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TICKETS are on sale now for the relaunch of the BASKETBALL SA Hall of Fame on Friday, February 7 at Stamford Plaza, the first list of inductees for the decade including Adelaide 36ers NBL great and championship-winning captain Brett Maher.

The gala event from 6:30pm to 10 in the heart of the city will recognise the exceptional service to basketball of the inductees while also acknowledging past Hall of Fame members and those granted automatic BSA Hall of Fame status by virtue of their previous recognition by Basketball Australia.

Already in the BSA Hall are Michael Ahmatt, Frank Angove, Jean Bain, Andris Blicavs, George Dancis, Alan Dawe, Lorraine Eiler, Inga Freidenfelds, Merv Harris, Algy Ignatavicius, Werner Linde, Keith Miller, Huba Nagy and Pat Rowe.

All of the new inductees are unique and showcase the best of basketball in SA across the ages and it is our pleasure here to reprint their back stories.

Get along on the night - tickets are available by hitting this link. It promises to be one of the great nights on the annual basketball social calendar.

Meanwhile, today's inductee back story is of the two-time Larry Sengstock Medallist as the Most Valuable Player in the Grand Final Series, Brett Maher.

INDUCTEE - BRETT MAHER

Brett Maher is the benchmark against whom all great Adelaide 36ers players are measured.

A dual Larry Sengstock Medallist as the Most Valuable Player of the NBL’s championship series, claiming the honour in 1999 and 2002, Maher debuted for the 36ers in 1992 and played his final game in 2009.

His 525 NBL games played is the club’s record and he was its captain on Adelaide’s way to championship successes in 1998, 1999 and 2002.

Maher’s abilities as a combo guard, comfortable at the point or as a wing shooter, saw him reach All NBL First Team selection three times (2000, 2003, 2006) and he was the runner-up for the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 2003.

An NBL All-Star four times (1996, 1997, 2005, 2006), Maher also is a triple-Olympian, wearing the Boomers’ green-and-gold at Games in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens in 2004.

In between Atlanta and Sydney, Maher played for Australia at the 1998 FIBA World Championship, in total playing 180 international games for the Boomers.

The man with the deadliest three-point shot of his era, also captained the Boomers at the 2001 Goodwill Games and 2001 Oceania Championship.

In the South Australian men’s competition, he led Sturt Sabres into the 1995 grand final as the only major NBL player on the team.

Although beaten by a star-studded South Adelaide side laden with NBL players Mark Davis, Scott Ninnis, Brett Wheeler, Graham Kubank, American Ron Nunnelly and point guard Shane Ahmatt -the son of Hall of Famer Michael - Maher was magnificent.

He scored 25 points and hauled down a remarkable 22 rebounds in the 84-89 defeat to become the first man in SA basketball history to win the grand final Most Valuable Player award from the losing team.

Post-playing career, Maher coached Sturt Sabres in the Basketball SA Men's Premier League.

Universally respected by friend and foe alike, Brett Maher’s character as an iconic sporting figure in South Australia and role model status always has sat well on this loyal, one-club man.

Evidence of the father of three’s character best can be exemplified by his post-basketball career choice – to become a fireman like his father, and risk his life to save people and property.

His promotional work in the community and in schools forwarding basketball as a sport also have added to his canon of work, the main court at Titanium Security Arena – formerly the Clipsal Powerhouse – named after him with his signature adorning the floor.

It was placed where he hit his last shot at the Arena, a match-clinching 3-pointer over the New Zealand Breakers in Maher's farewell game.

When the Adelaide 36ers in 2019 shifted their NBL home games to Adelaide Entertainment Centre, they took the signature with them, making that the new Brett Maher Court.

His hallowed #5 uniform is one of only four the Adelaide 36ers have retired and his place in the Basketball SA Hall of Fame was inevitable and richly deserved.