Oscar Forman


Oscar Forman is an Australian professional basketball player who most recently played for the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League. He previously spent 17 seasons in the Australian National Basketball League. While playing primarily as a power forward, Forman was often used in a small forward role as specialist three-point shooter. Forman played as a junior for the Sturt Sabres and was a member of the Australian team that competed at the 2003 World University Summer Games in Korea.

Career

Forman played for the Adelaide 36ers from 2001 to 2006, winning a championship with the club in his rookie season and leading the NBL in three-point shooting percentage in the 2004/05 season. He joined the New Zealand Breakers for the 2006/07 season before signing a three-year deal with the club in July 2007. In the 2008/09 season, he led the NBL in three-point shooting percentage for a second time. During his time in New Zealand, he played for the Harbour Heat in 2007 and 2008, earning New Zealand NBL All-Star Five honours in his first year.
In 2010, Forman returned to Australia and joined the Wollongong Hawks. In his first season with the Hawks, he was named the NBL's Most Improved Player. He went on to lead the NBL in three-point shooting percentage in 2012, 2013 and 2014. On 2 November 2014, Forman played his 400th NBL game, becoming just the 43rd player in NBL history to reach such a feat. In 2015, the team was renamed the Illawarra Hawks. On 21 February 2016, Forman played his 450th NBL game in the Hawks' Game 2 semi-final series win over the Perth Wildcats. On 11 February 2017, Forman helped the Hawks secure a playoff spot after equalling his career-high tally of eight threes and finishing with a team-high 26 points in a 106–79 win over the Brisbane Bullets. The Hawks went on to reach the NBL Grand Final series later that month, where they were defeated 3–0 by the Wildcats. On 28 December 2017, in a 106–102 win over the Cairns Taipans, he became the 13th player to reach 500 NBL games.
On 19 March 2018, following the 2017/18 season, Forman announced his retirement after 511 NBL games. His 511 games ranks 11th all-time, and his 904 three-pointers ranks 13th all-time. In April 2018, he joined the Hawke's Bay Hawks for the 2018 New Zealand NBL season, returning to the league for the first time since 2008. He left the Hawks on 18 May after struggling over the first five games, averaging 1.8 points per game on 3-of-26 shooting.