It was mid-2021 and Ally Wilson was on the verge of quitting basketball.
She’d lost the love for the game, which started at her all-Indigenous junior club in South Australia’s Murray Bridge, and had accepted that a 9-5 office job in Adelaide was her new reality.
Then, unexpectedly came an invitation to join Australia’s 3×3 squad now known as the Gangurrus.
With its skill and thrill, the new, abbreviated form of the game reignited Wilson’s passion.
And now, this month, the 30-year-old will become an Olympian when she represents her country in Paris.
Wilson’s journey back to the game, which featured three defining years with Bendigo in the WNBL, will now continue in Perth, for reigning Grand Finalist the Lynx, where the guard has signed for next season, ESPN can reveal.
“Basketball wasn’t fun at the time and I was on the brink of not playing again,” Wilson explains.
“I was struggling. After the (2020 Covid) hub season I was questioning whether I still loved playing basketball, if it still made me happy, whether I was good at it anymore, all those types of things that can run through your head.
“I was working full time. I don’t play basketball for money and it wasn’t fun anymore and it was like ‘What am I doing? I don’t have to do it’.
“3×3 and Bendigo Spirit were a huge part in me finding that love again, career-saving for me and now I’m going to an Olympics.
“I have a lot to be grateful for.”
An under-19 Australian representative, Wilson had experienced the peaks and troughs of elite sport since making her national league debut in 2010.
She earned WNBL Rookie of the Year honours in 2014 and was part of championships in Townsville (2014-15) and Sydney (2016-17) amid overcoming three knee surgeries.
She went unsigned for the 2021-22 season but joined Bendigo mid-campaign to replace a pregnant Leilani Mitchell.
When Australia failed to qualify for 3×3’s debut at the Tokyo Olympics the program underwent a reset.
Wilson, Lauren Mansfield, Marena Whittle and Anneli Maley would go on to form a new and successful frontier.
Whirlwind trips overseas to play in tournaments and qualify for others has become the norm for the Gangurrus who have 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 FIBA World Cup bronze medals in their collection.
“I thought I’d give 3×3 a go. I didn’t know too much about it but it seemed like a fast, condensed, fast-paced style and I was curious to see where it might take me” Wilson says.
“I’m glad I said yes.”
Yes, was also Wilson’s answer to an approach from the Perth Lynx.
With their frenetic focus on offence, the Lynx, who have contested two of the past four WNBL Grand Final series, have become the competition’s most watchable team.
Wilson believes the WA outfit will be in contention for their second-ever title, and first since 1992, as she teams up with Australian team mate Maley in Perth.
“Perth’s success and finals appearances during my time in the league is something I’m drawn to. I want to go somewhere where we’ll be in the finals hunt and trying to play for a championship,” she said.
“I’ve always admired how Perth have played as a group and particularly how Ryan (coach Ryan Petrik) has coached the team and the style of play that they have. I think it suits the style of player I am down to the ground.
“I’m excited be a part of the environment and play that fast-paced style.”
In the meantime, Wilson will realise her Olympic dream, it’s just a little different to the one that she envisaged as a kid captivated by the Opals silver-medal winning teams of 2004 and 2008.
“It’s always been the pinnacle for me, representing your country on the biggest stage possible and that’s the Olympics,” she said.
“3×3 obviously wasn’t around when I was younger so the dream was to play 5×5 but as soon as this came about the more I played it the more I fell in love with it.
“As a team we’ve been on a journey now for about two and a half years so there’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears go into it, from all of us, and I’ve loved every minute.”
The Gangurrus played on home soil for the first time at Australian basketball showcase Ballin’24 in Melbourne last week as interest and buzz builds around the medal contenders.
“I haven’t really let myself think about it until recently when people have asked about our medal chances because all of our focus, energy and effort had been on qualifying and making sure we were on the plane,” Wilson adds.
“I think it’s a huge possibility for our group if we play the way that we play. We should take huge confidence in winning a bronze medal at the World Cup where we pretty much played against all the teams that we’ll face at the Olympics.
“Winning a medal would be the absolute cherry on top.”