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Kobe's last dance: Returning Aussie's most cherished NBA memories
Abby Crozier • July 2nd, 2026 5:35 pm
Aussie basketball legend Joe Ingles has returned to home soil after more than a decade in the NBA.
With more than 750 games across four NBA franchises under his belt, the 38-year-old has signed with Melbourne United to continue his career back where he started in the NBL.
“It’s been a crazy journey so far,” Ingles told Andy and Gazey on SEN’s The Run Home.
“I feel really good – it’s nice to be home around family and friends, and I’m keen to get going with Melbourne really soon.”
Reflecting on his career to date, Ingles shared some of his most cherished moments from his time under the brightest lights in the states.
“I was lucky to make the playoffs in 10 of my 12 years – I had a really fair run. I got to play with some amazing players and set some best records in the league a few times," Ingles said.
“As I come to the end of the chapter, some of my most memorable moments were playing against Kobe Bryant.
“Packing up my life of 12 years in the states, one of the only NBA memorabilia things I bought home was a pair of Kobe Nikes, (which) I got signed by him.
"That’s really only the memorabilia I’ve got – apart from a few friends and teammates' jerseys. I put those in my carry-on luggage on the flight back to Aus.
“It was unreal to play in the game against Kobe, especially special since his passing. Being able to play in the game, interact with him a little bit - he had a hell of a game scoring wise, that’s definitely up there with one of my top moments for sure.”
Reflecting on more moments up against legends of the game, Ingles reminisced on his early days.
“At the 2008 Olympics, Patty Mills and I were playing as 19-20 year-olds, I think I got seven or eight minutes and a couple of shots.
“In that game the opposition team was Kobe, Chris Paul and Lebron James – that really stacked USA team. That was a pretty in your face moment to play against them.
“Since then – I don’t really get starstruck, and don’t like taking photos with people. I’ve been lucky enough to meet pretty cool people in my life – I just give them a handshake and keep it moving.
"I’m very appreciative of the NBA and what it gave our family and our life and the experiences we got to have over there. But at the end of the day they were teammates, opponents, and enemies – that was the mindset I’ve always had, and I’ve been lucky enough to play with, and against, a lot of really good players."
Naming Bucks legend and Miami's newest star Giannis Antetokounmpo as one of those players, Ingles reminisced on their season at Milwaukee in 2022/23, claiming the one seed before losing to Giannis' future team in the first round.
“We had a great year at Milwaukee, set some best records in the league – it was one of the best or better shots I’ve had to really have a crack at winning,” Ingles said.
“He has unbelievable work ethic, every day. There’s a lot of behind the scenes that you don’t see, that shows and proves why they are as good as they are. An unbelievable work ethic and unbelievable teammate.”
On his decision to extend his time on court, Ingles feels his capacity to help is as strong as ever.
“I want to play. The competitive itch hasn’t gone away since I signed with the Dragons as a 17-year-old.
“I was hesitant going into signing, I haven’t played for a couple of years, I’m 38 – I’m very well aware of where I am in my career. But I was really lucky to play in the play-offs last year, and I felt really good after not playing for a while.
"If I'm feeling like this now – if I get a good pre-season in, and get my legs back under me of playing a fast past NBL game and getting up and down the floor against younger guys and imports, then I'm pretty confident I can hold my own.
"I'm taking it pretty seriously - I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think I could do it. I'm not doing it for any X,Y or Z reason. I want to win, I want to compete and I want to play.
"Part of that is that I don’t want Melbourne to promise me anything, I will come in and prove my worth, prove that they need to play me. That’s my mindset.
"I'm going to make sure I'm in the best shape I can before the official pre-season - show the young fellas that I've still got some juice left."
Ingles will take the court with Melbourne United in September as the NBL27 season kicks off.
