Perth's Captain Fantastic set for massive milestone

Perth captain Jesse Wagstaff is set to play his 450^th NBL career-game this weekend, becoming just the 30^th player in the history of the competition to do so.

What makes the milestone even more impressive is the fact each and every one of his NBL appearances has come with the Perth Wildcats, however the forward certainly had opportunities to take his talents outside of the Wildcats organisation at various points through the 2010s.

The 2010 NBL Rookie of the Year found himself leading Perth’s bench unit and Wildcats legend Shawn Redhage was consistently given the nod to start over the now 37-year-old.

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While the six championships he’s won played into his decision to elect to stay with Perth over the years, Wagstaff says those decisions came down to key factors outside of basketball.

“Life is always bigger than basketball,” Wagstaff told SEN. “We are and we were really happy in Perth as a family unit.

“It was a really good environment and still is. Perth’s a great city, now the kids are in school – basketball’s a big part of why I stayed but it’s not the only thing. That environment at the Wildcats, the people, the relationships was huge.

“Matty Nielsen said ‘rings and relationships’. That’s what you take and you hold those special. Those things are still special to me, but I really do think it’s one of the best jobs in the world.

“You get to go to work with your mates, play a sport you love, you get to compete, you get to stay in shape, and you get paid to do it – you can’t ask for more than that.

“While I’m still enjoying it and while I’m still feeling good, why not? I still feel good and I still enjoy it. It’s been a pretty good ride.”

Those six titles Wagstaff has won have made him one of the most successful NBL players of all-time. Currently he sits equal with Damian Martin, CJ Bruton and David Stiff in terms of playing championships won.

Wagstaff and Martin won all of their titles alongside each other with the Wildcats, Stiff’s came with Adelaide, Syndey and Melbourne, while Bruton’s came with Brisbane, Sydney and New Zealand.

Of those six titles, Wagstaff has detailed which ones meant the most to him.

“I think the first one is always special,” he said. “I think I was probably a bit naïve back in 2010. It certainly wasn’t easy, but it was my first year and we won a championship, so I guess I kind of thought that’s what happened every year and it’s certainly not like that.

“Then Bryce’s first year as well, I think we were stuck maybe last on the ladder around Christmas time, and we brought Bryce in and went on a bit of a run – I don’t think we lost a game in the finals, so that one was pretty special too I think.”

The current Perth side looks realms away from the all-conquering force that consistently took the NBL by storm in the 2010s, but Wagstaff believes the team isn’t too far away from launching itself towards the top of the NBL24 ladder.

The Wildcats will face a resurgent Adelaide in Wagstaff’s 450^th game, and the milestone legend says Perth just needs to find a way to limit errors.

“It was a disappointing weekend for us,” Wagstaff said of the team's pair of losses in Round 3.

“I think we played really well in patches and we played pretty poorly in patches, and against a team like Sydney or Melbourne you’re made to pay.

“If we can eliminate those stretches – or at least minimize them because you’re not going to get rid of them all – and get out of the rut a bit quicker that’ll go a long way.

“Our good basketball is really, really good, it’s just our poor basketball is really, really poor.”

Adelaide and Perth will face off on Saturday night at 8pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.