‘I feel like I’m 21’: Joe Ingles on the NBA, life in Australia and 1,500 days without drinking

The veteran is adjusting to living in Melbourne and playing in the NBL after 12 years spent on the North American basketball rollercoaster Basketballer Joe Ingles appears as the archetype of the Australian larrikin. There is one box, however, he no longer ticks. The 39-year-old gave up alcohol in 2022 after suffering a serious knee injury, and he has now gone more than 1,500 days without drinking. “Stopping – that part of it – during rehab was very easy,” he says from Melbourne, after moving back to the NBL following 12 seasons in the NBA.

At that point, it was just one aspect of aiding his recovery. Like staying healthy and avoiding junk food. “I even had made a joke with my [Milwaukee] Bucks teammates at the time of, ‘Oh, when I play my first game, I’ll have a beer with you guys,’ whatever. I played my first game and I