NBA writer Zach Lowe gives a warts and all breakdown of Aussie basketballer Joe Ingles

ONE of America’s most respected basketball writers has named Aussie Joe Ingles to his All Star team — but it’s not the kind of team you want to be in.

‘He looks as if he hasn’t showered in days’

AUSTRALIAN basketballer Joe Ingles has been named to an NBA All-Star team — just not the one he was hoping for.

Ingles, a teammate of Dante Exum’s at the Utah Jazz, has been selected on the bench in the Luke Walton All-Stars, an annual team nominated by Grantland.com’s NBA writer Zach Lowe.

In Lowe’s words “Team Walton is for journeymen thriving in unexpectedly large roles”.

Ingles fits the bill, playing 16 minutes per game off the bench in his first season with Jazz, despite averaging less than three points.

What do you think? Does Joe look like he ‘hasn’t showered in days’?

Lowe, while explaining his selection of the Aussie small forward, noted Ingles’s apparent unwillingness to shoot.

“A drinking game guaranteed to leave you sober: Drink every time Joe Ingles takes a shot!” Lowe wrote.

“Ingles, a longtime Aussie pro who somehow always looks as if he hasn’t showered in days, is producing one of the most bizarro seasons ever for a wing player.

“Ingles takes just six shots per 36 minutes. He has attempted eight free throws all season. His usage rate is about to dip below 10 per cent. Only a handful of players have bundled those kinds of numbers over a full season, and almost all of them are either dunks-only big men or 3-and-D specialists like Shane Battier and Bruce Bowen.

“Ingles is neither of those things. He’s shooting only 25 per cent from deep, and he needs to be Grand Canyon levels of wide open to even think about shooting.”

Ingles can’t smell that bad given how close he’s being defended by Udonis Haslem and James Ennis here.

But Lowe does recognise the qualities which have seen Utah coach Quin Snyder trust Ingles with an important role in the team.

“Ingles is a feisty dude, and he’ll get where [Jazz coach] Quin Snyder wants him on defence ...” Lowe wrote.

“(He) is a wing player who spots up in the corner and passes the ball, and he can dish it just fine. He’ll swing the ball to open shooters, work a dribble hand-off to keep things going, and throw some pinpoint hit-ahead passes leading the break after snagging a rebound.”

Ingles, who is engaged to Australian netballer Renae Hallinan, is playing his first season in the NBA at age 27 after a successful career in Europe.

He’s a long-time member of the Boomers.

You can see Lowe’s full Luke Walton All-Stars team here.