Wagstaff set to play on in NBL25?

An era of the NBL is coming to a close, and with the now official retirement of Tom Abercrombie following New Zealand’s Play-In defeat to Illawarra, and the impending retirement of Brad Newley, Jesse Wagstaff is one of the final players remaining competition-wide who played through the Wildacts’ decade of dominance that was the 2010s.

Wagstaff will turn 38 next month, and after he signed a one-year contract extension at the end of NBL23, retirement rumours are sure to start emerging, as Perth attempts to win its seventh championship with the club legend on the roster.

Damian Martin won six championships alongside the club stalwart, and he told NBL Media his close friend and former teammate would be “crazy” not to consider extending his already exceptional career into NBL25.

“If you’d asked me this five, six, seven games into the season I’d have said it was probably time to go and buy him a retirement present, because this would be it,” Martin said. “Now, I think he’d be absolutely crazy not to go around again.

“I think it’s a no-brainer that he goes around again, because even if it’s just the leadership he brings that fast tracks the development of someone like an Alex Sarr, or whoever their youngsters are going to be next year, he also can be relied upon to make the smart and unselfish decisions to bring the best out of the team.

“I think it now should be his decision and not the club’s. I think he’s done enough this season to warrant the club giving him another year, and he had to earn that because at stages throughout the course of the season it looked like the club was going in a different direction.

“Like he’s done time and time again he proved his worth ten times over and I don’t think the Wildcats would be playing Finals basketball had they not gone to Jesse.

“I think he should go on, I think the offer should be there from the club, it just comes down to if he wants to.”

Outside of the fact Wagstaff has already cemented himself as an absolute legend of the Wildcats, he's within touching distance of a pair of NBL records.

Should the Wildcats earn one more championship with him in the team, he will become the only player in NBL history to have won seven titles. He currently sits in a four-way tie on six titles with Martin, David Stiff and CJ Bruton.

Greg Hire, Damian Martin and Jesse Wagstaff following Martin's retirement in 2020.

Stiff and Bruton each won their six titles across three different clubs, while Martin and Wagstaff won all six of their titles playing alongside each other at the Wildcats.

While that’s a milestone that could be checked off in NBL24, Wagstaff’s pursuit of Ricky Grace’s all-time Wildcats appearance record would have to wait until NBL25 to be broken.

He’s currently 11 games behind legendary import Ricky Grace’s record of 482, and there are a maximum of eight games remaining for the Wildcats this season.

Martin says while Wagstaff is not motivated by records, trophies or legacy, reaching one or both of those milestones would fully establish him as one of the all-time great Wildcats.

“He's aware of the numbers because he’s been asked so many times around it, but when he decides to go on or not I guarantee it’s got nothing to do with chasing number seven or chasing the all-time games played,” Martin said.

“He’s motivated by other things and that’s never changed, and that’s why I love Jesse so much. He is who he is, and he’s the most disciplined, well thought of, planned guy I know and he’s always had structure in his life.

“Legacy isn’t a motivating factor for Jesse whatsoever, but I think a guy who had brought so much to this club and been a massive reason why they’ve won six championships deserves to be considered an all-time great and have his jersey retires.

“That, for me, becomes a no-brainer if he does with that seventh championship and become the all-time games holder. I think his jersey gets retired regardless, but if he achieves those two things I’d be the first person to stand up and applaud.”

Game 1 of Perth’s upcoming Playoff Series against Tasmania will tip off on Friday, March 8 at 9:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo, 10 Peach and 10 Play.