Tokyo 2021: Boomers star Joe Ingles commits to Olympics despite potential clash with NBA season

Boomers star Joe Ingles has confirmed he will compete at the Tokyo Olympics no matter how far his Utah Jazz side progresses in the NBA playoffs.

In a major boost for the Boomers, Ingles declared he will be a certain starter for Australia even if the Jazz reach Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which would finish a day before the Olympic Opening Ceremony on July 22.

Utah is in first position in the Western Conference standings and are expected to go deep in the playoffs, which would directly clash with the Olympics.

Watch Live coverage every week of the NBA Regular Season with ESPN on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

But Ingles is adamant he will play in Tokyo despite facing little to no preparation time post the current NBA season.

“There is no chance that I’m missing the Olympics,” Ingles told Shane Heal’s Basketball Show, with the full interview to be released this Tuesday via dailytelegraph.com.au.

“I’d have a few beers on the plane heading over there (to Tokyo), and then obviously I’d get right into Boomers mode.

“It is what it is. When you get into that lockeroom and you see your Boomers jersey hanging up, there is no better feeling.

“So, I could go off no sleep and seven games in a row and I’d find the energy to throw it on and play.”

Joe Ingles declared he will be a certain starter for Australia even if the Utah Jazz reach Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which would finish a day before the Olympic Opening Ceremony on July 22. Photo: Alex Goodlett/Getty Images.Source:Getty Images

Thankfully from a resilience perspective, Ingles has been exposed to unpredictability via the coronavirus pandemic for over 12 months now.

He played last year’s NBA season inside an Orlando bubble at Disney World while this season has pushed forward with restrictions on crowds and training.

Ingles believes these experiences will help him handle anything that gets thrown his way in preparation for the Tokyo Games.

“I think this year (with COVID) we’ve got to adjust and be adaptable to different situations and I think it is going to be the same with the Olympics,” he said.

“I’m assuming it will almost be like a bubble scenario like we just had in the NBA, where we will get tested, but we’ll just have to adjust.

“So, if that is what it is, me getting on a plane then and as soon as I do, I’ll get locked into that mode and get ready.”

The Boomers are primed to finally break Australia’s men’s medal hoodoo at the Tokyo Olympics following four fourth-placed finishes.

Ingles has narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2019 World Cup in China, but he insists the pain is just fuelling the team’s motivation to make amends.

“Don’t get me wrong, those experiences absolutely sucked, but I think you live and learn from those campaigns,” he said.

“We’ve got a veteran group with a few young guys, and hopefully Ben Simmons is out there as well.”

Boomers star Joe Ingles commits to Tokyo Olympics despite potential clash with NBA season. Photo: by Stefan Gosatti/Getty Images.Source:Getty Images

Ingles has seen the Boomers’ ethos grow from requiring cultural lessons following the retirements of icons like Andrew Gaze and Luc Longley after the Sydney 2000 Olympics to becoming one of world sport’s tightest team cultures.

The veteran swingman couldn’t be prouder of Australia’s team-first mentality, but he knows it’s on his, and other senior players’ shoulders, to ensure it continues in its current strength for decades to come.

“It’s on us now – Patty, Baynes, Delly and I to pass on and make sure that it (the culture) stays strong,” he said.

“Because it is such a good culture, and it is such an honour and a pleasure to play for Australia.

“And it should be about that, not the money and the other stuff on the side, it is purely about that pride of putting on the jersey.

“That needs to stay regardless of how much money you are making or where you are playing in the world.

“It needs to be the pride of representing your country and I think we’ve got that, but we need to make sure it stays when we’re gone.”

Watch Joe Ingles on www.thebasketballshow.com.au, with the full interview to be released this Tuesday via dailytelegraph.com.au

Source: Read Full Article