Jacob Holmes (born 14 August 1983) is an Australian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL).

Professional career

Holmes attended the Australian Institute of Sport from 2000 to 2001. Holmes debut for the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

in the during the

2001–02 NBL season The 2001–02 NBL season was the 24th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league, The free-to-air television network ABC did not return this season only showing on Fox Sports on Foxtel. Regu ...

and was a member of the teams' NBL championship win that year. Three more seasons followed with the 36ers where the

Phil Smyth Philip John Smyth AM (born 11 May 1958) is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He won three National Basketball League (NBL) championships with the Canberra Cannons before going on to be a three-time championship-wi ...

coached team never made it past the quarter-finals before he signed with the

South Dragons The South Dragons were an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). They made their debut in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09. The club was based at MSAC in Melbourne's in ...

for the

2006–07 NBL season The 2006–07 NBL season was the 29th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. For the first time, a team was established from outside the Australasian area, with the Singapore Slingers taking over the licence of the Hunter Pirate ...

. His leadership was acknowledged within the Dragons to the point where he earned the club captaincy as well as winning the Dragons MVP award for the 2007–08 season. Holmes also spent a season in New Zealand as an import for the

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Mike Pero Nelson ...

in 2005. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Holmes decided to return home to Adelaide and re-joined the 36ers. In doing so, he unfortunately missed out on a second NBL championship as the Dragons went on to win the 2008–09 NBL title in what would prove to be their final season in the league. During the

2010–11 NBL season The 2010–11 NBL season was the 33rd season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2010 and April 2011, followed by a post-season involving the to ...

, Holmes averaged 5.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for the 36ers in 28 games and was consistently among the top 10 in the league in rebounding. Holmes signed with the

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...

late in the 2011 off-season as an injury replacement for Crocodiles captain,

Russell Hinder Russell Hinder (born 10 July 1979) is an Australian former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the NBL. In 1997, he attended the Australian Institute of Sport. Hinder attended the University of San Francisco before transfer ...

. Holmes, who juggled his time between being a professional basketball player and a law student, made such an impact with the Crocodiles that halfway through the season the club announced they had signed Holmes for another two seasons. On 5 June 2013, Holmes re-signed with the Crocodiles on a two-year deal. On 16 January 2015, Holmes played his 400th NBL game. On 7 August 2015, he retired from professional basketball to continue on as the full-time president of the NBL Players Association. In 407 career games over 14 seasons, he averaged 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

National team career

Holmes was a member of the

Australian Boomers The Australian men's national basketball team, known as the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has been placed among the world elite t ...

team that won the

2005 FIBA Oceania Championship The FIBA Oceania Championship for Men 2005 was the qualifying tournament of FIBA Oceania for the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The tournament, a best-of-three series between and , was held in Auckland and Dunedin. Australia won all three games. ...

. He also won the gold medal playing for Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Both championship wins were over the New Zealand Tall Blacks.

Personal life

Holmes has two sisters, Fleur and Victoria. He and his wife, Conor, have one daughter named Addy.Crocs in the Offseason

References

External links

Australian Athletes' Alliance profileNBL statsHolmes' career highlightsJacob Holmes and the Townsville Crocodiles look to a bright NBL future despite the pain of the journey
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Jacob 1983 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players Australian expatriate basketball people in New Zealand Australian men's basketball players Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Nelson Giants players Power forwards (basketball) South Dragons players Basketball players from Adelaide Townsville Crocodiles players Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Sportsmen from South Australia