Former Australian Boomer Ryan Broekhoff calls time on professional basketball career

After his last game as a professional basketballer, Ryan Broekhoff was overcome with emotions. He knew he had more to give, but reasons beyond him forced the Boomers star to pull the pin.

Family has always come first for Ryan Broekhoff.

So, with the arrival of baby number two and the opening of his new business — a Hoop City franchise in Melbourne’s south east — it’s not a huge shock that, at the relatively young age of 32, the Olympian has decided to retire from basketball.

It’s a decision months in the making for the former NBA man who spent the past two-and-a-half seasons with South East Melbourne in the NBL. Broekhoff, in February, quashed retirement rumours, but, as the season wore on, he came to realise the time had come and it hit home after the Phoenix were knocked out of the postseason by Perth.

“At the time, I wasn’t quite ready to make a decision,” Broekhoff told Code Sports.

“I understood what was coming up with having a second child and opening the business.

“After that loss to Perth I did get a bit emotional in the locker room because it dawned on me that it was probably my last game.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play 10 years professionally, travel all over the world and achieve all my dreams and goals.

“It’s not that I don’t think I can still play and compete at NBL level.

“It’s less about what I want for my career and more about my family.”

Katie Broekhoff, Ryan Broekhoff and Jackson Broekhoff, before the arrival of their new bundle of joy.

The newest member of the Broekhoff clan, Ezekiel.

BREAKING POINT

It’s not the first time Broekhoff has put family before career.

That’s a non-negotiable for him.

He pulled out of the 2019 World Cup to support American-born college sweetheart Katie, who has an underlying auto-immune disease, through her first pregnancy — “it was an easy decision, in the end”. A year later, he turned his back on a chance to join Philadelphia in the NBA bubble when she and Jackson became ill.

He acknowledges a difficult upbringing plays a role in his devotion to Katie, Jackson and new arrival Ezekiel — he doesn’t want them to go through what he did.

Those mental scars came to a head in 2021 on the eve of the Tokyo Olympics.

After navigating months of uncertainty around his future amid the Covid crisis across two continents, the former Dallas Maverick knew he was not physically or emotionally ready for an international campaign.

In a period of less than a year “we went from Dallas to Philly, back to Dallas, to Michigan, where my wife’s family is, back to Philly for training camp, and then back to Michigan.”

Houston then bobbed up that off-season — it looked like a deal was done but the phone call from the Rockets to seal it never came.

“Every time it seemed like something was done, the rug got pulled out from under us and all the moving and disappointment took its toll,” he said

They decided, in early 2021, to come back to Australia, join the Phoenix and try for a second child.

He struggled with form and injury and then Covid locked everything down.

“We look back and wonder what we did wrong, sometimes,” he said.

Broekhoff in action for the Dallas Mavericks during a 2019 clash with Philadelphia. Picture: NBAE/Getty Images

Ryan, Katie and baby Jackson, during their time in Dallas.

NO ROSE GOLD REGRET

Broekhoff could see the toll on his family, but it was Katie who convinced him to seek help for himself.

“My own demons caught up to me from my childhood and the anxiousness and feelings which come along that I hadn’t properly dealt with overflowed,” the Valparaiso University, Indiana, alum said.

“I felt a detachment from family. I’d be playing with Jackson but I didn’t feel like I was connecting and being the father I should be. I wasn’t a pleasant person to be around and I wasn’t who I thought I should be.

“Phoenix were great, they helped me through. Being able to speak to a professional about what happened during my childhood has taken a lot of that weight off.”

As he worked through those issues, he watched the Boomers make history in Tokyo.

“Looking back, even though they finally broke through and won a medal, I still would have made the same decision,” he said.

“I had to for my family, for myself, for happiness in general.”

Broekhoff was a popular figure at South East Melbourne. Picture: Getty Images

EMOTION AND INSPIRATION

Broekhoff has gained better perspective on his struggles and telling his story at schools in the Frankston and wider south east has aided the healing process.

“I tell them you may see from the outside I’ve been able to achieve dreams and play professional basketball but it wasn’t always that way,” he said.

“I was in some of their shoes where there’s problems at home, split up families, struggles with money, they’re scared and feeling like there’s no way out.

“I’ve stood up and started talking and started tearing up and getting emotional.

“It’s not an easy thing to talk about and it’s stuff that I still feel an effect from.

“Sharing some of my darkest times, the emotion just comes with it. Hopefully, the message gets through and it can help others see they can break that cycle.”

Broekhoff slices his way to the hoop for the Boomers in Rio. Picture: Adam Head

THE RIO DEBACLE

You’ll rarely hear Rowdy, as they call him — a legacy of his time as a quiet junior with the Frankston Blues — say a bad word about anything.

So it takes a little cajoling to get him to say what he really thinks of the 2016 farce in Rio.

That Boomers team would likely have been the first Australian men’s major medallist, were it not for an infamous piece of refereeing that gifted Spain two free throws in the last 10 seconds and an 89-88 win in the Olympic bronze decider.

It was the last time he’d wear the green and gold.

“It’s still difficult to talk about,” he said.

“Being so close and the way the game ended.

“Everyone’s seen the call. Through the course of the game, those calls were let go, it was allowed to be a physical and highly competitive game.

“For the result to be hinged on a bad call at the end, it’s still really difficult to accept.”

Broekhoff is now among the ex-Olympians cheering the Boomers to a medal at next month’s World Cup.

“That Boomers’ culture, there’s nothing quite like it in sport,” he said.

“All the agendas are put aside, there’s one goal — represent your country.

“It’s probably the last pure form of basketball left.”

The shy, skinny kid from Frankston’s come a long, long way.

Broekhoff is grateful for his time with South East Melbourne Phoenix. Picture: Getty Images

HOMECOMING

The ‘Mayor of Frankston’ took the hard road to the NBA, through Turkey, then Russia.

So it’s no surprise the working class hero is a fan favourite in the Heartland.

Whether it’s post-game, at a school or clinic or just on the street, Rowdy never refuses an autograph, selfie or chat with fans.

Injuries plagued him but, at his best, he was one of the finest shooters in the league, courtesy of an aesthetically pleasing textbook jumper.

The injuries are a frustration. Whether it was a soft tissue malady, a fractured eye socket or a wrecked shoulder from a collision with fellow Boomer Matthew Dellavedova, every time Broekhoff seemed to find form, his body would let him down.

“Maybe my body was telling me ‘you’ve pushed it to the limit for so long, now it’s starting to wear down, you can’t move as quickly as you once did or push through little things like you once could’,” he said.

Broekhoff provided some big moments in Phoenix laser green. His seven three-pointers against Illawarra in his debut season, an enormous triple that blew the roof off John Cain Arena and put Throwdown rival Melbourne United to bed and a 20-point half against Perth, both last campaign, come to mind.

“It’s been great to be close to home and part of an organisation that’s young, growing and connecting with fans in the community,” he said.

“On those teams, we’ve had an amazing group of people and I’ve had so much fun with great characters like Mitch (Creek), Kyle (Adnam), Reuben (Te Rangi) and Dane (Pineau).”

“When Foxy (Owen Foxwell) signed as an 18-year-old, it made me feel really old but really proud.”

The Phoenix had kept a roster spot open for Broekhoff, but will now pivot to other local talent, with Kiwi big man Tohi Smith-Milner on the radar for a return.

Ryan Broekhoff outside his new Hoop City franchise.

DOOR OPEN

Broekhoff and fellow Frankston product David Andersen want the Carrum Downs basketball facility they’ve partnered in to cultivate a new generation of elite hoopers from the region.

He will head up the invite-only Hoop City U Gold program, which has been tailored to emulate an NBL club’s training and development regimen.

It means Broekhoff stays in the game he loves — and that means the door will remain ever-so-slightly ajar for a return.

“I’ve still got a desire to play and there may even be a chance, once things settle down, to come back and play in the NBL,” he said.

“But, right now, the boots are getting hung up.”

The competitive juices flowed on the weekend when he surprised a group of teen ballers by joining in an open run at Hoop City.

“I was thinking, ‘oh, gosh, I enjoyed that’, then woke up the next day and thought, ‘I don’t miss this at all’,” he laughed.

Originally published as Former Australian Boomer Ryan Broekhoff calls time on professional basketball career