Champion basketballer Andrew Gaze has ranked opening the Thomastown Bunnings store up alongside some of his greatest ever sporting achievements. Despite being arguably Australia’s greatest ever basketballer, and playing in a record five Olympic Games, Gaze reportedly says that cutting the ceremonial ribbon at the hardware mega store is right up there.
Speaking exclusively to The Watsonia Bugle, a source close to Gaze said that a photo of him opening Thomastown Bunnings hangs on Gaze’s pool room wall alongside memorabilia from multiple NBL Championships with the Melbourne Tigers, a photo of him leading the Australian Olympic team into the arena at the Sydney 2000 Opening Ceremony, and his place on the San Antonio Spurs roster when they won the NBA Championship in 1999. The source said, “Gazey often talks about cutting the ribbon out at Thommo. True story. Reckons it’s right up there with all he’s achieved both on and off the court.”
The source went on to say, “In fact, just the other day he was talking about it. He said, ‘There’s the obvious highlights. I mean, NBA Championship, flag bearer at the Sydney Olympics, NBL Championships, Moomba Monarch, decorated media career, but that day in 2012 when I opened the Thomastown Bunnings was probably the day that I realised I’d really made it in Australian society. It was nice to give something back. And the snags that day were absolutely on point.’”
The Watsonia Bugle 