Remembering Ingles' dominant Dragons stretch

After 12 seasons playing in the NBA, Australian basketball icon Joe Ingles is coming back to the NBL, after signing a two-year deal with Melbourne United.

Prior to his overseas stint, which also included playing in Europe, Ingles spent three seasons with the South Dragons.

During that stint, between 2006 and 2009, Ingles chalked up 102 NBL games in which he averaged 14.5 points, 5 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

His decorated stint with the Dragons included winning the 2009 NBL championship and 2007 Rookie of the Year, while also being named an NBL All-Star on two occasions (2006 and 2008) and to the All-NBL Third Team (2009).

One who experienced Ingles at the South Dragons firsthand was former South East Melbourne Phoenix wing Ryan Broekhoff, who explained how big an impact the five-time Olympian had on his career.

“To see Joe [Ingles] and how well he was playing really motivated me to keep pushing myself,” former Australian Boomer and NBA talent Broekhoff said to news.com.au in 2006.

“In my teens, the South Dragons put together some really strong teams, and those were fun years to get to games. I was at a pretty impressionable age, and basketball started to become more serious, and that is when I started going to more games and seeing the legends.

“I also did a training session with the Dragons when Shane Heal was player-coach, and I learnt a lot from him and Ingles. Running around with those guys was a great experience for me to see what it takes to be a professional basketballer in the day in and day out.”

The now 38-year-old will make his much-antiicpated return to the Hungry Jack’s NBL later this year.

Read the full story here >> How Joe Ingles inspired a 15-year-old Ryan Broekhoff to play in a Melbourne NBL derby