Joe Ingles is one of a select few NBA players who is a veteran of the league and has only appeared in a game with one franchise. Ironically, the team he is currently with is not the franchise with which he has the streak. He spent seven full seasons with the Utah Jazz, before being moved during the current season to the Portland Trail Blazers. He had a non-contact knee injury while with the Jazz, and it will sideline him for the rest of the year. However, Ingles is one of the most unique players in the league. He brings a unique skill set to the offensive and defensive end of the floor.
Where did Joe Ingles grow up?
His story starts in a town called Happy Valley, where the young Ingles was born. The area was a suburb of the more populated and well-known city of Adelaide in Australia. Joseph Howarth Ingles was on a basketball track in his home country from his teenage years. He went to school at Springbank Secondary College but transferred to Lake Ginninderra College since it had more of a well-recognized athletic program.
While this was a promising start to Ingles’ basketball journey, the goal of all young promising Australian athletes is to get picked up by the Australian Institute of Sport. A government-funded developmental program ratchets up the level of resources for young athletes and puts them on track to represent their country domestically and abroad. Ingles was indeed accepted into AIS, which gave him an excellent springboard toward achieving his basketball dreams. With AIS’ structure and focus on one craft, he would be able to get in better shape, while eating, sleeping, and dreaming about the game he loved.
Joe Ingles – Pre NBA Professional Basketball
Ingles would spend two years in the “Institute”, fine-tuning his game. After their time in AIS, it is not uncommon for “graduates” to start playing basketball professionally, either in Australia or somewhere else in the world. He would end up getting his start in the land down under, playing in the country’s National Basketball League for the South Dragons. It was an expansion team in 2006, and the young Ingles was the very first player the team ever signed.
In his three-year career with the Dragons, he averaged 14.6 points per game, with 5.1 rebounds per game and 3.7 assists per game. It was the type of preview of the well-rounded skill set we would see from Ingles later in his career. In his final season with the team, he was a catalyst in the Dragons winning their first and only NBL title.
Joe Ingles – EuroLeague
After getting his feet wet in his home country, Ingles would then take his basketball talents to different continents. He played with CB Granada for two seasons in Spain and proved to be the big fish in a relatively small pond. Ingles averaged over 30 minutes per contest and continued producing at a well-rounded clip. He was able to parlay this into a transfer to one of Europe’s most storied teams, FC Barcelona.
From 2011-2013, he would play with other future NBA players, such as Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, Marcelo Huertas, and Mario Hezonja. On a roster featuring such talent, Ingles’ minutes and statistical production would end up taking a backseat. However, rubbing elbows with some of basketball’s most intriguing international talent proved to be a positive thing for the Australian.
He would also spend one year playing under coach David Blatt for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Ingles ended up winning a EuroLeague title with them, even though he went scoreless in the championship game. It was a storybook ending to close one chapter of his basketball life.
Joe Ingles – International Competition
While Ingles has had a solid NBA career(more on that later), he will most likely be remembered by Australian fans for the passion he brings when playing for his country. He’s already played in four Olympic Games and was an integral part of the Aussies bringing home the bronze medal in the 2020 games. With Patty Mills, Ingles served as a steady veteran presence on an Australian roster that is building back up. He has also appeared in the FIBA World Cup three times for his nation as well. He’ll be 35 years old this October, so it is unclear whether Ingles will be present for future major international competitions.
Joe Ingles – Utah Jazz
He didn’t take a traditional route to the NBA but had the interest of a couple of teams as a 27-year-old. During training camp, the Los Angeles Clippers signed Ingles to a contract but ended up waiving him just after a month with the team. Two days after he was let go, the Utah Jazz claimed him on waivers, and it would be the beginning of a longstanding beneficial partnership in Salt Lake City.
His NBA career with the Jazz unfolded much as it did overseas. Ingles would improve existing systems on the team, both offensively and defensively. The ball doesn’t ever stick when it touches his hands; he always has his head up and will find the open man rather than force a shot himself. On defense, Ingles has historically done his very best to get under opponents’ skin in order to take them away from what they like to do best.
Despite not having the most elite athletic gifts, Ingles’ competitiveness has been talked about by his teammates and his opponents. Teammate Jordan Clarkson has gone on record as embracing the type of interaction the Australian brings in the locker room, as it gives his teammates an edge, in a good way. His presence is also extremely consistent, considering that for a five-season span from 2014-to 2019, he only missed four regular-season games. He played in all 82 games three times, which is reminiscent of what Jazz legends Karl Malone and John Stockton used to do on a regular basis.
Joe Ingles – Career Year
Ingles’ impact has always transcended statistics, but if one had to choose which season was the best of his NBA career, it might have been last year. He averaged a career-high in points per game, while also establishing career bests in three-point shooting and free throw percentage. He was the runner-up for the NBA Sixth Man Of The year award behind Jordan Clarkson as well.
Joe Ingles – Portland Trail Blazers
This season started off in very much the same fashion for Ingles in Utah as most of the previous seven. On a team with big dreams of getting out of the Western Conference for the first time since 1998, the Australian would continue to fill in the blanks on the team where needed.
However, his season, and perhaps his career, were dramatically affected by the events in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in January. In that contest, he suffered an apparent left knee injury, which was confirmed to be a season-ending torn ACL. It was a tough break for Utah, but they had to try to reload since their window to win with the team they have might be closing.
In a three-team trade, the Jazz sent Ingles, teammate Elijah Hughes and a second-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers. Utah would acquire Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is expected to help fill Ingles’ void. A three-team trade involving many moving parts around the trade deadline is exciting for NBA fans, but was probably bittersweet for Ingles, as he said goodbye to the only NBA home he had ever known.
A couple of weeks after the trade happened, Ingles underwent successful reconstructive ACL surgery. As the Trail Blazers do their best to cling to a playoff or play-in tournament spot in the West, they’ll have to do so without Ingles’ gritty skill set, which would have been helpful down the stretch.
Joe Ingles – NBA Future
While an ACL injury is one of the most unforgiving ailments to recover from for an NBA player, this doesn’t necessarily spell the end for Ingles. His game was never predicated on speeding past defenders or leaping over them. His basketball IQ has arguably been his greatest asset, and that should not diminish during the course of how much time he misses. However, it might hurt his chances of signing a multi-year contract, since teams will likely be cautious as the swingman recovers from his knee injury.
It may work out that he never actually suits up for the Trail Blazers since they have some large directional questions to answer themselves about their franchise. At this stage of his career, Ingles is probably most interested in playing on a team with a chance to win the NBA title, something that has eluded him in his career thus far. It is possible that we may not see Ingles until after the 2023 All-Star Break, considering when he went down this year.
