in Olympic history at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, finishing fourth.
Throughout his career Ricky spent much of his downtime working with the community, running basketball clinics at schools. With the end of his playing career in 2005, Ricky focused his energies on developing a program that would develop leadership skills through sport and education for at risk young people in Western Australia. The program, ‘Role Models WA’ has now spread its operations into the Northern Territory.
It is a great pleasure to welcome Ricky ‘Amazing’ Grace into the place where he belongs: the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame.
