Did you know these blokes have a basketball background?

With Tom Wilson, a former Australian Boomer, set to make his debut for Collingwood this weekend, the topic of basketball backgrounds has come up (yet again).

With that in mind, we thought we'd rank our top 10 current players (based on current form) with a basketball background.

Here's what we went with:

(To be eligible for this list, the player must have played a minimum of high level junior representative basketball)ย 

8. Stefan Martin

Before there was football, Martin was a superb young basketball talent. Martin played for the ever-strong Dandenong Stingrays in his junior days before moving to the Nunawading Specters senior side in the ABA, which was formerly the level just under the NBL.

In 2003, Martin would earn the chance to represent Australia at under-20 level, where he would play a test series against New Zealand as a 17-year old.

Martin would ultimately choose football though, and after being drafted by Melbourne with pick 3 in the 2008 pre-season draft, he would make his debut for the club in round 14, 2008.

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 01: Stefan Martin of the Lions competes for the ball with Josh Walker of the Cats during the round 18 AFL match between the Geelong Cats and the Brisbane Lions at Simonds Stadium on August 1, 2015 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Despite injuries and form playing a factor in his early career struggles, Martin rejuvenated his career when he was traded to Brisbane in 2012.

After early injury troubles, he had a breakout year in 2014 and would then become a vital piece in the Lions' move up the ladder in recent years, before being traded to the Western Bulldogs during the 2020 trade period.

Since the move, Martin has become an underrated piece in the Bulldogs recent move up the ladder, providing experience and a nice chop out for Tim English in the ruck.