Griffin creates history with 250-game milestone

Kelsey Griffin has been one of the most impactful players the WNBL has seen over the past decade.

From being named the competition’s MVP in 2019 and being crowned champion an incredible five times, Griffin has achieved everything she can in the WNBL.

Now on Sunday, the 38-year-old will add another achievement to that amazing resume.

During Bendigo’s Round 6 fixture with Perth at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Centre, Griffin will become the first naturalised player to ever chalk up 250 games in the competition.

“This achievement is really special to me,” Griffin said.

“It hasn’t fully sunk in yet, as I’m trying to be more present this season and soak it all in as best as I can.

“This and life membership is something I’m proud of and will look back fondly on once my career is over.”

Born in Alaska, Griffin grew up in nearby Eagle River before attending Chugiak High School and the University of Nebraska, where she averaged 16 points and eight rebounds across her 127 appearances.

In her senior season in 2010, Griffin was named First-Team All-American, Big 12 Player of the Year and Big 12 All-Defensive Team, while also securing the Senior CLASS Award.

Following that impressive five seasons at college, where her number 23 is now retired by the Cornhuskers, Griffin was selected by the Minnesota Lynx with the third pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, before being traded to the Connecticut Sun.

Griffin went on to play five seasons and make 167 appearances with the Sun before enjoying stints with Pecs 2010 (Hungary) and Maccabi Ramat Hen (Israel).

The now 38-year-old’s first appearance in the WNBL came in 2012 with Bendigo, whom she spent the next six seasons, winning titles in 2013 and 2014 (where she was crowned grand final MVP on both occasions).

“Bendigo will always have a place in my heart. My first year at the club was a storybook, with the town and community helping me fill my cup and change the narrative on my journey,” she said.

“I returned the favour by doing whatever I could to keep the club afloat and survive.”

During this time, Griffin, who won the 2015 WNBL Defensive Player of the Year, naturalised as an Australian and helped the Opals win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and silver at the 2017 Asia Cup.

“Representing Australia on the world stage was one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced,” Griffin said.

Her stint in regional Victoria was followed by four seasons with the UC Capitals.

During her time in the nation’s capital, Griffin won back-to-back titles (2019 and 2020) and claimed her lone MVP of the competition (2019), which is the same year she took out her third Finals MVP.

Following her successful time with the Capitals, her WNBL career went full circle, as Griffin re-signed in Bendigo ahead of the WNBL23 campaign.

This proved a masterstroke, as the five-time All-WNBL Selection guided the Spirit to their third title in WNBL25.

“When I first came out here to Australia, I really thought I was going to be my last year as a pro and then I was going to go back to med school in the States,” Griffin said.

“It was really more of just a coming out for a life experience than it was about basketball and then I fell in love with the place, the people, and it really did become home quite quickly.

“In saying that it's been a roller coaster. There are ups and downs. I've probably retired at least three times in my head over the course of my career.

“Then I actually really did retire but didn’t tell anyone after the hub season, which was the low point of my career, and I thought it was time to move on.

“During this time, I started teaching and really enjoyed it, but realised how hard that nine-to-five grind is and that a bad day in basketball is still a good day.

“Thankfully, after some chats with people close to me including my wife Erin, I decided to go around for one more year.

“I ended up playing NBL1 with Launceston, which helped me find my joy back in basketball.

“So to say I’m back in Bendigo, about to play my 250th, I would never have guessed it.”

While it’s quite symbolic that Griffin brings up this milestone where her WNBL career all started, she admits both Bendigo and Canberra are very special to her.

“Whether it was in Bendigo or Canberra, both clubs are very special to me and were incredibly influential at different points in my career when I was striving for different things.

“Both have really tested me, but also allowed me to play some of my best basketball and make some incredible friends.

“I do feel incredibly grateful to celebrate 250 games with the Bendigo Spirit across my chest.”

The milestone will be even more special on Sunday as long-time teammate Marianna Tolo will also chalk up her 250th game in the WNBL, where the pair will become just the 59th and 60th athletes to do so.

“We met and our careers crossed paths at the AIS when we were both rehabbing from injuries,” Griffin said.

“That forged our friendship, as rehab can be tough and quite isolated, so we continued to push each other.

“We then got to experience an Asia Cup together and win a few championships with the Caps.

“Then after going our separate ways, her to Europe and me back to Bendigo, as fate.

“But then our paths would cross again when she signed in Bendigo.”

In their first season together in Bendigo, Griffin sat a few games played in front of Tolo but a fateful pass from the latter to the former broke the US forward’s finger, sidelining her for a number of weeks.

“It's a cool and sort of ironic twist that Tolo broke my finger and once I returned, we were both on track to bring up this milestone together,” Griffin said.

“It’s great to share this with her, as we’ve achieved so much together and this is now another milestone we’re destined to bring up alongside each other.”

In terms of the game itself, the Spirit lost to Perth in Round 5 but Griffin is confident her side can rebound and celebrate the milestones in style.

“They are a very talented side that’s shown they can win close games but also by a large margin,” she said.

“Last week, they executed their game plan well, so they deserve a ton of credit.

“But we’ve reviewed the game and will be a better team this week than we were last round.

“We understand this season is a marathon and not a sprint, with plenty of bumps along the way. So it’s important to stick together, learn from the mistakes and make sure the highs aren’t too high and lows aren’t too low.

“We’re focused on the process right now, rather than the outcome, as we aim to play our best come late February.”

Sunday’s fixture in Traralgon tips off at 12.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN and 9Now, with tickets still available here.