Greg Hire

Greg Hire (born 19 September 1987) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played four years of college basketball in the United States before joining the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 2010 as a development player. In 2011, he was elevated to the full-time roster and in 2014 he won his first NBL championship. He went on to win three more championships in 2016, 2017 and 2019. In the NBL1 West, he won a championship with the Wanneroo Wolves in 2011 and again with the Rockingham Flames in 2022.

Early life and career Hire was born in Perth, Western Australia, in the suburb of Subiaco. His mother, a Hungarian immigrant, moved to Australia as a refugee and settled in Perth. Hire's parents did not have a healthy relationship and split when he was around 10 years old. He grew up around domestic violence, drugs, alcohol, depression and a lack of positive role models. He eventually turned to basketball. He attended Woodvale Senior High School, where he played basketball and football. He represented Western Australia at both the under-18 and under-20 national championships.

Hire debuted for the Wanneroo Wolves in the State Basketball League (SBL) in 2005. With the Wolves in 2006, he won the SBL Most Improved Player. He impressed in his first season, showing a significant improvement in his fitness, mobility, strength and shooting, and took the floor in 13 games. He subsequently earned the Coach's Award for the 2010–11 season. After averaging five minutes a game for the season, Hire was considered a "game changer" in game two of the Wildcats' grand final series against the New Zealand Breakers in Perth. He delivered a rousing half-time speech before injecting life into Perth in the third term, recording seven points and four rebounds for the quarter, leading the way as the key figure in the comeback that reduced a deficit that at its worst reached 13 points. He finished the game playing almost 17 minutes in what was a one-point win.

Hire continued on with the Wildcats for the 2012–13 season and loomed as a key member. During his second full-time season, he was promoted to the team's starting five and the club's leadership group. His season featured improvements in all statistical areas and included his first double-double effort, which he nearly converted into a rare triple-double in game one of the semi-final series against the Wollongong Hawks, He also had a career-high 14 rebounds in February against the Adelaide 36ers. The Wildcats reached the 2013 NBL Grand Final series, where they were defeated 2–0 by the Breakers. Hire averaged 4.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game during the season, with his playing minutes more than doubling from the 2011–12 season. In February 2014, he played his 100th NBL game. The Wildcats reached their third straight NBL Grand Final in 2014, with Hire winning his first NBL championship after they defeated the Adelaide 36ers 2–1. Hire was touted as a possible grand final MVP when he came off the bench in the deciding third game and contributed nine rebounds and five assists to inspire the Wildcats to victory.

Hire appeared in the Wildcats' 2014–15 season opener, but then missed the next three months with a tear to his left calf muscle, an injury he sustained at training. He travelled with the team despite being sidelined to provide leadership and support from the bench. During his time off, Hire strived to improve his outside jumper through high-volume shooting sessions and tweaked his diet in order to become more streamlined and versatile on the court. He also dropped roughly 3 kg and lost 25mm of skinfolds. a series the Wildcats lost in straight sets. Hire played in a career-low 11 games in 2014–15.

Hire's court time was limited for the Wildcats during the 2015–16 season, He had 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Illawarra Hawks on 25 October, and scored a then career-high 14 points against the Cairns Taipans on 25 January. The Wildcats returned to the NBL Grand Final in 2016, where they defeated the Breakers 2–1, with Hire claiming his second title in three years.

Hire in March 2017, at the Wildcats' championship ceremony. Prior to joining the Rockingham Flames in 2018, Hire was affectionately known by fans of the Wildcats as the 'Mayor of Wanneroo'. Coming off a disrupted pre-season after dislocating his finger at training, Hire came into the 2016–17 season hungry for a bigger role after averaging just over 12 minutes per game in 2015–16. In February 2017, he scored a career-high 20 points against the Brisbane Bullets. The Wildcats went on to reach the 2017 NBL Grand Final series, where in the best-of-five series, the Wildcats defeated the Illawarra Hawks in three games to claim back-to-back championships, with Hire collecting his third title.

In December of the 2017–18 season, Hire played his 200th game for the Wildcats, becoming the 11th Wildcat to play 200 games for the club, and just the fifth West Australian. He later missed five games with a low grade calf strain. The Wildcats finished the regular season in third place with a 16–12 record, before going on to lose to the Adelaide 36ers in the semi-finals.

Hire returned to the Wildcats in 2018 for one final season, announcing his retirement from the NBL on 6 February 2019, effective at the end of the 2018–19 season. He retired as one of only 16 players in NBL history have won four titles, after the Wildcats defeated Melbourne United 3–1 in the 2019 NBL Grand Final series.

SBL / NBL1 West

In 2011, Hire led the Wanneroo Wolves to the SBL championship after recording 31 points and 28 rebounds in the grand final against the Perry Lakes Hawks, earning Grand Final MVP honours. While playing for the Wolves in 2012, Hire suffered a finger injury.

Hire played for the Joondalup Wolves during the 2016 SBL season, where he reached 150 games for the Wolves. In game one of the semi-finals against the Perry Lakes Hawks, Hire recorded 19 points and 20 rebounds in a 92–73 win. The Flames went on to lose the next two games to bow out of the finals, despite Hire scoring a game-high 29 points in a 102–96 loss in game three. In 24 games for the Flames, he averaged 18.54 points, 13.58 rebounds and 5.96 assists per game.

Hire returned to the Flames for the 2019 SBL season, where in the opening game he record a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Cockburn Cougars. In May 2019, he played in the same SBL game alongside former Wildcats teammates and fellow retirees Brad Robbins and Shawn Redhage when the Flames faced the Perry Lakes Hawks. On 8 June 2019, he recorded 20 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in the Flames' 108–98 win over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns. He helped the Flames finish the regular season in fourth place with an 18–8 record, and in the finals, they lost 2–0 to the Hawks in the quarter-finals. In 19 games, he averaged 17.47 points, 15.58 rebounds and 5.63 assists per game. For the season, he was named to the SBL All-Star Five.

In December 2019, Hire re-signed with the Flames for the 2020 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was cancelled.

In December 2020, Hire re-signed with the Flames for the 2021 NBL1 West season. In his season debut for the Flames on 15 May, he recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds in an 85–82 loss to the Geraldton Buccaneers. He had 13 rebounds in a game twice during the season and helped the Flames reach the grand final, where they lost to the Perry Lakes Hawks. In 20 games, he averaged 7.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. The Flames returned to the grand final in 2022, where they defeated the Geraldton Buccaneers 91–79 to win the championship. He had 12 or more rebounds six times including three doubles and averaged 7.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 15 games. Hire did not join the Flames in Melbourne for the NBL1 National Finals, where the team won the national championship.

National team career

On 10 March 2025, Hire was appointed an assistant coach of the Australian men's 3x3 team under head coach Adam Forde.

Personal life On 24 May 2014, Hire married long-time partner Ainsleigh Sanders. Teammate Damian Martin was chosen by the couple as the marriage celebrant, while former Wildcats teammates Cameron Tovey and Brad Robbins were chosen as his groomsmen. Robbins is Hire's brother-in-law, with the pair having both married sisters.

Hire is an ambassador for the Perth-based charity, "Youth Focus". The charity offers mental health support to young people. On 1 June 2018, Hire was named the recipient of the 2018 Western Australian of the Year Youth Award, for his work with A Stitch in Time.