Breakers Legend Set for Inspiring Return to Court

NBL and New Zealand Breakers legend Alex Pledger is set for a heart-warming return to basketball this month, with the now 36-year-old back on court after initially being forced to retire from the game due to a cancer diagnosis.

Pledger – a veteran of almost 300 NBL games and four championships – was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in March of 2021 following his second season at Melbourne United, and just weeks out from the start of the new NZNBL season.

Aside from his four titles with the Breakers, Pledger is a legend of the Southland Sharks in the NZNBL.

After winning his second career NBNZL title at the club in 2018, it was the Sharks who he made his most recent professional appearance with following his diagnosis, and it’s the Sharks who he will return to the court with to close out the NZNBL campaign.

“The Sharks have supported me a lot over the last couple of years. The way they helped (wife) Bailee and I through everything, I felt like I owed them a thank-you,” Pledger told Stuff.co.nz. “In my mind I’ve always wanted to give it one more go, but I understood in the situation I was in, it just might not have been possible.

“Part of the reason I wanted to do it was to see all the people that played a part, not just the Sharks folk, but the people at the hospital that discovered everything and saved my life, really. To thank them for everything.”

Pledger boasts four NBL titles, two NZNBL titles, an NZNBL MVP and NZNBL Finals MVP across his storied career.

The Sharks – who boast NBL23 South East Melbourne Phoenix forward Grant Anticevich and NBL journeyman Jeremy Kendle amongst their ranks – currently sit third on the ladder with a 3-3 record, behind the Walter Brown-led Canterbury Rams and Michael Harris and Sam Timmins-led Otago Nuggets.

“Sometimes in the last minutes of close games you get a little bit of an itch sitting on the edge of the couch, but I’ve mostly just enjoyed watching it,” Pledger said of his two full seasons out of the game.

“The 10 years before [the diagnosis] basketball and sport was my life really. You quickly learn it’s just a game throwing an orange ball into a hoop. It’s not the most important thing in the world.

“Out of ways you could end your career, that’s one of the worst to hang the boots up on.

“Choosing to [retire], rather than being forced to, was one of the main reasons (for coming back).”

Despite his impressive resume in both the NBL and NZNBL competitions, as well as a Commonwealth Games bronze medal, Pledger is realistic about his potential impact on the side for the last nine games of the season.

“I’ve obviously been through quite a bit, so we’ll see how things go when I get down there,” he said.

“I’m just looking forward to being a part of the group down there. I’ve missed that the last couple of years.”

Despite his impending inspiring return to the court, he believes this will likely be his last run at the professional game.

“You never say never,” he adds, “But I would lean towards this is most likely it.”