Known to many simply as ‘Gorms’, Shelley Gorman was one of the toughest and fittest players ever to wear an Australian uniform. Over 15 years and 306 games, Gorman achieved some significant milestones.
Selected to play at the 1988 Olympics at the age of eighteen, the following year Shelley was the Co-Captain of Australian basketball’s first medal-winning team, the Gems of 1989 who claimed a bronze medal at the World Championships. After her Olympic debut in 1988, Shelley won bronze and silver medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic teams.
In the WNBL, Gorman’s 321 games (split between Melbourne East, A.I.S., Dandenong, Sydney and Canberra) are sixth on the all-time games played list. She won five championships, including three with the all-conquering Melbourne East teams of the 1980’s. She was named as a member of the WNBL All-Star Five on six occasions (1988-89, 1991, 1993-95). Her greatest year was 1994, when she shared the scoring title with Sandy Brondello and received the WNBL’s Most Valuable Player award. Her career total of 5204 points is second on the all-time scoring list, behind Hall of Famer Rachael Sporn, earning Shelley a place in the WNBL’s 25th Anniversary Team.
Gorman also had stints with BTV Wuppertal alongside Sandy Brondello and with the San Jose Lasers in the ill-fated American Basketball League. Few players in the game’s history have been able to maintain excellence for as long as Shelley Gorman. That’s why she deserves to be in the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame.
