JackJumper calls time: Drmic bows out of the NBL

Image credit: MJB Photography

2023-24 NBL champion and NBL1 veteran Anthony Drmic has officially announced his 11-season career in the NBL is over.

The veteran Tasmanian JackJumper shared the news with his teammates at training on Monday, citing an ongoing back injury as the reason for the decision.

“It’s been a long 18 months with the back injury,” Drmic said.

“I’ve had this up-and-down cycle where I’ll come back, do the rehab, get in good shape, and a few days into that I’ll hurt it again.

“The mental toll that plays is huge, and the last time that happened, my brain just kind of called it quits and said: ‘This is it, you need to do something else’.

“I know it’s the right decision. I feel sad, but I also feel relief.”

For Drmic, it comes as unfortunate after a strong year in the NBL1 South division, averaging 18.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Hobart Chargers.

Drmic has been a mainstay in the NBL1 competition, traversing across three conferences in his NBL1 journey spanning five years, peaking with West Adelaide in the 2024 NBL1 Central season.

Drmic’s return for the Bearcats consisted of 26.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game in 2024, an output that would drive West Adelaide to a top-four finish.

The 34-year-old accumulated more than 2000 NBL points in 279 matches at three NBL clubs, including the Adelaide 36ers, where he won the 2017 NBL Rookie of the Year Award.