Oscar Forman (born 16 January 1982) 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. He played 17 seasons in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) between 2001 and 2018.

Early life

Forman was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. He attended

Unley High School Unley High School is a public coeducational secondary school, located in the Adelaide suburb of Netherby in South Australia. It is administered by the Department of Education, with an enrolment of 1,562 students and a teaching staff of 114, as ...

and played for the Sturt Sabres as a junior. He moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

in 2000 to attend 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) and play for their

SEABL 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 ...

team.

Professional career

Forman made his debut in the National Basketball League for the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...

during the 2001–02 season and was a member of the 36ers' championship team as a rookie. In the 2004–05 season, he led the league with a 47% three-point shooting percentage. His final season with the 36ers came in the 2005–06 season. During his time with the 36ers, he spent the off-seasons playing in the Central ABL with the Sturt Sabres. He won a championship with the Sabres in 2002 and won the Woollacott Medal in 2005. For the

2006–07 NBL season The 2006–07 NBL season was the 29th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. For the first time, a team was established from outside the Australasian area, with the Singapore Slingers taking over the licence of the Hunter Pirat ...

, Forman joined the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...

. He played four seasons with the Breakers. During his time in New Zealand, he played for the

Harbour Heat The Harbour Heat were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Heat competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at North Shore Events Centre. Team history The Harbour Heat, then known as North Shore, ...

of the New Zealand NBL in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. For the

2010–11 NBL season The 2010–11 NBL season was the 33rd season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2010 and April 2011, followed by a post-season involving the t ...

, Forman joined the

Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketbal ...

. He played for Wollongong/Illawarra for the next eight seasons. In his first season with the Hawks, he was named the NBL's Most Improved Player. He played his 400th NBL game during the 2014–15 season and then reached 450 games during the 2015–16 season. He helped the Hawks reach the NBL Grand Final in the 2016–17 season. In December 2017, he became the 13th player to reach 500 NBL games. Following the 2017–18 season, Forman retired from the NBL after 511 games. His 511 games ranks 11th all-time, and his 904 three-pointers ranks 13th all-time. Forman had a brief stint with the

Hawke's Bay Hawks The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as th ...

of the New Zealand NBL in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, and in 2022 he had a brief stint in the

NBL1 East 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 partnered with the Nat ...

with the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

National team career

Forman was a member of the Australian team that competed at the 2003 World University Summer Games in Korea. He later competed for the

Boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom that fol ...

at the

2005 FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup The 2005 FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup, or 2005 FIBA Stanković World Cup, was the first edition of the FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup tournament. It was held in Beijing, from July 26 to July 31. Participating teams * A ...

and the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship.

Personal life

Forman is of Italian heritage. In April 2022, Forman was appointed

Basketball Illawarra Basketball Illawarra is the governing body of basketball in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia and is based in the city of Wollongong. The club fields both men's and women's teams in state representative conceptions including th ...

's general manager. He left the role in February 2024.

References

External links

Illawarra Hawks profile"Take 40: Oscar Forman"
at nbl.com.au
"Forman's foreword: Hawks are happy"
at nbl.com.au
"Foreman joins 200 Hawks Club"
at nbl.com.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Forman, Oscar 1982 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players Australian men's basketball players Basketball players from Adelaide Harbour Heat players Hawke's Bay Hawks players Illawarra Hawks players New Zealand Breakers players Power forwards Small forwards Wollongong Hawks players 20th-century Australian sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen Sportsmen from South Australia People educated at Unley High School