From fan in the stands to leader on the court

Tom Ingham still remembers the exact seat in Trafalgar Centre where he watched the NBS Nelson Giants win a national title in 2007.

And from his first taste of the Giants as a development player while still in high school at Waimea College, he knew it was the team for him.

“I was so excited. . . The youngest leads the team out and I ran so fast, all the guys were yelling at me telling me to slow down.

“In terms of getting on court, there were three minutes left and as soon as I stood up all my mates in the crowd started screaming.”

Coming into his 11th NBL season, the driving force that brings him back year after year is the desire to bring another title back to his hometown.

“All I want to do is contribute to the team in the best possible way.”

Tom sees his role in the team having evolved over the years, having turned up to pre-season training this year and looked around to realise he is one of the most senior players in the team alongside captain Sam Dempster.

“As time goes on, you look around and the guys get younger and younger.

“I’m one of the old guys now.”

He views his position as one of leadership and connecting the team together, while on the court he’s there to “come off the bench and score the ball at an efficient clip”.

And while playing for the team has been a dream come true for Tom, the road to where he is today hasn’t been without its hiccups.

In 2022, a collision in preseason training saw him rupture his ACL, requiring surgery, while also tearing his MCL and meniscus.

“I felt like I was at a point in my career where everything was tracking the way I wanted it to.

“As soon as the injury happened, there was an element of grief and feeling a wee bit sorry for myself, but seeing the guys working hard every day kept me honest.”

He says the injury was a tricky thing to navigate, having to deal with the expectations and reality of what his return would mean.

“I told myself through the whole thing I was going to come back and be better than ever.

“In my head, it was because I had worked so hard, but all that hard work was just to get back.

“Those first couple of games, I thought ‘far out, there’s still a few things to work on’, but by the end of the season I feel back to 100.”

And while his knee will never be exactly the same as it was before, he jokes that nothing feels as young and supple as it did a few years ago.

But, Tom’s used to hard work.

It was hard work that got him to where he was before and it was hard work that got him back into the fold.

“I’ve really had to graft for everything I’ve got.”