Michele Margaret Timms (born 28 June 1965) is an Australian

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 ...

coach and retired professional

player who played for the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...

in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Nati ...

(WNBA). Many people consider the Melbourne native to be one of Australia's greatest basketball players of all time. She has one daughter, Kalsie Timms. Timms was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...

in 2008. She was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016.

WNBL career

Timms played for four clubs in her WNBL career: Bulleen, Nunawading, Perth and Sydney. In 2005, Timms was honoured by the WNBL with the creation of the Michele Timms Cup. The cup is presented to the winner of the

Bulleen Boomers The Melbourne Boomers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Boomers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play the majority of their home games at Melbourne Sports Centre – Pa ...

- Dandenong Rangers derbies.

WNBA career

At the onset of the WNBA in 1997, she went to the Phoenix Mercury, for whom she played in the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

in 1998, losing to the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

. Timms came within inches of giving the Mercury their first title that year; with the Mercury up 1-0 and needing only one more win for the championship, and Game Two tied at 66 with three seconds to go, Timms took a three-point shot that bounced off the rim's back. Ultimately, the Comets won that game 74–69 in overtime, and then the championship in Game Three. In 2001, Timms announced her retirement and almost immediately joined the Mercury's

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

broadcasting crew, a job which she held only for that season. She averaged 4.6 points and 4.0 assists per game with the Mercury; her highest scoring average in one season being 12.1 points per game in 1997. On 7 August 2002, her number 7 jersey became the first to be retired by the Phoenix Mercury, and only the second jersey ever retired by the WNBA. Upon her retirement, she was the Mercury's career leader in assists. In February 2005, the Phoenix Mercury announced that she had been signed as an assistant coach under fellow Australian and Mercury head coach

Carrie Graf Carrie Ann Graf (born 23 June 1967) is an Australian basketball coach. She competed in the WNBL as a player starting during 1983–1989, after which she attended RMIT. Graf has coached teams in the WNBL, WNBA and Australia's national team, and ...

. Timms played a very influential role in opening the flood gate for many of the future international women's players, especially Australian women basketball stars.

International career

Timms began her professional basketball career in 1984 in Australia. In 1989, she became the first Australian (male or female) to play professional basketball internationally when she went to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

to play with the Lotus München team. While there, she got a chance to play alongside

Marlies Askamp Marlies Askamp (born August 7, 1970 in Dorsten, Recklinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German professional basketball player. She was one of the original players to play in the U.S. Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Personal ...

, who would later also play with her on the Mercury. While there, she was named the ''Women's International Player of The Year'' in 1994 and 1996. She was selected to the WNBL All team 7 times (1988–92, 1994, 1996) Also in 1996, at her second

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

, she helped the Australian national women's basketball team earn their first

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medal, a bronze at the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

competition. Four years later Timms was on the squad that captured the silver medal in front of their own crowd.

Coaching career

She worked as the basketball development officer/ assistant coach for the South Dragons in the Australian National Basketball League. During her time with the Dragons, she impressed many of the club's staff and players with her sound knowledge of the game and excellent coaching skills. She left the club on 9 January 2008 and during the middle of the Dragons' season, to fulfill her career ambitions by moving to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. She was an assistant coach with

China women's national basketball team The China women's national basketball team represents the People's Republic of China in international women's basketball tournaments. The national team is governed by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Tournament record Olympic Games *19 ...

, reuniting her with her former Opals coach

Tom Maher Tom Maher (born 4 September 1952 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian basketball coach, who is the most successful coach in Women's National Basketball League history, having won nine WNBL titles. He coached Nunawading Spectres to six tit ...

. In 2009 Timms was appointed as an assistant coach of the Jayco Australian Opals, the

Australia women's national basketball team The Australian women's national basketball team is nicknamed the Opals, after the brightly coloured gemstone common to the country. From 1994 onwards, the Opals have been consistently competitive and successful having won nine medals at offic ...

. She was also appointed an assistant coach of the Global Metals Bulleen Boomers in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

. After the 2012 Olympics where Timms was Assistant Coach to the Australian Women's Team, Timms took the Assistant Coaching roll of the next Olympic Cycle with China 2013–2016. After the 2016 Olympics Timms stayed on with the Chinese Women's Basketball Team unit 2018. Timms worked with Beijing WCBA Team in 2017-2018 Season as Assistant Coach with Sylvia Fowles as their Import. The team won the WCBA Championship. April 2018 Timms heads back to Australia to establish her own Company "Michele Timms Elite Sports Coaching" and under this umbrella starts the Michele Timms Basketball Academy.

Honours

Timms was named the ''Women's International Player of The Year'' in 1994 and 1996. She received an

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

in 2000 and was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser t ...

in 2003. In 2008 Timms was elected to the

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

. On 17 August 2016 Timms was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Timms was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the

2018 Australia Day Honours The 2018 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2018 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Au ...

"For significant service to basketball as a competitor at the national and international level, as an Olympic athlete, and as a mentor for women in sport."

Career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 27 , , 27 , , 35.8 , , .336 , , .345 , , .760 , , 3.7 , , 5.1 , , 2.6 , , 0.1 , , 3.0 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 30 , , 30 , , 31.1 , , .318 , , .298 , , .694 , , 2.5 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 2.3 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 30 , , 29 , , 26.8 , , .354 , , .348 , , .776 , , 2.6 , , 5.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 3.0 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 8 , , 8 , , 22.0 , , .367 , , .235 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , 2.3 , , 1.9 , , 0.3 , , 2.3 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 21 , , 18 , , 19.4 , , .345 , , .304 , , .800 , , 2.1 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 2.0 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 5 years, 1 team , 116 , , 112 , , 28.3 , , .338 , , .324 , , .755 , , 2.7 , , 4.8 , , 1.6 , , 0.2 , , 2.6 , , 6.0

Playoffs