BIO: Jacob Holmes was born in Adelaide (SA) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Sturt basketball program. Holmes received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2000. He spent two years there and played for the program’s state league team (2000, 2001).

FAMILY: Holmes has two sisters, Fleur and Victoria. He and his wife, Conor, have one daughter named Addy.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Jacob Holmes made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

That year he saw limited minutes (7.5 per game) but collected a championship ring as part of the 36ers 2002 NBL championship win over the West Sydney Razorbacks.

He played three more seasons under coach Phil Smyth with the 36ers but the team was unable to make it past the Quarterfinalsduring those years and he decided to move to Melbourne and play for expansion team the South Dragons for the 2006/07 NBL season.

SOUTH DRAGONS
2006/07

2007/08
After stepping into the dual role of player-coach midway through the previous season, Shane Heal entered the 2007/08 campaign looking to reset the South Dragons and build on their promising debut year. Eager to shape the roster in his image, Heal oversaw significant offseason changes—saying goodbye to Rosell Ellis, Kavossy Franklin, and Frank Drmic, and bringing in new additions including Cortez Groves (via Wollongong), Nick Horvath (via Adelaide), and Luke Martin (via Cairns).

Now in his second season with the club, Jacob Holmes returned as a key part of the Dragons’ frontcourt rotation. The team hoped to build on its playoff appearance in year one, but those ambitions quickly faded as South lost its first six games—including narrow defeats to Brisbane (by one point) and cross-town rivals Melbourne (by three). Horvath, who had signed a two-year deal with plans to become a naturalised New Zealand player, performed well early (12.8 points, 6.0 rebounds), but with delays in his citizenship process and the team struggling, he was deactivated after six games.

In his place came American forward Bakari Hendrix, whose debut helped snap the Dragons’ winless start with a 102–90 victory over New Zealand. Hendrix followed that up with several strong performances—highlighted by 34 points in a tight loss to Townsville—and the Dragons produced a 4–3 record over his first seven outings. It was the most successful stretch of their season.

Unfortunately, the brief mid-season spark faded quickly. The team dropped its final 14 games. Internal instability followed, with assistant coach Michelle Timms exiting in January and Heal being sacked as head coach in early February after a 4–22 start. Assistant Guy Molloy stepped in to lead the team through the final stretch.

Throughout the highs and lows, Jacob Holmes (11.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) remained a steady contributor. The 24-year-old forward was named team captain and named club MVP at the end of the season. His energy on the glass, smart positioning, and willingness to do the little things made him one of the Dragons’ most dependable performers.

Hendrix (18.9 points, 6.8 rebounds) led the team in scoring, followed by Groves (18.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists), Ingles (15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists), Burston (11.9 points, 7.0 rebounds), and Heal (15.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists) providing solid numbers before his exit.

The Dragons finished at the bottom of the NBL standings with a 5–25 record, including a dismal 1–14 mark on the road.

ADELAIDE 36ERS
2008/09
At the end of the 2007/08 season, Holmes decided to return home to Adelaide and re-joined the 36ers. In doing so, he unfortunately missed out on a second NBL championship as the Dragons went on to win the 2008/09 NBL title in what would prove to be their final season in the league. During the 2010/11 NBL season, Holmes averaged 5.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game for the 36ers in 28 games and was consistently among the top 10 in the league in rebounding.

TOWNSVILLE CROCODILES
2011/12
Holmes signed with the Townsville Crocodiles late in the 2011 off-seasonas an injury replacement for Crocodiles captain, Russell Hinder. Holmes, who juggled his time between being a professional basketball player and a law student, made such a impact with the Crocodiles that halfway through the season the club announced they had signed Holmes for another two seasons.

2012/13
With Paul Woolpert returning for his second season at the helm, the Townsville Crocodiles entered the 2012/13 NBL campaign intent on building upon their previous year’s semi-final appearance. Jacob Holmes re-signed with the Crocodiles on a two-year deal, while the club overhauled the rest of the roster—parting ways with veterans Luke Schenscher and Greg Vanderjagt and choosing not to retain American imports Eddie Gill and Elvin Mims. Townsville initially filled those import slots with Jason Forte and Curtis Withers, but both were released following disappointing performances during the NBL Pre-season Tournament in Melbourne. Crocs CEO Ian Smythe justified the early move, explaining, “This time, we made the hard decision.”

With the season looming, Townsville scrambled to reshape its lineup, signing former league MVP Gary Ervin to lead the backcourt and bringing back fan-favourite Larry Abney. However, the campaign began in disastrous fashion, with the Crocs dropping their opening ten games and sliding to the bottom of the standings. Abney, who averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds across nine appearances, was released as the team searched for solutions. Townsville turned to former NBA preseason player Luke Nevill, who joined in time for their Round 9 clash with Adelaide and helped secure the team’s first win of the season. That result sparked a five-game winning streak and temporarily reignited the Crocs’ playoff hopes.

Ervin (16.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.1 steals) proved a vital scoring weapon and finished top-three in the league in both points and assists. Nevill (13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks) gave Townsville a physical presence in the paint, while Todd Blanchfield (9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds) continued to grow into a consistent offensive contributor. Peter Crawford (12 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) remained steady on the wing, and Jacob Holmes (6 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) rounded out the team’s primary contributors.

Despite the mid-season surge, Townsville was unable to recover from its early skid, finishing the season with a 10–18 record—two games outside of a finals berth. Gary Ervin’s stellar play was recognised with selection to the All-NBL Second Team, but for the Crocs, the campaign ultimately fell short of expectations.

2013/14

2014/15
On 16 January 2015, Holmes played his 400th NBL game and on 7 August 2015, he retired from professional basketball to continue on as the full-time president of the NBL Players Association, a role he still holds today.

Jacob Holmes played fourteen seasons across three NBL teams. This included the Adelaide 36ers, South Dragons and Townsville Crocodiles. He averaged 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2 assists in 407 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:

– 23rd in total rebounds