Kelly Louise Wilson (born 1 January 1984) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player.

Early life

Wilson was born in

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

, and grew up in the Victorian country town of

Leongatha Leongatha is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne. At the , Leongatha had a population of 5,869. Canadian dairy company Saputo which trades in Australia ...

. She played her junior basketball for Leongatha Basketball Association.

Career

WNBL

Wilson made her WNBL debut with the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

(AIS) in 2002 and won the WNBL Rookie of the Year. She played for the

Sydney Uni Flames The Sydney Flames are an Australian professional basketball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Flames compete in the Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional wo ...

between 2003 and 2005, and the

Townsville Fire The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional female basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). They are the only female professional sporting team of any discipline in the northern half of Australia. The t ...

between 2005 and 2008. She played the next eight seasons for the

Bendigo Spirit Bendigo Spirit is one of three Victorian basketball teams in the Australian Women's National Basketball League. The team, based in the regional city of Bendigo, Victoria, joined the competition from the 2007/08 season. History The Bendigo Spiri ...

, winning

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

in 2013 and 2014. She returned to the Fire in 2016 and played two seasons, winning a third championship in 2018. For the 2018–19 season, she played for the

Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...

and won her fourth championship. For the 2019–20 season, she returned to the Spirit. In January 2020, Wilson broke the WNBL's all-time games played record, when she took to the court in her 395th game, beating the previous record-holder,

Jessica Bibby Jessica Bibby (born 23 August 1979) is an Australian sportswoman. She has played over 200 games in the WNBL and won several WNBL Championships. She has played for the Dandenong Rangers and Canberra Capitals. She was drafted by the WNBA's New ...

. After sitting out the 2020 hub season due to the birth of her first child, Wilson returned to the Canberra Capitals for the 2021–22 season. In January 2022, she played her 400th WNBL game. She returned to the Bendigo Spirit for the 2022–23 WNBL season.

State Leagues

Wilson debuted in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

(SEABL) in 2001 for the

Nunawading Spectres Nunawading Spectres is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Melbourne East Basketball Association (MEBA), the major administrative basketball o ...

. She played a second season for the Spectres in 2002. She played in the

Waratah League The NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales and the National B ...

over the next two years, first with the Sydney Comets in 2003 and then with the Sutherland Sharks in 2004. She returned to the SEABL in 2005 to play for the

Bendigo Braves Bendigo Braves is a NBL1 South club based in Bendigo, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of the overarching Bendigo Braves Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball organi ...

. In 2006, Wilson played for the Townsville Flames in the

Queensland Basketball League NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

(QBL) and was named the Sunstate Division U23 Youth Player of the Year. She returned to QBL in 2008 with the Mackay Meteorettes and was named league MVP. Wilson returned to the SEABL in 2009 and won the league MVP with the

. After being cut by the Braves following three seasons, she joined the

Knox Raiders Knox Raiders is a member club of the NBL1 South based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of Knox Basketball Incorporated (KBI), the major administrative basketball or ...

in 2012, going on to win the SEABL championship and her second league MVP in 2013. After three seasons with Knox, she returned to Bendigo in 2015 and in 2018 won her second SEABL championship. She played for the Braves in the inaugural

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia, consisting of NBL1 South, South, NBL1 North, North, NBL1 Central, Central, NBL1 West, West and NBL1 East, East Conferences with both men's and women's compet ...

season in 2019, winning the league MVP. She had a short stint with the Braves during the 2021

NBL1 South NBL1 South is a NBL1 conference based in South East Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2019, Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create NBL1 to replace the South East Australi ...

season. She continued with the Braves in 2022 and 2023. She was named NBL1 South All-Star Five in 2023 and led the Braves to the NBL1 South championship and the NBL1 National championship.

National team

Wilson made her international debut for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 2003. In 2007, she was part of the historic Emerging Opals team that claimed the gold medal at the

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, Thailand. She earned a national team call-up in 2013 to help Australia win the

FIBA Oceania Championships FIBA Oceania Championship was the Oceania basketball championships that took place every two years between national teams of the continent. Through the 2015 edition, the Oceania Championship was also a qualifying tournament for the Basketball ...

Personal life

Wilson's sister

Andrea Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

also plays in the WNBL.

Notes

References

External links

Basketball Australia profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Kelly 1984 births Australian Institute of Sport basketball (WNBL) players Australian women's basketball players Bendigo Spirit players Canberra Capitals players Guards (basketball) Living people Medalists at the 2007 Summer Universiade Sydney Uni Flames players Townsville Fire players FISU World University Games gold medalists for Australia Universiade medalists in basketball Basketball players from Melbourne Sportswomen from Victoria (state)