Forman to crack 500-game milestone on home floor

With 895 three-pointers to his name, he’s 332 shots ‘luckier’ than his nearest current rival, former New Zealand and Illawarra teammate Kirk Penney.

His career clip of 41 per cent from three-point range also leaves him ‘luckier’ than the likes of Darryl Pearce, Brett Maher, Ricky Grace, John Rillie and Shane Heal on the list of players with more than 800 triples. 

It’s a resume based on a lot more than simple good fortune and that’s before you consider the durability that’s seen him play 499 of a possible 500 games since debuting with Adelaide in 2001.

And, as he’ll tell through gritted teeth, he shouldn’t have missed that lone fixture whilst playing with the Breakers in 2009 either. 

“It was a perforated ear drum that I could have flown with,” he recalls.

“If I knew then that it was the only game I’d miss to now it might have been different.”

The missed flight from New Zealand only slightly delayed his progression to the NBL’s exclusive 500-game club that he’ll join when he kits up for the Hawks against Perth on Saturday. 

It’s a milestone that’s he’s long been edging towards, but the 35-year-old says the significance only truly hit home this week.

“I didn’t think I would feel that strongly about it but now that I am here I do feel proud,” Forman said.

“My path could’ve gone many different ways along my career but to see the names I’ll be alongside… I feel like I shouldn’t be there but I’m extremely humbled.  

“When you think of 17 years out of a 40-year league, I’ve been through a lot and I’ve seen a lot of changes. Somehow my body’s been resilient enough that I’ve had that longevity.

“There’s some luck involved in that but it’s certainly been nice to stay injury-free and play that many games.”

It’s a humble take from a man who will go down as one of the NBL’s greatest ever three-point shooters, though he admits he didn’t seem destined to earn that distinction as a rookie. 

“Early on in my career I was shooting at around 22 per cent or something like that there were a lot of people who told me I wasn’t a three-point shooter,” Forman said.

“I never looked at the numbers I just always considered myself a shooter. I went from 22 to 31 and in that third year I hit the 40s finally and had more of a consistent stay there for my career.”

For the record, he’s gone 40-plus from the beyond the arc in 10 of the ensuing 14 seasons, leading the league in three-point shooting percentage in five of them.

“It makes me regret not taking more shots,” Forman said when presented with the numbers. 

“I had many years early on with the Hawks where I would finish games 5-6 and there was one game where I finished 7-7 from the three and I could’ve taken more.

“I had a lot of games where I finished at 80 per cent for the game and I should’ve shot more instead of turning down shots. It’s something I kick myself about sometimes.

“This my 17th year and before that I think about how many shots I threw up in practice... it’s 20-plus years of work so I feel like I’ve put the time in.”

It cements his place among the league’s greats when he hangs up the singlet, though he’s leaving the decision on when that will be to the end of the season.

“Last year I got asked about [retirement] a lot but I’ve always said that it would be an off-season decision,” he said.

“You’re emotions can change so much during the year, you can be losing games you can be frustrated.

“If I was ever to make a call during the season I probably would’ve retired 10 years ago when I had five bad games in a row. 

“There’s no doubt it’s coming soon but I’ll sit down, at the end of the season, talk with my family and make a decision then.”