Andrew Gaze

1965 -

Andrew Gaze, one of the greatest basketball players Australia has produced, competed in five Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000) - and led the Boomers to their best performance, fourth at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He played more than 280 matches for Australia. For the Sydney Games in 2000 he was selected as flag-bearer for the Australian team. Between them he and his father Lindsay made a huge, enduring contribution to Olympic history: Lindsay played in three Olympics (1960, 1964, 1968), and coached the Australian team in four (1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984).

Andrew Gaze, who was named the NBL’s Rookie of the Year in 1984, was the League’s top scorer for 14 seasons. Over 16 seasons he scored more than 16,000 points at an average of almost 34 points a game, won two championships, recorded almost 3000 assists and was named the League’s most valuable player (MVP) a record seven times. He played in four world championships, and is regarded as the second best scorer in international basketball after the great Brazilian Oscar Schmidt.

In 1989 Gaze played for the American university Seton Hall - which reached the final four of the NCAA championships that year - and was rewarded with a trial with NBA’s Seattle Supersonics. In 1993-94 he played with the Washington Bullets, and in 1998-99 with the San Antonio Spurs. He also played in Greece and Italy. In May 2005 Gaze announced his retirement from the game after 612 matches in the NBL and 20 years as a professional basketballer.

Harry Gordon, AOC Historian