The Melbourne Tigers are thrilled to announce the signing of one of the most exciting young talents in Australian basketball, Jade Melbourne.
Jade really needs no introduction. She had a stella junior career representing Australia in the U17 and 19 age groups and was a member of the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence. During her junior career she was captain of the Australian Gems at the 2021 World Cup, winning a silver medal and making the All-Star 5. From that tournament Jade earned herself Opal’s selection for the 2021 Asia Cup, where she and the Opals team won the Bronze Medal.
Jade is also a member of the WNBL University of Canberra Capitals. In 2023, at the age of 20, she became the captain of the club. Over her season she broke an 11-year record and became the youngest player to record a triple double in WNBL history. She finished the year with a stat line of 13.5ppg 5.8rbd 6.1ast and ended up leading the league in assists.
In 2022 due to her stella junior career and her amazing WNBL performances, Jade was selected with the 33rd pick in the WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. Jade will follow Lauren Jackson, Sami Whitcomb & Ezi Magbegor and head off to Seattle at the end of April. We can’t wait to see her succeed after her stint with the Tigers.
Coach Warrick Giddey said, “It is super exciting for us as a club to bring Jade in. She reminds me a lot of Josh with her ability to pass and read the game. She is the best young talent in the country, so she will bring some real buzz for our supporters and I’m sure that she will draw some big crowds. As a great role model for young girls, it will be great to have all our junior Tigers girls there to see her play”.
Jade said “I’m excited to be playing for the Melbourne Tigers for some games before I head over to Seattle. I’ve been training for a few weeks now and I’ve liked the competitiveness of the girls and it’s been a lot of fun so I’m looking forward to playing with them all. I’ve worked with Kaleb for a while now, which has been awesome for my game and he spoke very highly of the program, so it was an easy decision. I know Waz is a great coach so I’m looking forward to being coached by him and seeing what I can learn and add to my game before I take off”.
Jade will suit up for the Tigers and join the rest of her team in round 2 when Waverley come to MSAC for our first home game on Thursday 13th of April at 6:30pm.