From quitting basketball to back-to-back MVP

It’s hard to believe someone who quit basketball a few years ago has now become one of the premier talents in Australian basketball – but that’s exactly what happened to Nicole Munger.

She recently surpassed 50 games in the WNBL, has won back-to-back NBL1 East MVP’s, and conquered the conference last season winning the championship – while being named the Finals MVP for Newcastle. 

So this begs the question, why did she quit the sport if she’s this good? 

After four seasons at the prestigious University of Michigan, Munger decided her playing career had come to an end. She stopped playing basketball for two entire years and transitioned into coaching, working at Fordham University in New York. 

During the pandemic, the program had to minimise the number of people working within the team and Munger was asked to fill in as a training player alongside her coaching duties – and the rest was history. 

“I finished college and I was like ‘I’m done playing, that’s it. That’s all she wrote,” she said on Next Question… 

“I loved it (coaching), it was everything I wanted… I really love teaching. But it was in that moment when I was training, and I was like ‘Wow’. I’ve gotten better, just because I was smarter. I was having so much fun, my competitive drive was probably even higher than it was at Michigan.” 

Her fire was lit and started asking her trusted friends and colleagues on what her playing career could look like, and if she was even good enough to play professionally. leading her to start a new career in Spain, which directly led her to the NBL1 East and now the WNBL. 

“I have such an appreciation (for playing), because I stopped playing for a while and how much I missed it,” she said. 

“Every time I get to play, whether we win, we lose, whatever’s going on it’s really just a blessing to me. I’m so thankful for it.”

Finding a new home in Newcastle and signing for another season in 2025, it’s clear to see this 27-year-old still has a lot more basketball left to play. 

The NBL1 East starts March 29th. Stay up-to-date with all the latest signings via the Roster Tracker here.