The Tasmania JackJumpers are 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 ...

team based in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, who entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2021–22 season, and play their home games at

MyState Bank Arena The Derwent Entertainment Centre (DEC), known commercially as MyState Bank Arena since 2021, is Tasmania's largest indoor arena, serving as Hobart's primary location for large indoor sporting events, functions and live entertainment. Commissi ...

and the

Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the fi ...

. The team is named after the

jack jumper ant The jack jumper ant (''Myrmecia pilosula''), also known as the jack jumper, jumping jack, hopper ant, or jumper ant, is a species of venomous ant native to Australia. Most frequently found in Tasmania and southeast mainland Australia, it is a ...

, a species of venomous ant predominantly found in the island state. The JackJumpers won their maiden NBL championship in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Franchise history

In February 2019, the National Basketball League (NBL) indicated that Tasmania was on the league's future expansion radar. Twelve months later, it was revealed that Tasmania had secured an NBL licence and a team would enter the league in the 2021–22 season. On 1 October 2020, the team name was revealed as the Tasmania JackJumpers. On the eve of the team's first NBL game, Tasmanian band

Luca Brasi Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'', as well as its 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he was portrayed by Lenny Montana, an ex-wrestler and former bodyguard and enforcer for the Colombo crime fami ...

released "Jackies Are On the March", an original theme for the team. In their NBL debut on 3 December 2021, the JackJumpers defeated the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

83–74 in overtime at

in Hobart. The JackJumpers finished the regular season in fourth place with a 17–11 record and faced the first-placed

Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 ...

in the semi-finals, where they defeated United 2–1 to advance to the NBL Grand Final series. They ultimately lost 3–0 in the grand final to the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...

. In the

2023–24 NBL season The 2023–24 NBL season was the 46th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2023–24 season. Australian broadcast rights to the season are held by ESPN in the third seas ...

, the JackJumpers returned to the NBL Grand Final series with a 2–1 semi-finals series victory over the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

. They went on to win their maiden NBL championship with a 3–2 grand final series victory over

, becoming the first Tasmanian NBL champions since

Launceston Casino City Launceston Casino City is a defunct Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). Formed in 1980, the club was based in Launceston, Tasmania. It lasted only three seasons before folding, but wo ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. As NBL champions, the JackJumpers competed in the

2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup The 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup was the 34th edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. The tournament was hosted at the Singapore Indoor Stadium for a second consecutive year under a three-year agreement with the Singaporean government. It w ...

, becoming the first team from Oceania to play in the

FIBA Intercontinental Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, previously known to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs and the FIBA Club World Cup, is an annual international men's basketball competition organised by FIBA, the sport's global governing body. The competit ...

. Tasmania finished third, after defeating

Al Riyadi Al Riyadi Club Beirut (), commonly known simply as Al Riyadi, is a multi-sports club team based in Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934, the multi-sports club, which is mainly known for their basketball program, also plays pin ...

from Lebanon in the third place game. In the

2024–25 NBL season The 2024–25 NBL season was the 47th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2024–25 season. The league extended its partnership with ESPN Australia. All games are availa ...

, the JackJumpers started with a 3–8 record and went on to miss the top six on percentage at 13–16. In February 2025, NBL owner

Larry Kestelman Valarie "Larry" Kestelman (born 1966) is an Australian billionaire property developer and businessman. He co-founded internet service provider Dodo Services, Dodo in 2001, which was bought out in 2013, and has interests in various other industri ...

sold the JackJumpers to a private capital firm, Altor Capital.

Home arena

The JackJumpers are headquartered, train, and play most of their home games at

, located in Glenorchy, part of the metropolitan

region. The

, located in Launceston, also hosts a minimum of two home games a year.

Current roster

Honour roll

Season by season

References

External links

* * {{Tasmanian Sports Teams Sports clubs and teams in Tasmania National Basketball League (Australia) teams Basketball teams in Tasmania 2020 establishments in Australia Basketball teams established in 2020