Tom Wilson

Thomas Glen Joseph Wilson (born 24 June 1997) is an Australian basketball player and former football player for the Melbourne Tigers of the NBL1 South. He is also contracted with Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). After playing basketball competitively between 2014 and 2019, he switched codes and joined the Collingwood Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL). He returned to basketball in 2024 after playing eight games in five seasons for Collingwood.

Wilson played a season of college basketball in the United States for the SMU Mustangs in 2016–17. In 2018, he was named Most Valuable Player of the South East Australian Basketball League playing for the Melbourne Tigers and went on to play for the Sydney Kings in the NBL in the 2018–19 season. In 2025, he was named NBL1 South Most Valuable Player as member of the Melbourne Tigers.

Early life Wilson was born in Melbourne, Victoria, in the suburb of St Kilda East. As a junior, Wilson played basketball for the Sandringham Sabres and Melbourne Tigers. He attended Caulfield Grammar School, and in 2012, he was a member of their Australian Schools Championship winning side. He also played Australian rules football as a junior, representing Victoria in the 2013 NAB AFL U16 Championship. Shortly after, Wilson was awarded a NAB AFL Level 1 scholarship.

Basketball career Early years In 2014, Wilson joined Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence (COE) at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, opting for the COE scholarship over the NAB AFL Level 1 scholarship. He played for the CoE men's team in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) in 2014 and 2015.

There were a number of U.S. colleges looking at Wilson after he played well for Australia's under-17 side at the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship. In November 2015, he signed with SMU and coach Larry Brown.

During the 2015–16 NBL season, Wilson spent time with Melbourne United as a development player.

College Wilson joined the SMU Mustangs for the 2016–17 season, but after just 10 games he decided to transfer in December 2016. He averaged 1.6 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists, in 6.1 minutes per game. However, in February, he made the decision to turn professional, due to NCAA rules indicating that Wilson would have to sit out a year before taking the court for the Broncos.

Professional In 2017, Wilson played for the Melbourne Tigers in the SEABL. In 17 games, he averaged 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. After a contract dispute forced him out of Partizan, Wilson spent the second half of the 2017–18 NBL season on the Sydney Kings' training roster.

Wilson re-joined the Melbourne Tigers for the 2018 SEABL season. He was named SEABL Player of the Week for round six and seven. He was also named Player of the Month for May. At the season's end, he was named the SEABL MVP alongside All-SEABL First Team and a second consecutive Australian Youth Player of the Year. In 19 games, he averaged 24.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

On 19 April 2018, Wilson signed a 'one plus one' deal with the Sydney Kings, with the club holding the option on a second year. The Kings took up the second-year option on 29 March 2019, but on 8 April 2019, he made the decision to switch codes to Australian rules football.

On 23 February 2024, Wilson signed with the Melbourne Tigers of the NBL1 South for the 2024 season. In 17 games, he averaged 19.06 points, 6.29 rebounds, 5.06 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

On 22 December 2024, Wilson re-signed with the Tigers for the 2025 NBL1 South season. He was named NBL1 South Most Valuable Player and NBL1 South All First Team. He helped the team reach the NBL1 South Grand Final, where they lost 99–80 to the Sandringham Sabres, with Wilson scoring 17 points.

On 14 April 2025, Wilson signed with Melbourne United for the 2025–26 NBL season. He appeared in 27 games for United, scoring a career-best 12 points off the bench in Round 2 against the New Zealand Breakers.

Wilson re-joined the Tigers for the 2026 NBL1 South season. He was named to the All-NBL1 South First Team for the second straight year.

On 30 July 2026, Wilson re-signed with Melbourne United for the 2026–27 NBL season.

In February 2026, Wilson was named in the Boomers squad for two FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers. In August 2026, he was named in the squad for two more Asian qualifiers.

AFL career

Collingwood (2019–2023) On 3 May 2019, it was announced that Wilson had signed with Collingwood of the Australian Football League (AFL) on a three-year category B rookie contract. He impressed in Collingwood's VFL side on the wing and as a rebounding half-back and subsequently made his AFL debut on 15 May 2021 against . After the 2023 AFL season, Wilson was delisted by the club after playing eight games in five seasons.

Statistics Updated to the end of the 2023 season.

8 !! 2 !! 0 !! 42 !! 34 !! 76 !! 14 !! 10 !! 0.3 !! 0.0 !! 5.3 !! 4.3 !! 9.5 !! 1.8 !! 1.3