Why Ingles is still all in, 17 years after his last NBL title

Joe Ingles will happily walk away from basketball the day he loses the passion for it, or feels he can't contribute to the team. But until then, he's all in.

At 38, Ingles is realistically nearing the end of an illustrious career, and when he does call it a day, he'll leave behind one of the most impressive resumes of any Australian to play the game.

But there's still another chapter to write.

Seventeen years since his last game in the NBL, Ingles is out to continue the story the same way he left it, with a championship.

"As an athlete, I think once you lose that competitiveness, or the love to go in and practice each day and watch film and learn, and maybe play or don't play that night, all the different scenarios, once you start to lose that, to me that's when it will be time to hang it up," he said in a wide-ranging interview with Pete Hooley.

"I'd said to Renae (Ingles' wife) before, this whole NBL thing, like when it started to become somewhat real ... she's watched me play probably more than anyone, 'if you are watching me and I don't look like I can do it, then just tell me'.

"As much as I would love to play, I also will be very happy the day I walk out these doors and don't ever play again. I've had a great career.

"She was just like, 'no, you still look good out there'.

"You get a little bit slower, or a little bit bored, or a little bit whatever, but the things that I've always been good at and prided myself on, on the court, I still felt like I could do it at a pretty high level.

"Once you get the tick from the wife, I was like, 'alright, well let's move forward with it and kind of see where it goes'."

Ingles played more than 800 games in the NBA, and prior to that spent five years at a high level in Europe, winning championships in Israel and Spain and a EuroLeague title with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

"I think when you start to lose that joy and excitement ... that's when it's time to walk out the door," he said.

"So it's always been me ... it's going to be me out here. So I apologise to the mums and kids and dads out there that might hear me say some silly things, but I love playing.

"I love being out there, I love the performance of playing in front of 15, 20,000 people, and when I don't have that kind of feeling inside, I'll happily walk away and go sit on the couch."

For Ingles, it's simple: help Melbourne United get back to the championship dais. Stats and minutes don't matter to him, contributing does.

"I wouldn't (play) if I didn't want to, or I didn't think I could help," he added.

"It's not about the starting, or how many minutes, or the money ... it's all like I can walk away and be very happy, and I'm very lucky to be able to say that."