Her husband has found it an adjustment as he came to terms with life back home. \u201cI think it is a bit of a culture thing in Australia. When you catch up with your mates, you grab a beer or a coffee, really, they\u2019re the two options,\u201d he says, adding he has not ultimately found it hard to resist.<\/p>\n
Joe Ingles has quickly found his feet while playing with Melbourne United on his return to the NBL. Photograph: Daniel Pockett\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a certain amount of time, you don\u2019t even think about it any more. It\u2019s like you deleted Instagram and didn\u2019t use it for a few months, you would just completely move on with your life and you wouldn\u2019t even think about it any more, so we don\u2019t even think about it. It\u2019s not even a question, I think it\u2019s more funny now that people will try and explain to us why they are drinking instead of just enjoy their night.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple and their three children are now adjusting to Melbourne after 12 years on the NBA rollercoaster. Ingles would typically travel for more than 40 road games each year, and he played for four different teams over his final five seasons. He has started the season for Melbourne United well, even if the highly fancied team is yet to fully gel.<\/p>\n
Despite being so far away, Inglis still watches the NBA, which gets under way this week. \u201cI\u2019ll be sitting there on Amazon watching just like you, and I\u2019ll be just as intrigued,\u201d he says. \u201cI sit here and I read the same articles you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Ben Simmons\u2019 cruel Achilles injury<\/a> this week, Ingles is \u201cshattered for him\u201d and says it will be up to the former No 1 draft pick where his career goes now. \u201cSelfishly for Australia, we want him to play for the Boomers. We\u2019d love to see him in the NBL. I think the fans would love to see him. But what is he, two days since injury? There\u2019s a lot of water to go under the bridge before those decisions even become a thing. I just wish him all the best.\u201d<\/p>\n On Josh Giddey\u2019s situation in Chicago, Ingles believes a winning record will mean more than any individual statistics. On young big Rocco Zikarsky, likely to play big minutes in the second-tier G-League, Ingles thinks the 20-year-old could push for court time with the Timberwolves.<\/p>\n Of the 10 Australians in the NBA this season (including Kyrie Irving in Dallas), Ingles believes Atlanta centre Jock Landale and Los Angeles Lakers wing Matisse Thybulle might make the biggest impression.<\/p>\n Joe Ingles has backed Matisse Thybulle to have play a critical role for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2026-27 NBA season. Photograph: Ben Liebenberg\/AP<\/p>\n \u201cFor [Landale] going back to the same team, a lot of the same players, same coach, don\u2019t underestimate how good that feels,\u201d Ingles says. \u201cHe was a free agent, they\u2019ve wanted him back, they\u2019ve paid him handsomely<\/a>, and he\u2019s going to have a really big role in that team.<\/p>\n \u201cThen the other one to me is Matisse, I\u2019m selfishly a massive Matisse fan. The guys they\u2019ve got on that team. Everyone knows Luka [Don\u010di\u0107] and Austin [Reaves] offensively, but defensively, they need a little bit of help out there and Matisse is that perfect guy.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Sport in Focus<\/p>\n Our picture editors select their favourite sporting images from the past week, from the spectacular to the powerful, and with a little bit of fun thrown in<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Ingles turned 39 this month, and is signed to a two-year deal with Melbourne United. Across seven games he is averaging an efficient 11 points per game, with four assists and four rebounds.<\/p>\n Although the veteran had to postpone his conversation with the Guardian by a day due to the need for treatment, he is adamant his body is feeling good. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m fucking 21 all right, so put that at the top of your article,\u201d he says with a smile.<\/p>\n As a late bloomer who became one of the NBA\u2019s best role players, Ingles earned respect for his combination of outside shooting, secondary ball-handling and basketball nous, as well as a competitive edge. The combination of his laid back demeanour with a sharp, mocking tongue appeared very Australian, though it often rubbed American opponents the wrong way.<\/p>\n Off the court though, Ingles comes across as considered and diplomatic. Amid a growing schism about the role of betting in sports, San Antonio phenomenon Victor Wembanyama announced during the NBA off-season he would never accept gambling money<\/a>, even as LeBron James inked an endorsement deal with prediction market Polymarket.<\/p>\n Ingles says sports betting is a \u201ctricky one\u201d, given sporting entities\u2019 need for revenue, as well as the impact of increases in betting and integrity risks. Ingles was in the NBA when Jontay Porter was banned for life for disclosing confidential information to sports bettors and wagering on games<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where I sit necessarily on that,\u201d he says. \u201cDo I love chucking five bucks on a horse? Yeah, it\u2019s a bit of fun with my mates. Do I live and die by betting on whatever it is? Absolutely not.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone makes their own decisions with different things and people and politics they support and we can all have our opinions on things, we don\u2019t have to agree.<\/p>\n \u201cBut obviously, me and you can sit here and have a healthy conversation, debate about it, and both go off, and maybe we don\u2019t agree in the end, but we\u2019ve both put our points forward.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792508657_177_1008.jpg\")
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