Champion Basketballer

Australia has never had a basketballer like him. A true legend in the sport, Andrew Gaze is a five time Olympian and became the first Australian to play professionally in Europe. Andrew began his illustrious career in the NBL at the age of 18 and, in 1993, realised a life long dream when he captained the Melbourne Tigers to victory in the NBL Grand Final. He is the first NBL player to shoot over 1,000 points in a season, and named the NBL’s Most Valuable Player an unheard of seven times. Andrew’s talent and consistency are truly outstanding and make him one of Australia’s most popular sportsmen today.

Andrew Gaze is Australia’s greatest ever basketballer. He has won the National Basketball League (NBL) scoring title a record 10 times as well as being awarded the NBL’s Most Valuable Award a staggering 7 times. This five times Olympian (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000) is a Dual NBL Championship player who received one of his greatest honours by being the Flag Bearer and Team Captain for the Australian team at the Sydney Olympics. 

Impressive Career

After an impressive schoolboy career, the son of Australian basketball legend Lindsay Gaze made the transition to the NBL at 18 years of age and averaged 29.1 points per game in his first season. In 1989 Andrew played for the American university, Seton Hall, who reached the final four of the NCAA Championships that year, and was rewarded with a trial with NBA’s Seattle Supersonics.

In 1991, Andrew became the first Australian to play professionally in Europe, with the Italian club side, Udine. In a six-month stint in Italy, he averaged more than 30 points a game. Back home in Australia in 1991 he became the first NBL player to shoot over 1,000 points in a season. In the same year he won the first of his seven NBL MVP awards, and was also the first player to lead both scoring and assists statistics in the same season.

In 1993 Andrew realised one of his lifelong dreams, when he captained the Melbourne Tigers to victory in the NBL Grand Final. Three years later, in his fourth Olympics, Andrew led Australia to a Bronze Medal play-off in Atlanta. The following year, Andrew was superb as the Tigers stormed into the finals on the back of a record-breaking 16-game winning streak. Andrew again led the NBL scoring table and capped 1997 off by winning his second NBL championship, his 10th NBL scoring title and yet another NBL MVP award. 

Auatralian Captain

In 1994, Andrew made his debut in the NBA with the Washington Bullets. He resumed his NBA career early in 1999 after signing with the San Antonio Spurs who proceeded to win the Championship and Andrew returned home with an NBA prized ring. Selected in a record fifth Olympics for Sydney 2000, Andrew completed a rare feat in Australian Basketball history. The highlight of Andrew’s final Olympic campaign was the honour bestowed upon him of the role of flag bearer and Captain of the Australian Olympic Team.

Andrew is one of this country’s true icons and undoubtedly one of Australia’s most recognisable and popular sporting identities.

In 2002 Andrew was awarded an AM for his massive contribution to Sport in this country.

Presentation Topics Include

• After dinner speaker
• Professional sports
• Success
• Achievement
• Longevity

Testimonials

"Andrew was outstanding and had everyone captivated from the start of his presentation. He was able to help us achieve the message we wanted to get across to our workers from his personal experiences which were both entertaining and humorous. Everyone found Andrew a down to earth and genuine person who they could relate to. Our employees went away from the session both inspired and motivated. We would not hesitate to have Andrew back for future training sessions".
Greg Evangelakos, McDonnell Dowell

Andrew was great! The guests loved him. He was extremely friendly with everyone and nothing was too much trouble i.e. talking to guests, getting his pic taken with all guests etc. He was a very low maintenance guest speaker. Lovely guy. He was also very engaging and funny in his presentation. Money well spent. 
Five AA - Nova

“Excellent. The audience responded very positively to Andrew. He was a great hit and I would have no hesitation in using him again." 
Hewlett Packard Australia

“Andrew was professional, presented a witty and relevant speech which he related back to our industry" 
Cleanworld

“Andrew was great and just what we needed" 
Swann Insurance

“Excellent. Andrew was extremely personable nothing was a problem he arrived early spoke to many of our guests and entertained everyone in the room with his brilliant stories. 
GAP Communications

“Excellent. Mr Gaze tailored his speech to meet the audience with entertaining anecdotes and endless laughs. His assistance with the presentation of awards and the evenings program was much appreciated." 
Australia Defence Force Academy

“Excellent. Very entertaining, passionate and humorous. Very well received by all present." 
Brighton Rotary

“Excellent. Andrew was an excellent speaker with numerous anecdotes not only on the Olympics but also on life. He is a very proud Australian, which comes through, during his presentation. Andrew pays enormous credit to his parents for his achievements and for the way they raised him. If you listen closely to the presentation there are messages in there for all of us. His presentation is such that it can be presented to any group from school children to a sports night to a formal dinner. Andrew was an absolute delight to work with and we will certainly be using him again." 
Aim Higher Marketing

“Andrew was outstanding. His speech was down to earth and appropriate to our audience - he had the audience enthralled the whole time. His genuine friendly manner towards our students as he presented awards to them was very much appreciated. Members of our school community have been commenting to me how impressed they were with him." 
Carwatha College

“Andrew was very entertaining and was very generous with his time, speaking for just on an hour with questions from the audience. Content was very appropriate and the focus on the Olympics was great." 
Education & Professional Development

“Andrew's presentation was terrific. He managed to tailor his talk to suit the requirements of the function, providing interesting stories in regard to his time in basketball as well as some advice for ensuring the right environment is created for sporting excellence. He was particularly well received by those present - the sporting clubs of Frankston. “ 
Frankston City Council

“Excellent. Andrew was absolutely brilliant! a more likeable and inspiring speaker you will not find." 
Automotive Global Insurance

“Excellent. Even though the workshop was a government initiative where the audience was predominantly aimed at a specific Government program target group and the information we provided contained tracts of technical government policy , Andrew was able to grasp the main issues and conduct his presentation focusing on two or three key points that related to the audience and the rationale behind the workshop. Andrew is very genuine person which shines through in his presentations." 
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

“Excellent! I have been involved in many conferences and have organised many speakers and events, and at this stage, l would have to say that Andrew Gaze is simply the nicest person you could meet. He is extremely humble and pleasant to deal with; he participated in all the activities and was extremely professional in his approach. He gauged his audience well and presented his talk at the level that all enjoyed tremendously. He was a pleasure to deal with and his attendance at our Forum really made for a great day." 
Smartline

“Very Good! Andrew is a very approachable and caring individual and was just what was needed in a conference speaker. His key messages about setting goals and knowing what you want out of life was well expressed. He highlighted many experiences that I am sure every person in the room could have related at least one of them back to their own life. A wonderful, relaxed speaker that had the audience’s attention." 
Waldron Smith Management

“Very enjoyable and entertaining speaker...his anecdotes were both informative and amusing". 
Retravision

“He left us with plenty to take away and think about, what makes an elite athlete, the value of teamwork and how he applies this away from the court". 
Hill McGlynn Australia Pty Ltd

“Andrew was fantastic. His talk was perfect for the group of delegates and he was most entertaining. He is just such a likeable 'bloke' that he was the perfect fit. “ 
Melbourne Sports Events