High hoops: Ally Wilson’s journey from underdog to all-star

She runs out in the green and gold, with the Ngarrindjeri flag spread across her shoulders, as the world watches on.

This is Alex Wilson’s proudest moment.    

The professional basketballer had just made her debut for Australia at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, making her the first Indigenous basketballer to represent her country at that event.

“I’m really proud of my heritage and being able to grow up on country,” Wilson says. 

Born and raised in Murray Bridge as a proud Ngarrindjeri woman, the 31-year-old says she was inspired by her father, who also played a fair amount of basketball himself.

“I think that was always fun; (and) a motivating thing too, that I got to grow up and be coached by him,” she says.

“I took a lot of pride in being from the country and representing South Australia Country on that national stage as well.”

Alex picked up basketball at just four years old, with the Murray Bridge Basketball Association, before eventually playing for teams like the Murray Bridge Bullets and River Murray Falcons.

Her early sporting journey was supported by her school, Unity College, where she rubbed shoulders with other sporting greats like AFL footballer Chad Wingard and tennis player Alex Bolt.

“It was a really good school and I still have a lot of great connections with the teachers that I had there and the students,” Wilson says.

“I think it goes hand in hand with coming from the country.”

It’s no surprise that Wilson excelled at nearly every sport she participated in, including Little Athletics and netball, where she played for Murray Bridge club Rambler Roosters.

“I loved netball, I played ... my whole juniors, right up until I was in A grade.”

Choosing between her two favourite sports wasn’t a decision that weighed heavily on her shoulders.

“When it came down to sort of basketball and netball, as I got a little bit older, it wasn't a hard choice for me,” she says.

“I always felt like I enjoyed playing basketball more.

“I felt like I was much more competitive and netball was too restricted.”

By 16, she had already made her Women’s National Basketball League debut with the Adelaide Lightning.

During her 2013-14 year with the Townsville Fire, she earned herself the honour of being named WBNL rookie of the year.

Wilson’s professional journey continued when she signed with the Sydney University Flames of the WNBL, where she spent five seasons and helped secure the 2016-17 championship.

Her career then took her back to Adelaide in 2020, followed by three seasons with Bendigo from 2021 to 2024, before she joined the Perth Lynx ahead of the 2024-25 WNBL season.

She still calls herself an underdog, but time and time again Wilson has proved she’s a winner – one of the best in the competition, actually. 

Her international career reached new heights in 2024, when she represented Australia at the Paris Olympics in the women’s 3x3 team, the Gangurrrus, who finished up fifth.

Being part of the inaugural team reignited her love for basketball after a challenging stint.

With motivation, she was able to find her passion again.

“There were lots of ups and downs to get (to the Olympics), and then 3x3 came calling and I fell in love with the game,” she says.

Earlier in her career, Wilson had been part of the national Opals squad but fell out of it, a circumstance she thought had extinguished her Olympic dreams.

Enter the new, half-court format.

“I think when I found 3x3, I was sort of struggling with the joy of basketball and I was playing for the wrong reasons: trying to get back into the Opals squad, trying to prove to people that I was good,” she says.

“Three by three is just the purest form of basketball you can play.

“You just go out there and make the play that you see, and that's the part of basketball that I love most.”

Read more of Ally Wilson’s story in the summer 2025 edition of Murraylands Life magazine.

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