Feature image via: Mick Connolly
One of the rising stars in basketball during the late 2010s, Tom Wilson has returned to his first love after many years in the AFL system.
Since U14s, Wilson has been a Melbourne Tiger through and through - playing for the Tigers in SEABL (now NBL1 South) and winning the league MVP in the 2018 season.
That extraordinary season led to Wilson’s first chance in the NBL, after Andrew Gaze was named the head coach of the Sydney Kings and brought him in as a Development Player.
Being moulded and mentored by two-time league MVP Kevin Lisch, Wilson was considered one of the best local prospects alongside the likes of Dejan Vasiljevic and Isaac Humphries.
After some challenges in college basketball and playing overseas, Wilson decided he wanted to pursue a career in the AFL to spend more time in Melbourne with his friends and family. Wilson spent the past four years with the Magpies as a Category B Rookie, playing eight games for the senior side.
In November last year, Wilson reached out to the Tigers to see if he’d be able to train with the squad. To his surprise, Gaze and the coaching staff recruited him to be on the roster for the upcoming NBL1 South season.
“I knew if I was going to come back and play basketball, I didn’t know how serious it was going to be, but it felt right, it feels like home to play for the Melbourne Tigers,” Wilson said on the NBL1 South podcast.
Related: 2024 NBL1 South predictions
Wilson explained that the community of the Tigers is a major selling point, with an anecdote from the season launch illustrating to Wilson just how strong the culture is at the Tigers.
“We had our season launch the other night, and Gazey said ‘from the cot to the grave’,” Wilson said.
“Once you’ve been a part of the Melbourne Tigers, you are a part of it for life. Playing for Melbourne, it’s a feeling we all love and that probably explains why we are all there.”
In his first two games for the Tigers, Wilson has been outstanding, averaging 23.5 points, five rebounds, four assists and throwing down a hellacious dunk in the process.
TOM WILSON THREW IT DOWN ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) April 4, 2024
Watch the NBL1 South via https://t.co/NEk1I7kaV8 or the NBL1 App ?&? pic.twitter.com/r3PM4h0JIf
Melbourne will host the Ringwood Hawks on Saturday, from 5:30pm AEST live via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.
