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 (appro ...

player.

Early life

Wilson was born in

Melbourne, Victoria 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 ...

, 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), Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne. At the , Leongatha had a population of 5,869. Canadian dairy company Saputo In ...

. 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 a professional women's basketba ...

between 2003 and 2005, and the

Townsville Fire The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The Fire are based in Townsville, Queensland, and play their home games at Townsville Entertainment and Convention Ce ...

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

Bendigo Spirit The Bendigo Spirit are an Australian professional basketball team based in Bendigo, Victoria. The Spirit play in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Bendigo Stadium, Red Energy Arena. The team debuted in the ...

, 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 sys ...

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. 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 The 2022–23 WNBL season is the 43rd season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Melbourne Boomers were the defending champions, but were defeated in the Semi-Finals by Southside. The Townsville Fire won their fourth champion ...

. In February 2024, Wilson became the first WNBL player to reach 450 WNBL games. In the

2024–25 WNBL season The 2024–25 WNBL season was the 45th season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Southside Flyers were the defending champions, but they failed to qualify for Finals this season. The Bendigo Spirit won their third champions ...

, Wilson helped the Spirit win the championship, collecting her fifth WNBL title.

State Leagues

Wilson debuted in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...

(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 ...

. She played a second season for the Spectres in 2002. She played in the Waratah League 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. 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 Bendigo Braves. After being cut by the Braves following three seasons, she joined the

Knox Raiders Knox Raiders 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 Knox Basketball Incorporated (KBI), the major administrative basketball organisation in the ...

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 The NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball league in Australia run by the National Basketball League (NBL). The league consists of five conferences: NBL1 South, NBL1 North, NBL1 Central, NBL1 West and NBL1 East, with each consisting of bot ...

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

NBL1 South NBL1 South is a semi-professional basketball league in Victoria (state), Victoria and Tasmania, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2019, Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (Australia), ...

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. With the Braves in 2024, she earned the NBL1 South Golden Hands Award. The Braves missed the 2024 NBL1 South playoffs but returned to the 2024 NBL1 National Finals as defending champions, where they reached the championship game and Wilson earned All-Star Five honours.

National team

Wilson made her international debut for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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

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

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 estim ...

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

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 re ...

also plays in the WNBL.

Notes

References

External links

Basketball Australia profileWNBL Player Watch – Kelly Wilson (28 November 2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Kelly 1984 births Australian Institute of Sport basketball (WNBL) players Australian women's basketball players 21st-century Australian sportswomen 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 Summer World University Games medalists in basketball Basketball players from Melbourne Sportswomen from Victoria (state)