40th Anniversary Honourees – Michele Timms
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 Melbourne Derby against the Southside Flyers this Wednesday January 3, Michele Timms is the esteemed guest whose history and success with the team will be celebrated.
Michele Timms is one of Australia’s most successful and celebrated athletes and has done so much for the world of women’s sport, particularly in basketball.
Born on the 28th of June 1965, Timms loved basketball and began her professional sporting career in the Bulleen Boomers Juniors program, learning skills that would see her debut for Bulleen Boomers in 1984.
One of the best Boomers point guards of all time, Timms played 285 games and won five championships over her 15-year career in the WNBL.
She remains only one of two players, alongside Robyn Maher, to record 1000 assists and 1000 rebounds, a prolific statistic for any basketball player. She also averaged 13.9 points per game at near 41% for her WNBL career.
Timms was also impressively the first female Australian basketball player to play in Europe, starting for the Lotus München women’s team in Germany in 1989.
Timms later moved onto the Wuppertal Wings in Germany in 1996 and helped them to win the 1996 European Club title as well as the German League title.
Timms was named WNBL Player of the Year in both 1995 and 1996 for the Sydney Flames and was eventually made a WNBL Life Member in 1996.
She then decided to break another glass ceiling, becoming the first Australian player to compete in the WNBA and joined the Phoenix Mercury for an immensely successful overseas career.
Her number #7 WNBA jersey was retired in August 2002, and it became the second time in WNBA history that a jersey was retired.
Michele’s coaching achievements may be the most significant for the Boomers, assisting Head Coach Tom Maher in leading the Boomers to their first WNBL Championship victory over the Canberra Capitals in the 2010/11 season.
Timms was later appointed the Assistant Coach of the Opals, Australia’s women’s basketball team after playing 264 matches for the team.
She played in three Olympics, 1988, 1996 and 2000 where she represented the Opals and earning a bronze medal in Atlanta (1996) and a silver medal in Sydney (2000).
Michele also created the Michele Timms Basketball Academy, providing programs for young basketball players to receive expert level coaching to improve their game.
Timms is a huge advocate for women’s sport and particularly encouraging young girls to improve themselves and hone their basketball skills.
In 2017, Timms was named as one of the ambassadors for the Deakin Melbourne Boomers for the 2017/2018 WNBL season, continuing to promote the club and celebrate the young female athletes in the WNBL.
Timms’ list of achievements is endless spanning several continents, competitions and coaching endeavours, and she continues to work hard to promote women’s sport in order to provide it more success and survival.
Michele was thrilled to receive this acknowledgement and said it is “an honour to be acknowledged as playing a small part” in the Boomers’ 40 year history.
“When I think of my time involved with the Boomers, as spectator, coach and player I immediately think of the late Jan Collinson, the Veneto Club, Mojo, Global Metals, the Pancake Parlour, Bertocchi, the first championship with Tom Maher, the second with Guy Molloy as well as the evolution of the club through Linda Perry’s vision.”
See Michele Timms receive her acknowledgement at the Melbourne Derby at 6pm on January 3rd at the Boom Box, next to the Melbourne Zoo! You can purchase tickets for the game here!
OFFER: We have 20% off all home game tickets this season. Use code BOOMBOX to receive 20% off your tickets!