Who is Isaac Humphries, the NBA player who has come out as gay?

Australian basketball player Isaac Humphries who plays for the Melbourne United of the National Basketball League decided to make a bold move and publicly come out as a homosexual. This 24-year-old power forward born in Sydney gathered his teammates and the rest of the team staff after one game in the dressing room to address them.

“You can be gay and still be a high-level basketball player. You can do whatever you want. It has nothing to do with your sexuality or with expectations of you. I want to be who I am. I have discovered my purpose in life and will do my best to be the best I can be. I hid the fact that I was gay all my life from everyone, including myself,” said the 211-centimeter-tall Humphries.

His declaration was highly praised by the team director for his courage, for sharing his experience, and for being the first openly declared gay man in the Australian NBL league.

Isaac Humphries

Born in the Sydney suburb of Caringbah, Humphries grew up in Cronulla and started playing basketball at 12. He also played rugby league, the 13-men-team version of the game, which is very popular in Australia.

Humphries went to Scots College in Sydney and was part of the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra team before heading to the United States in 2014 to gather some basketball experience at La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana.

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He chose the University of Kentucky for his student/athlete experience, and in his freshman year, he played in 23 games. In his second year, Humphries appeared in 38 games for the Wildcats with one start, averaging 2.8 points.

Atlanta Hawks

After going for the NBA draft unsuccessfully after his second College year, his career path took him to NBL, the Serbian Basketball League. Finally, on 1 April 2019, Humphries signed with Atlanta for the remainder of the 2018–19 NBA season after good performances in their NBA G-League team Erie BayHawks.

After a short spell with the Hawks, he signed a summer league contract with Orlando Magic, but he was never given a chance to play in the NBA afterward.

Back to Australia

In 2020, Humphries officially signed a two-year deal to return to the NBL with the Adelaide 36ers. After playing just six matches, troubled with a severe knee injury in the second year of his contract, Humphries was offered to transfer to Melbourne United for the 2022–23 NBL season.