Mat Wundenberg enters WA basketball folklore by becoming just the third man to play 500 SBL/NBL1 West games and the first to do it for one club, but in typical fashion he wants the focus on the Geraldton Buccaneers raising their championship banner.
Warrior is the best way to describe the way that Wundenberg has proudly represented the Buccaneers over his 499-game career so far that started back in 2004, and his passion remains has strong as ever coming into the 2024 season.
That will see the two-time championship winning big man and 2019 title winning captain make his own piece of history on Saturday night at Active West Stadium when the Buccaneers open their season at home to the Willetton Tigers.
Not only will the Buccs be raising the 2023 championship banner, but Wundenberg will join Seb Salinas and Troy Clarke as the only men to reach 500 games in the history of the SBL and NBL1 West.
And given Salinas has played at the Warwick Senators, Joondalup Wolves and Kalamunda Eastern Suns, and Clarke had a couple of seasons playing for the WA Institute of Sport despite being a Cockburn Cougars legend, Wundenberg also becomes the first player to get to 500 at the one club.
Focusing on raising championship banner
Above everything else, Wundenberg's legacy will be one of the greatest team men and leaders that the league has ever seen for what he's done with the Buccaneers to be a championship captain in 2019, and then remain such a key experienced member of the 2023 team.
Because of that, it will be of no surprise to anybody who knows him that the attention on his 500-game milestone on Saturday night will make him feel decidedly uncomfortable.
That's where he is glad it will coincide with the raising of the 2023 championship banner at Active West Stadium. He'd like the focus to be on that and he'll celebrate his milestone with a couple of quiet drinks afterwards.
"I really want the attention to be on the banner, that's the whole reason we play basketball and I'm really looking forward to raising that banner," Wundenberg said.
"I've mentioned to our general manager that I'd really prefer the pre-game to be all about the banner and not my milestone, and then I can enjoy a beer after the game with a few of the older players and enjoy it.
"That's my mindset and that's the focus of the whole team too because the whole reason to play basketball is to win championships and not reach individual milestones.
"It's hard and rare to win championships so we all really want to enjoy raising that banner to cap off those celebrations, and display that success to our fans and enjoy that moment with everybody to see it hanging in the rafters. Then it's business as usual and we'll start on our mission to do it again."
Incredibly rare achievement of 500 games
Wundenberg might not want the attention on himself as he reaches 500 games, but it's such a rare and remarkable achievement that what he's done has to be fully recognised.
To become just the third player in the 35-year history now of the league highlights just what an incredible feat it is and the fact he's done it at the one club to carve out his own piece of history adds to that.
When you consider the amount of double-header bus trips from Geraldton to Perth he has endured then the magnitude of what Wundenberg has done to get to 500 games is truly remarkable.
However, ultimately he is just thankful to the Buccaneers for allowing him the chance to play with them for the last 20 years and whether it's that debut game in 2004 or his 500th to start 2024, he feels equally honoured.
"It is a weird feeling I guess just because I acknowledge the limited skill set that I have, but at the same time I know that I do play an important role for our team and our organisation, and I've always taken pride in doing that," Wundenberg said.
"I don't want to be compared to anyone, but I know that my teammates and coaches have appreciated what I bring to the team and that includes what I try to do off the court to keep our club in a strong position.
"It's an honour to be in that sort of company, but I also wouldn’t say I'm a champion player or anything like that like some of those other guys. But it's more a sign of my commitment to the Buccaneers and how much I've put into it, and have enjoyed being part of the club all my adult life really."
Joining Clarke and Salinas in 500 club
Wundenberg enters rare company this Saturday night by becoming the third man to enter the 500 games played club.
He has a history with both those other men too. He had some early battles against Troy Clarke with the Cockburn Cougars right at the start of his career, but his career has run right alongside Seb Salinas the whole way.
The two have been captains up against each other in Grand Finals and had some remarkable battles between teams they've been part of, but there's nobody from outside Geraldton that Wundenberg will ever respect more than Salinas.
"Right at the start of my career I certainly remember playing against Troy and that's when I was just young and running around trying to get as many rebounds as I can," Wundenberg said.
"Then over my whole career our teams have had great battles with teams Sebba has been part of. He's such a fierce competitor and it's no surprise he's still playing still.
"We're actually really good mates off the court and enjoy competing against each other on it, but I know what a competitor at heart he is and I love the way he goes about his game.
"I couldn’t be more impressed with how Sebba has gone about his whole career and he's still playing a significant role there at the Suns and trying to get them to have some success. We've had so many great battles and I'm looking forward to at least a couple more of them this year."
Decision to play on in 2024
Wundenberg had a fascinating decision to make at the end of last season. There was the opportunity to bow out with a fairytale finish by retiring following a championship, but then he would have done so with the knowledge he would forever be stranded on 499 games.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t that pending milestone or the potential fairytale retirement that made Wundenberg's decision for him. It was just quite simply that he didn’t feel ready to retire and stop playing basketball, and stop being part of that special team culture at the Buccaneers.
"Both scenarios certainly went into the decision but I guess it just didn’t feel like it was the right time to retire," Wundenberg said.
"I'm still enjoying playing basketball even though you have the frustrations of the highs and lows of getting a bit older, but just being in that environment and playing for the Buccaneers really is an honour.
"I get so much enjoyment from playing basketball with my friends in our community and that's really what it came down to. My partner, Lauren, was reasonably happy for me to continue and I just felt like I still wanted to play above everything else.
"I never made a decision one or the other last year, but as the off-season progressed, I had that itch to keep playing and being involved at the Buccaneers. It was just business as usual when I was there for pre-season and off we went."
Making the most of playing while you can
It's a whole combination of Wundenberg still having that passion to play, his body still allowing him to get up and down the floor, and then most importantly Dayle Joseph and the coaching staff still wanting him to play.
So while he's still wanted and willing and able, he sees no reason to not keep playing into what will be his 20th official season with the Buccaneers.
"There is still a role there for me at the club and they've always been great with me, and it has been such an honour to play for the Buccs," he said.
"So while I'm still enjoying it and the body is holding up reasonably well, then why not keep playing.
"I'm sure there's bigger and better things out there to do after basketball, but while I can keep playing and am enjoying it, and love being around my teammates and being in that environment then there's no reason not to keep playing."
Last year's championship triumph
Wundenberg had to wait 15 years into his career to celebrate a championship with the Buccaneers for the first time when he was still captain back in 2019, and after years of heartbreak and near misses, that last SBL title was remarkably special.
The Buccs continued to put themselves in the mix for another title in the years following that too but it was the heartbreaking Grand Final loss to the Rockingham Flames of 2022 that helped make that 2023 triumph over the Joondalup Wolves that extra bit special.
"We were just really desperate to win because we'd put so much effort in the year before, and to fall short how we did it just ignites that whole fire for the whole next 12 months," Wundenberg said.
"There's some hurt there and some pain, and then the Grand Final was just the total opposite to the year before. We felt like against Rockingham we were in control most of the game and then we just couldn’t stop them at the end when their playmakers got going when it mattered.
"Then last year, it was the total opposite and we were fighting just to stay in the game the whole time, and then we got the momentum when it mattered. When you end up winning the celebrations are pretty special knowing how hard you hard to work to get over that hump.
"It's a really big credit to our players who played such key roles and Liam and Johny Narkle were especially amazing. They're born and bred Geraldton players too so for me it's almost like a proud dad moment seeing those guys do something like that."
Frustrations at National Finals
While nothing would take away that high of winning the NBL1 West championship, the Buccs did finish 2023 with a bit of a sour taste in their mouths with the way the National Finals finished up at Joondalup.
The Buccaneers won both their games against the Sutherland Sharks and Ipswich Force, but they didn’t win by as much as the Rockingham Flames and Knox Raiders to subsequently missed a spot in the championship game.
Given the two tough opponents Geraldton beat, it's fair to say they didn't go home too happy, and it might even serve as a little added motivation for them to get back there in 2024.
"We knew going into the weekend what the format was and that we had to win games by as much as we could, and in the end we couldn’t win by as much as we needed to but it comes down to fixturing when you have those rules," Wundenberg said.
"I'd like to think we could have won by a significant margin as well against West Adelaide to get into that final so it did come down to who each team played in the end.
"But given the form we were in to win eight straight games by that point, and 17 of our last 19, it just felt like we had unfinished business to have to go home without losing a game in the form we were in.
"Our aim going into that weekend was to win and we had our full squad, and we wanted a National Championship and we felt like we were playing well enough to do that.
"Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and it was a weird night and bus trip home the next day after that to be going home without playing for the championship without having lost."
The Buccaneers team of 2024
One thing Wundenberg hasn’t achieved with the Buccaneers is winning back-to-back championships so that's now the focus to try and make happen in 2024.
Geraldton certainly look to have all the tools to put themselves in the hunt too with the additions of Nik De Santis, Josh Braun and Josh Keys while maintaining the likes of Liam Hunt, Johny Narkle, Ryan Blanchett and then of course, the dynamic veteran duo of Wundenberg and Ralph.
While Wundenberg will always back in his Buccs team, he looks across the league and knows the competition they will face might be the strongest it's ever been.
"I think we've put together a squad that we believe will help us compete for a championship, but looking at what some of the other teams are doing, and a lot of them seem to have really loaded up," Wundenberg said.
"There's some super talent right across the league so it's going to be a really competitive season but from our end I think we're in a good position once again. We've had a good pre-season with Johny Narkle looking like he can go another level again after what he did last year.
"Liam Hunt is another year post his injury and has just come back from playing in Germany looking super fit, and he's looking quicker, faster and better than I've ever seen him.
"Obviously Ralphy is there and he'll always keep shooting from wherever he wants, and then we've brought in, Nik DeSantis, Joshua Braun and Joshua Keyes, and we're confident we'll be in the mix again.
"Young Robert Griechen is another one of our locals who is training the house down as well so we feel like our squad is at the right age bracket to keep getting better maybe outside of myself and Ralphy."
