40th Anniversary Honourees – Larissa Anderson
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Deakin Melbourne Boomers, individuals who have made special contributions to the Boomers and our history will be honoured at each Home Game at the Boom Box.
For our Home Game this Sunday December 17, Larissa Anderson is the esteemed guest whose history and success with the team will be celebrated.
Larissa Anderson was born on the 27th of March in 1977 in Sydney and grew up in Victoria, playing for the Nunawading Spectres in the NBL1 League.
She joined the Dandenong Rangers WNBL team, now known as the Southside Flyers, as a development player in 1995.
After several injuries occurred for the Rangers, she scored her first minutes on court during the 1995/96 WNBL season and got the chance to show off her talent.
She was then picked up by the Bulleen Boomers in 1996 but unfortunately suffered a knee injury a few weeks out from the opening game of the 1996/97 season against Perth.
Larissa ended up missing her entire first season and sat on the bench as an injured player but was kept on by the Boomers.
She stayed at the Boomers for 10 years, giving her all and showcasing her talent as well as suffering another ACL injury.
She rose up the roster to become a leader and key player winning the club MVP award in 2002-2003 WNBL season and arguably playing her best years at the end of her career.
Anderson and the Boomers did make preliminary finals appearances in 1999-2000 and 2004-2005 but fell just short both times.
Watch the video below to hear Larissa speak about her experience as a Boomers player and how special her time at the club was.
She then decided to move back to Dandenong to finish off her playing career for the WNBL, clocking in over 300 games for the league, 186 of those for the Boomers.
Coaching had also been part of Larissa’s basketball passion so when she had the opportunity to become Head Coach of the Dandenong Rangers for the WNBL 2015/16 season, she gladly took it.
During her first coaching season, she won the WNBL Coach of the Month twice.
In July 2019, Larissa came back to the Melbourne Boomers and joined the coaching team as an assistant coach under Guy Molloy.
She was also a part of the coaching team for the 2021/22 WNBL season where the Deakin Melbourne Boomers won their second WNBL Championship.
Anderson was also appointed to be the head of the Boomers’ Academy program, which gives young basketball players the chance to develop their game and be mentored by Boomers’ players during the school holidays.
Larissa was extremely honoured to be a part of the 40th anniversary tributes for the Deakin Melbourne Boomers and said it is “always special to be included amongst [her] Boomers family”.
“The Boomers have been a big part of my life both as a player and as a coach. I played a majority of my WNBL career with the Boomers and it was really special to come back as an assistant coach and be part of the championship team in the 2021/2022 season.”
See Larissa receive her acknowledgement at our next Home Game on Wednesday, December 20 at the Boom Box, next to the Melbourne Zoo! You can purchase tickets for the game here!
OFFER: We have 20% off all upcoming home game tickets this season. Use code BOOMBOX to receive 20% off your tickets. Offer expires on Christmas Eve!!