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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
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 in the during the
2001–02 NBL season and was a member of the teams' NBL championship win that year. Three more seasons followed with the 36ers where the
Phil Smyth coached team never made it past the quarter-finals before he signed with the
South Dragons for the
2006–07 NBL season. 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 in
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
.
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, 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 late in the 2011 off-season as an injury replacement for Crocodiles captain,
Russell Hinder. 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 team that won the
2005 FIBA Oceania Championship. He also won the gold medal playing for Australia at the
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
held in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. 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. He currently serves on the board of the
Australian Basketball Players' Association.
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
South Dragons players
Basketball players from Adelaide
Townsville Crocodiles players
Commonwealth Games gold medallists in basketball
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Sportsmen from South Australia
21st-century Australian sportsmen