Bannan already epitomises JackJumpers culture

Josh Bannan is the Tasmania JackJumpers MVP after his first NBL season with the team, he already epitomises the grit and grind culture, and now can't wait to get his first taste of finals in the league.

Bannan was a highly sought after rookie signing across the NBL following his college career at the University of Montana, and he would end up playing his first two seasons in the league at the Brisbane Bullets.

However, by the end of the 2024/25 season, he was looking for a new home and wanted somewhere to give him the best chance to both further grow his game, and then to be part of team success.

It's fair to say it's worked out perhaps beyond expectations on both fronts for the 25-year-old forward who now has been named the MVP of the JackJumpers for the season highlighting his outstanding all-round contributions and his consistency throughout NBL26.

Then on top of that, after two tough seasons with the Bullets that Bannan was part of, he is now going to be part of his first NBL finals series when the JackJumpers take on Melbourne United this Thursday night in the Play-In Qualifier at John Cain Arena.

Bannan is now preparing to be part of his first NBL final and while the JackJumpers are shorthanded, he still wouldn't want to be going to battle with any other group of teammates.

"We have had a couple of weeks now for guys to keep preparing, some guys have had a chance to have a bit of a rest if that's what they need and keep building," Bannan said.

"It's almost like a mini pre-season going into a one-game series and it's one game, and on any given night you just have to show up and we're going to play the way that we play.

"We'll just see where the chips falls and it doesn’t matter, we're happy wherever, whenever."

When Bannan was weighing up where to continue his basketball career in NBL26 after the past two seasons in Brisbane, everything he had heard about the environment and culture he had heard about the JackJumpers made it impossible to deny.

And as much as he liked what he heard, the culture that he is now fully part of and helping to carry on suits him down to a tee and it has surpassed any and all expectations he might have had initially.

"Honestly it's awesome being part of it and it's just a great group of guys," Bannan said.

"I think something that you notice about this club is that at a night like that awards night, players that have played for the club want to come back and chat to their former teammates.

"The team is just really close and you don't see guys wandering off to be with other people, it's a tight knit group who really enjoys being together.

"I'm very grateful to play for the club and grateful to share the court with my teammates who are all exceptional people."

While Bannan is now heading into a first NBL finals game on Thursday night without the likes of Sean Macdonald, Will Magnay, Ben Ayre, Nick Stoddart and Bryce Hamilton who he was excited to play with at the JackJumpers, he continues to be proud of the strong culture within the group against the odds.

"Part of the unfortunate part is that a lot of the guys I signed up to play with unfortunately have gone down with injuries through the course of this year which has been difficult for them, and difficult for us as a team," Bannan said.

"But that doesn’t change the fact that the rest of the group has been incredible to play with and every time we step on the court you have this belief. I love playing for this club."

The three-man rotation in the front of Bannan-Majok Deng-Will Magnay might not have now eventuated in the back end of the season following the captain's toe injury, but Bannan can't speak more highly of the way Deng has stepped up.

Despite now closing in on 300 games in his NBL career, he's playing some of the best basketball he ever has including a best of 36 points against the South East Melbourne Phoenix which saw him put up 20 in the first quarter alone.

It's more about just what Deng does on the court that Bannan now loves being able to call him a teammate though.

"It was definitely tough losing Mags but Jooky is stepping up and coming into the starting role, everyone can see what Majok is," Bannan said.

"He's a special basketball player and a special human, and people don’t see him on a day-to-day, and how much he does pumping up his teammates and putting belief in all his teammates.

"He's one of the best people I've ever been around and then the basketball success he's having comes as no surprise to anyone in our locker room. You know he can shoot the ball and do a lot of things on the court so I love what he's been able to continue to do for us."

JackJumpers coach Scott Roth had looked from afar at Bannan over the past two years as the exact type of player that would thrive in the Tasmania environment.

What's stood out beyond what Bannan has provided on the floor for the JackJumpers, is the standards he sets in all areas in terms of professionalism and work rate.

He's glad to see him get rewarded now with the way he's playing.

"He's just done it all year, him and Nick Marshall have been the two I think that have been the most surprising just in general of where they're at and how their growth has gone with us," Roth said.

"With Josh, his work ethic is incredible and a long time ago Jerry West said that one of the talents that gets overlooked a lot in the NBA is their work rate, and his (Bannan's) work rate's off the charts.

"His grit and grind that he does every single day, he has a big motor that is always on and that's giving him an advantage every single time he walks on the floor.

"To see that for the entire year, he played the entire season when everyone was worried about his injuries, and he conquered that with his preparation and he has been a joy to coach. He's been a leader of our group and he's one of those guys that you watch and can follow very easily."