Shelly Boston

Shelly Boston
Personal information
Born (1975-03-01) 1 March 1975 (age 49)
Perth, Western Australia
NationalityAustralian / British
Listed height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Listed weight92 kg (203 lb)
Career information
Playing career1992–2015; 2022
PositionCentre / power forward
Career history
1992–1997Rockingham Flames
1998Wanneroo Wolves
1999–2002Rockingham Flames
2000–2002Rhondda Rebels
2002Barcelona
2002–2004Rhondda Rebels
2005–2008Rockingham Flames
2009–2015Mandurah Magic
2022Mandurah Magic
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Team competition

Shelly Lee Boston (born 1 March 1975)[1] is an Australian former basketball player. She is most well known for her 23 seasons spent in the Western Australian State Basketball League (SBL) / NBL1 West with the Rockingham Flames and Mandurah Magic. Holding a British passport,[2] she also played in the English Women's Basketball League (EBL) for the Rhondda Rebels in the early 2000s and represented England at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, where she won a bronze medal.[3]

Boston was born in Perth, Western Australia, in the City of Kwinana.[4] She grew up playing netball and only started playing basketball at age 14.[3]

Boston debuted in the SBL in 1992 and played her first six seasons for the Rockingham Flames.[5] After a five-game stint with the Wanneroo Wolves in 1998, she returned to the Flames in 1999 and played every year until 2002.[6] Meanwhile, in 2000, Boston moved to south Wales to play for the Rhondda Rebels in the EBL. She helped the Rebels win all three trophies in the 2000–01 season, including the National Cup, league title and play-off championship.[7] In her second season in 2001–02, the Rebels finished as runners-up in all three competitions.[2] Boston did not initially return to Rhondda for the 2002–03 season, deciding to sign in Spain with Barcelona before ultimately leaving soon after and re-joining the Rebels.[8] She re-joined the Rebels for a fourth season in 2003–04.[9][10]

In 2005, Boston returned to the Rockingham Flames and played another four seasons.[6] In July 2008, she played her 300th SBL game.[6][11][12] In 2009, she joined the Mandurah Magic and helped them reach the grand final.[3] That year, she also earned SBL All-Star Five honours.[13] She played seven seasons with the Magic, with 2015 being her 22nd season. In May 2015, she played her 400th SBL game.[3] In 2022, Boston returned to the Magic for a seven-game stint to make it her 23rd season in the SBL / NBL1 West.[14][15]

As of July 2021, Boston was third all time (413) for total games played in SBL / NBL1 West women's history. She was also first all time in points (6708), rebounds (4088) and blocks (773).[16]

References

  1. ^ "Shelly Boston". fiba.basketball. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Basketball: Rebels wait for Boston decision". walesonline.co.uk. 12 September 2002. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Pike, Chris (22 May 2015). "Boston proud to reach 400 but sights on SBL championship". SportsTG.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Shelly Boston". m2006.thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014.
  5. ^ "State Basketball League Women Player Register". basketballwa.asn.au. 2 September 2003. Archived from the original on 18 July 2005.
  6. ^ a b c "Shelly Boston" (PDF). basketballwa.asn.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2008.
  7. ^ "Rebels take league title". bbc.co.uk. 26 March 2001. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Basketball: Rebels wait for Shelly". walesonline.co.uk. 29 October 2002. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. ...but Barcelona are refusing to allow the Australian-born player to leave the club.
  9. ^ "Boston in for Rebels". walesonline.co.uk. 30 October 2003. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Rebels are up for the cup". walesonline.co.uk. 10 January 2004. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020.
  11. ^ "McLennan & Boston Reach 300". basketballwa.asn.au. 3 July 2008. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  12. ^ "300 Games for Shelley Boston". SportsTG.com. 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020.
  13. ^ "SBL All Star Teams 2009". SportsTG.com. 11 September 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Shelly Boston". nbl1.com.au. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  15. ^ "'I'm home': Shelly Boston comes out of unofficial retirement for another season with Mandurah Magic". Mandurah Mail. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  16. ^ "GOAT STATUS". facebook.com/NBLOneWest. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.