Andrew Gaze
Australia's most dominant domestic basketball force, a seven-time MVP whose loyalty to one team made him a national sporting institution.
Born 1965 (age 61)·Australian basketball player·Birthday: July 24·Generation X
Biography
Andrew Gaze wasn't just a basketball player in Australia; for over two decades, he was the league. The son of a coach, he grew up with the smell of the hardwood in his nostrils, joining his father's Melbourne Tigers as a teenager and never leaving. What followed was a staggering display of sustained offensive brilliance. He led the NBL in scoring a mind-boggling fourteen times, a record of consistency built on a deadly outside shot and an uncanny ability to draw fouls. While offers from the NBA came—including a stint with the champion San Antonio Spurs—his heart remained with the Tigers, the team he led to two championships. More than his points, it was his loyalty that cemented his status. In an era of increasing player movement, Gaze was a constant, his number 10 jersey becoming synonymous with the sport itself in Australia.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Andrew was born in 1965, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Andrew Was Born
The biggest hits of 1965
#1 Movie
The Sound of Music
Best Picture
The Sound of Music
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Andrew's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1965Born
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1970Started school
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1978Became a teenager
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1981Could drive
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1983Could vote
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Turned 21
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1995Turned 30
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 40
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 50
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 60
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 61 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the National Basketball League (NBL) Most Valuable Player award a record seven times during his career.
- Led the NBL in scoring for 14 separate seasons, an unparalleled feat of offensive dominance.
- Played his entire 22-season NBL career for a single club, the Melbourne Tigers, guiding them to championships in 1993 and 1997.
- Represented Australia in five Olympic Games (1984–2000), serving as flag bearer at the 2000 Sydney Opening Ceremony.
Did You Know?
He won an NBA championship ring as a deep reserve with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999, appearing in 19 regular-season games.
Gaze still holds the single-game NBL scoring record, putting up 71 points for the Tigers against the Geelong Supercats in 1992.
He and his father, Lindsay Gaze, formed the only father-son duo to both be inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame as players.
After retiring, he became a successful coach, leading the Sydney Kings to an NBL championship in 2022.
“I was never the most athletic, I was never the quickest, I was never the strongest. I just tried to be the most prepared.”
