Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Joe Ingles will return home to the National Basketball League with Melbourne United next season, and says he will do his best to get his great mate Patty Mills to join him at the glamour franchise should his fellow NBA veteran and Boomers star opt to head home.
Speaking to this masthead on Tuesday, Ingles, 38, insisted he still had enough “competitive juice” to have a major impact on court and through his leadership after signing a two-year contract to join United.
The 203 centimetre small forward, playmaker and five-time Olympian called time on his stellar 12-year NBA career after the Minnesota Timberwolves were eliminated from the play-offs at the weekend, but maintains he still has a lot to give.
Ingles managed only 267 minutes through the regular season over the past two NBA seasons, serving as a senior hand in stabilising a highly charged locker room, but he leaves the league ranked in the top five, among all Australians, for points, assists, rebounds, steals and three-pointers.
“I, obviously, want to play. There’s no question about that. And I believe I would have never signed this deal if I didn’t think I could do it for the next couple of years,” Ingles said.
“I know I can do it, I know I will do it, and to anyone out there thinking I can’t, they’ll be wrong, but it’s going to be fun.”
Ingles had strong interest from the Adelaide 36ers and South East Melbourne Phoenix, but his relationship with Dean Vickerman, then United’s coach, was important, although the club is now hunting for a new coach after Vickerman pursued a move to Asia.
“So, if they want me to play 10 minutes, I’ll play 10. If they want me to play 40, I’ll play 40. But, obviously, the biggest thing for me is coming back and competing, and I’ve been a winner my whole life, and I plan to continue that in the NBL,” Ingles said.
Mills, 37, and recently a first-time father, is also on the radar of NBL clubs, particularly Perth and Brisbane, but has yet to publicly show his hand.
A 2014 NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs, Mills did not play in the 2025-26 NBA season, and is currently playing for Spanish club La Laguna Tenerife, where has been a knockdown shooter.
The last time the five-time Olympian played in the local league was for the Melbourne Tigers, now United, during the 2011 NBA lockout.
Ingles revealed a secret – but unfulfilled – pact he had with Mills to play on the same NBA team together.
“We’d spoken the last few years about trying to get on the same NBA team … we’ve never been teammates except for the national team,” Ingles said.
“I am going to respect his season that he’s got going on right now. Obviously, when that gets done, if he’s going to have a listen to some teams, and that’s something he’ll consider, obviously, I’ll be the first one to call him.
“I mean, if he’s going to play with anyone, I think he’d rather play with me … it’s always been a goal of mine to play with him again, wherever that be, but, yeah, once he has finished his season, we’ll see what happens.”
United are still filling out their roster, with only seven players – including Ingles and captain Chris Goulding – signed. The salary cap for each club in the 2026-27 season is $2,167,359.
Ingles has also represented the Boomers at the FIBA World Cup four times, and could eye a fifth, with next year’s tournament to he held in Qatar, where new coach Adam Caporn will lead the team.
“Yeah, you would never say no, right? Again, I’m very well aware of where I am at in my career. I’m not 25 any more, I’ve been lucky to go to five Olympics, four world cups, and be a pretty big part of Australia winning its first bronze medal … [but] I haven’t had much contact with them [Basketball Australia] since the last major tournament,” Ingles said.
“Obviously, they’ve got a pretty exciting young group that they’ve got around them, and now Bryce [Cotton] getting his citizenship. I would never say never, but, yeah, those conversations are kind of yet to happen.”
Ingles, his wife, former star netballer Renae, and their three children – nine-year-old twins and a five-year-old – will leave Orlando soon.
Through his NBA career, Ingles was regularly among the league’s best three-point shooters, averaging 40.9 per cent from beyond the arc. His best season was in 2018-19 when he averaged 12.1 points, four rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game for the Utah Jazz.
Ingles began his career in the NBL with the now defunct South Dragons, winning the title in 2009, before embarking on a grand career, which has also featured a Euroleague championship, league and cup championship victories in Spain and Israel, and eight separate NBA play-off campaigns.
“We’re really excited to reconnect with the community here, and to be closer to family and friends again. After so many years overseas, that part means a lot to us,” Ingles said.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
