‘Don’t think anything can match it’: Why Summer Jam continues to shine in Aussie hoops landscape

On an amazing week of basketball in Melbourne, the highlight might well have been the Summer Jam Festival at Prahran Gardens and all you had to do was look at the way it was embraced from current and former NBL players around the country and the public to get a good idea of its reach.

What a weekend of basketball it was in Melbourne. There was a record crowd attending the WNBL match at John Cain Arena between Lauren Jackson’s Southside Flyers and the Sydney Flames.

Then on Sunday, there was a sold out crowd for the last game of the NBL regular season for Melbourne United against the Adelaide 36ers with a potential playoff spot on the line.

But what captured the imagination more than anything was the 11th annual Summer Jam Championship held at Prahran Gardens as the event continues to go from strength to strength.

Summer Jam co-founder Eamon Larman-Ripon spoke with Fox Sports leading up to the 2023 event and was excited about what was in store, but now that it’s all said and done, it surpassed even all of his expectations.

“It’s all about connecting culture and community through this sport and it was all that and then some,” he said.

“It was pretty hard to top Year 10 with Prahran taking it home in the fashion that they did, but with the grand final going into overtime and the energy out there on the basketball court as the lights were on, and the people were around, it’s hard to sort of describe.

“I don’t think anything can match it here in Australia. It was cool for anyone who hasn’t seen it before but even more magical that it happened for a second time now. It’s setting a precedent now that is something pretty special and we are proud of that.”

Just taking a look at some of the winning teams and players involved in the finals on Sunday tells you all you need to know about the quality of the basketball.

The 5x5 men’s winners were the Draft City Ballers team out of Brisbane which included former Adelaide 36ers captain and 260-game NBL veteran Brendan Teys along with former NBL players Tad Dufelmeier and Kian Dennis along with Daereon Jones, Nelson Kahler, DeOla Brown, Lachlan Headlam and Rhyss Lewis.

The men’s 3x3 winners came out of Perth with former NBL pair Marshall Nelson and Damien Scott along with Julian Pesava and Keegan Phillips from the Hoopwithem team.

Not to be outdone, the women’s 3x3 winners featured Courtney Wilkins, Jacqui Trotto, Tori Jackson and Saraid Taylor on the Blues Crew.

Why it's connecting so well with everyone

Basketball is a culture and Summer Jam has connected so well with not only providing basketball action, but becoming a cultural event where everyone can come along and be part of the festival even by being on the sidelines.

That’s something that Larman-Ripon takes great pride in and why they feel it’s taken off so well because there was a real void in the Australian market for such a festival embracing both basketball and that culture side of it.

“It’s amazing to see why people are so connected and that’s because what we did in the beginning was we celebrated the sport, and also celebrated a side of the sport that wasn’t being celebrated here in Australia,” he said.

“But there was definitely a need for it. I think us finding that niche absolutely means that we can be so grateful that everyone wants to be part of something like this. And their passion shines through and we’ve created a home for a lot of people away from home.

“For them, it’s a matter of finding something really special to be part of and they’ve found a home here. This is something that will build throughout the year as well and then by the time next year comes around, no one will want to miss it.”

Shining on massive weekend

Almost 20,000 people attended the WNBL and NBL games at John Cain Arena across the weekend with the record set on Saturday for the Flyers-Flames women’s game and then the sold out crowd for the United-36ers men’s match up on Sunday.

However, Summer Jam absolutely was the talk of the town by Sunday night.

“It was a really exciting weekend of basketball here in Melbourne obviously,” Larman-Ripon said.

“There was a lot going on with men’s and women’s professionally, but I suppose for the semi-pros, ex-pros or the guys who might have just missed that shot or window, that’s who we provided a platform for.

“The fact that this is only on once a year, it was kind of a special event to see. It was also really special to see some of the NBL guys lining up on the sidelines once their game had finished too just to show this was the place to be and they were all super excited to be there.”

Not only were there plenty of big time stars on the court for the finals throughout Sunday, but once Melbourne United’s NBL game finished at John Cain Arena, a host of the players popped down to take in the Summer Jam action too.

Seeing the crowd flock to United star import Rayjon Tucker provided one of the lasting images of the entire event and just showed the passion and energy it creates.

“It’s nice to see what that excitement creates. Tuck and a few more of his teammates not only to be on the sidelines but to really be immersed in it was amazing,” Larman-Ripon added.

“At one point they all kind of gathered around the team players benches and security tried to move them on, but I stepped in and let the security know they’re NBL players and they all want to be in and around the action.

“It was cool to see that and it’s nice to know that they want to come down and support something like what we do, and becoming a major part of it.”

Highlights of event

All you need to do is take a look at not only the talented players on the teams that won in Prahran on Sunday across the competitions, but all the players that took part across the weekend to know what a success it was.

For Larman-Ripon, having the Melbourne event attract teams from across the country was a massive sign of how far it’s grown over the past 11 years.

“I think some of the highlights for me was having the Perth teams over, that was incredible,” he said.

“Both teams played with such passion, such professionalism and they were all really recognised as teams to beat, especially Hoopwithem. They were a class team with a lot of NBL1 players but Team Binar really stole the hearts of a lot of people and it goes beyond just those two Perth teams.

“We had other teams from interstate, I think there was six in the end and having them part of it but also their fans come along was really special. That was one highlight that stood out to me.”

It’s not just the actual basketball either. Everything surrounding the event makes it a festival with something for everything and Larman-Ripon even feels it more than rivals what the Australian Open does in Melbourne every January.

“Also just the expansion of the event as a festival and people comparing it to the AO,” he said.

“I know it’s on a smaller scale, but personally I think basketball’s a little cooler than tennis. To just see the little kids enjoying it and having that family element and all the other activations that went alongside it.

“We had our podcasting room, the 2K tournament and we had hoops set up that didn’t stop having kids playing.

“That’s what leads into the future is them seeing something like this and it gives them something they will never forget, and they’ll be bugging their parents about coming back next year so that’s really special.

“Then there’s the level of play too. That took everyone aback and everyone was so impressed with how high the standard of basketball there was. We’re really looking forward to what can come about next year now.”

What's next for summer jam

While this week has been all about recovering from the weekend and packing up, there’s already excitement around what 2024 will hold and where Summer Jam might end up.

Larman-Ripon is keeping his cards close to his chest right now, but expect some big announcements to come.

“Our plans for next year are still a little bit up in the air and that teams extends a lot more than to just Daniel and I,” he said.

“We’ve got our partnerships as well and there’s a lot of people involved who make this happen so we need to take stock and talk about everything with a lot of people.

“This is a good time to talk about all the ideas we might have for next year while the iron is still hot, but our main goal has always been to continue topping ourselves, and to continue providing a platform for everyone. That’s not just the basketballers, but people on and off the court.

“How we do that is still up in the air a little and I’ll keep a couple of secrets, but there’s definitely a lot in store and it just means there’s a fair bit of work to do. However, this is our life’s work and this is what Daniel and I are all about.”

Melbourne will always be home to Summer Jam in Australia, but given the success of the event in Perth the last two years and then having teams from across the country come to Prahran to take part, it is inevitable that further expansion is on the agenda potentially as early as 2024.

“I think Sydney is knocking on our doors and given a Brisbane team just won it, they could be in the mix,” Larman-Ripon said.

“I keep hearing from people in Adelaide wanting us to come there. We really want to connect with New Zealand and that would be incredible to have an NZ team over here with the strong basketball community they have.

“Then the Asia-Pacific region is up for grabs I feel with what we’re doing. In terms of our next city, I think we’ll still take it slow and not rush into anything, but Sydney’s got a really good following at the moment and being an international city and stamp on any map, it makes it an obvious one.

“But in saying that, Melbourne has such a great sporting culture that this will always be our home and it’s important for Summer Jam to have the reach that it does here.

“We’ve definitely opened up a lot more eyes and I hope especially we’ve got the attention of the main man Mike and he’s aware of us being on the map like the tournaments around the world in places like Paris and New York.”