Joe Ingles is back playing in the NBA.
The Australian’s professional basketball career was up in the air in January when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.
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But Ingles underwent surgery and signed a one-year A$9.7 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, keeping his NBA dream alive.
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And on Tuesday (AEDT), the 35-year-old made his return to the NBA in the Bucks’ 128-119 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Ingles became the oldest Australian to play in the NBA in the process.
Coming off the bench late in the first quarter, Ingles soon produced a highlight play when he lobbed a pass to Milwaukee’s main man Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished it off with a layup.
It was reminiscent of Ingles’ partnership with Rudy Gobert during their time at the Utah Jazz and the play was a welcome sight for Australian NBA fans.
In his first NBA game since January 30th earlier this year, Ingles also came up against New Orleans’ Australian rookie Dyson Daniels.
Ingles didn’t score a point and finished with just one rebound and one assist from 15 minutes, but he was just happy to be on the court.
“It was honestly just nice to be out there and get a couple reps in,” he said.
“Just obviously nice to be out there with the guys and finally see what I hoped for when I signed.”
Ingles has joined one of the NBA’s title contenders in the Bucks, who are aiming for another championship after their drought-breaking triumph in 2020.
Milwaukee currently has the best record in the NBA and if all goes well, Ingles could join Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova and Andrew Bogut as the seventh Australian to win an NBA championship.
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