“Leaving the professional sport just to play for England, it’s an honour to be able to say that I can do that,” states Commonwealth champion Jamell Anderson. “To win gold again, for England and for my family, would be incredible and very memorable!”

Jamell Anderson, who played for six different domestic English clubs a highly decorated career, feels he could “still play domestically for another five years,” but the 35-year-old is keen to bow out on his terms.

Having ended his league career after completing the 2024/25 season with Sheffield Sharks Anderson has subsequently taken up a role within the commercial world, as Corporate Sales Director for Worldpay.

He will balance that with his preparations for one final major competition, at Glasgow 2026.

“I’m managing it in lots of different ways,” he added. “I’m still mourning my career and there’s still an aspect of me that’s sad about not being ‘Jamell Anderson the professional athlete’ anymore, but I’m learning about the corporate world and needed a new challenge so I’m trying to bridge that gap and bring my (playing) experience into the scenario.”

The forward made his Commonwealth Games debut in the 5×5 format of the sport at Gold Coast 2018.

There the England team placed sixth, but Anderson did make headlines after proposing to England Women’s basketballer Georgia Jones on court, after one of their pool matches.

Four years on Anderson was celebrating for a very different reason, as he made history with the England team who won the first-ever men’s Commonwealth Games basketball title in the new 3×3 version of the sport.

“It was a huge moment in my life and my career, with my wife there, my mum was there and so were people that I’ve grown up with,” he recalls. “You know, it was a true reflection of the Games, with that ‘community feel’ so to win gold in front of all those people, family and friends, was unbelievable.”

He was already a passionate backer of all-things Commonwealth Games, but Anderson’s experience of the 3×3 format of the sport, in the ‘party atmosphere’ generated by the passionate Birmingham 2022 crowd meant he was eagerly anticipating the 2026 edition.

He described news of the Australian state of Victoria withdrawing as host as “very, very upsetting” and now views those within the Glasgow 2026 Organising Company as “basically superheroes” in his eyes.

“There was a lot of uncertainty, but Glasgow stepped up and thankfully now we have the Games and I’ll forever be thankful, it’s amazing,” says Anderson with a smile.

“It’s (now) about that legacy and the impact we can have. Gold helped us realise that we are better basketball players and 3×3 is starting to get adopted more into the sport in the UK so the level is only going to rise, especially for the younger generation.”

For those who have yet to see the sport, or purchase tickets to watch 3×3 Basketball at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, Anderson has this message about what makes it so unique as a spectacle and experience.

“It’s the buzz, it’s the noise, it’s the fast-pace,” he states. “It’s 10 minutes of just pure exhilaration and there can only be one winner.”

Which he hopes will be England come the conclusion of the 3×3 tournament on 29 July.

“I don’t feel the pressure to perform because I feel confident that we’re prepared,” he said. “The team is stronger; we have a larger pool of players to choose from (than in 2022) which actually gives us more strength. 

“We know what it takes now and it’s just a case of can we repeat it.”

Source: CGF