Anthony Drmic Retires - “He leaves as a champion”

Championship winner and locker-room leader Anthony Drmic is calling time, officially announcing his retirement from the JackJumpers and NBL basketball today.  

Drmic joined the team before their training session this morning, where he broke the news to teammates that he was hanging up his shoes after a stellar decade-plus career.

“It’s time,” Drmic said. “It’s been a long 18 months with the back injury. I’ve had this up and down cycle where I’ll come back, do the rehab, get in good shape, and a few days into that I’ll hurt it again.  

“The mental toll that plays is huge, and the last time that that happened my brain just kind of called it quits and said: ‘this is it, you need to do something else’. I know it’s the right decision, I feel sad, but I also feel relief.”

Coach Scott Roth said Drmic and his family have had an enduring impact on the Club.

“He leaves as a champion and someone who was hugely impactful on the group,” Roth said. “He was one of the guys who really epitomized the grit and grind of working hard every day and he won’t be forgotten. I’m sad that he’s leaving, but I’m happy for one to have had a chance to coach him and be around him.”

The 34-year-old guard has played 279 NBL games across 11 seasons, including four seasons and 80 games with the JackJumpers that includes the Championship in NBL24.

Drmic is a bedrock of the JackJumpers grit and grind culture, displaying an incredible work ethic on court and leadership in the locker-room that earned him Vice Captaincy in NBL26.

Reflecting on his time at the club, Drmic said: “There isn’t one moment, the whole journey has just been awesome.

“It’s hard to beat the Championship, and I always joke about the game where we beat Adelaide by about 50 just after I parted ways with them to move down here.”

Drmic, his wife Jenna and eldest son moved to Tasmania in 2023, on a one year contract with the fledgling club.  

The family left their life in storage in Adelaide, buying secondhand furniture and a cheap couch with a view to staying for one year then seeing what happens next.  

But Tasmania happened, and the family has expanded to four with the arrival of their second son in 2024, they’ve bought a house and now call Tasmania home.  

“As you do when you first move somewhere, you go to Bunnings to get whatever you need,” Drmic recalls.

“I found myself with a circle of people surrounding me, asking about the team, are we going to win, am I excited for the season, and I remember thinking this wouldn’t happen anywhere else in Australia.  

“The fans are so passionate here, the game day environment is so special, so loud, and it might sound cliché, but you truly do have a home court advantage when you play here because of our fans. I’ll miss that, but I’ll always remember it too.”

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