Tasmania JackJumpers championship winner Anthony Drmic has retired from the NBL, ending an 11-season career cut short by injury.
The 34-year-old guard told his teammates before training this morning. He said a cycle of rehab and setbacks had worn him down.
“It’s time,” Drmic said. “It’s been a long 18 months with the back injury. I’ve had this up and down cycle where I’ll come back, do the rehab, get in good shape and a few days into that I’ll hurt it again.”
“The mental toll that plays is huge and the last time that that happened my brain just kind of called it quits and said, ‘This is it, you need to do something else’.”
“I know it’s the right decision. I feel sad, but I also feel relief.”
The announcement comes three months after Drmic signed a one-year deal for NBL27, with his sights set on 300 NBL games.
He finishes on 279, including 80 across four seasons with the JackJumpers. That run included the club’s maiden championship in NBL24.
Coach Scott Roth said Drmic and his family had a lasting impact on the club.
“He leaves as a champion and someone who was hugely impactful on the group,” Roth said.
“He was one of the guys who really epitomized the grit and grind of working hard every day and he won’t be forgotten.”
Drmic’s leadership in the locker room earned him the vice-captaincy in NBL26.
“There isn’t one moment, the whole journey has just been awesome,” he said.
“It’s hard to beat the championship and I always joke about the game where we beat Adelaide by about 50 just after I parted ways with them to move down here.”
Drmic moved from Adelaide in 2023 with his wife Jenna and eldest son on a one-year contract.
They left their belongings in storage and bought a cheap secondhand couch. They had a second son in 2024, bought a house and now call Tasmania home.
Drmic said he’ll miss the state’s fans most.
“The fans are so passionate here, the game day environment is so special, so loud and it might sound cliché, but you truly do have a home court advantage when you play here because of our fans,” he said.
“I’ll miss that, but I’ll always remember it too.”
