As a Melbourne Tiger and Australian Boomer, Andrew Gaze simply couldn’t stop scoring.
Like father, like son.
Channel 9 keeps the scoreboard ticking over with the documentary “Gaze: The First Family of Australian Basketball,” which premieres Thursday night, June 20th.
The feature-length film retells the story of the Gaze family, one of Australia’s great sporting dynasties, and the irrepressible rise of Andrew Gaze — who lit the fuse that triggered the explosion of basketball across Australia in the late ‘80s and ‘90s.
“Gaze” traces Lindsay’s background in Adelaide, his tireless work with the basketball community in Melbourne, and follows the growth of a young Andrew, from a skinny kid, always with a ball in hand, through to the 6’7” scoring machine who kept defenses busy everywhere for more than two decades.
Andrew Gaze’s feats are the stuff of legend, and include two stints in the NBA, yielding a championship with San Antonio Spurs, an appearance in the NCAA final with Seton Hall Pirates, and five Olympics – the last of which, Sydney 2000, he was appointed as flagbearer.
The famous No. 10’s output in the NBL is peerless. Across 22 seasons with his beloved Tigers, he collected seven NBL MVPs, he’s an 11-time NBL All-Star, two-time NBL champion, 15-time All-NBL First-Team Member, 14-time NBL scoring champion and, incredibly, led the league in assists for one season.
In retirement, he followed in his dad’s footsteps with a three-year stint coaching the Sydney Kings, before pivoting to the NBL’s broadcast team.
The NBL MVP award, the league’s top post-season prize, is named the Andrew Gaze Trophy. The top award for coaches bears the name of Lindsay Gaze, himself a top baller in his prime who represented Australia at multiple Olympic Games as a player and coach.
“It is an absolute honour to have this documentary made and to celebrate my family’s legacy,” comments Janet Gaze, sister of Andrew and daughter of Lindsay.
“Our family will forever be indebted and grateful to the game of basketball, and we love seeing the game continue to thrive in Australia. If this documentary inspires anyone to play or even watch basketball, dad and Andrew will be happy.”
The new film is a tapestry of classic video and snaps, and features fresh input from members of the extended Melbourne Tigers “family,” from Lanard Copeland to Mark Bradtke, Ray Gordon, Warrick Giddey, Brian Goorjian, former prime minister John Howard, and NBL owner Larry Kestelman.
“Gaze: The First Family of Australian Basketball” airs exclusively on Channel 9 and 9Now on Thursday, June 20, at 8:30pm in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth, and 9:30pm in Sydney and Brisbane.
