Joe Ingles: Underrated Funny Guy

November 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) looks on during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Jazz 101-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

We know at this point that Australian Joe Ingles is good enough to be a rotation player in the NBA, even if his stat line rarely leaps out at you. He does many of those little things that don’t show up in stat sheets, contributing in a variety of ways, doing things coaches relish. But here’s something you maybe didn’t know about Joe Ingles: Underrated funny guy.

Joe Ingles is snarky and sarcastic, but in a way that often mirrors his basketball game in that you never see it coming. Ingles’ humor is a lot like his game on the court: Kinda sneaks up on you slowly, then BAM! The punchline hits you right in the face. “Slo Mo Joe,” as radio voice of the Utah Jazz, David Locke, calls him, is as apt a nick as any you’re likely to encounter.

And Ingles loves to take jabs at his Utah Jazz compatriot, Dante Exum, who takes it in stride in the Aussie way.

"Ingles knows Exum as well as anybody, having been his roommate with the Australian national team for the past three years, including two months this summer.“He was lucky,” the affable Aussie said of Exum. “Dante’s a pretty boring guy, to be honest. He just played PlayStation the whole time, really. He’s pretty quiet.”If you ask Ingles, that is an area where Exum needs more improvement. The 27-year-old big man said he dominated his teen compatriot in the FIFA soccer video game.Ingles cracked a grin. “I was a lot better than him. A lot better. He wasn’t very good.”–Jody Genessy, Deseret News"

Jamieson Welsh of Believe The Hype cornered Ingles for a few hilarious minutes the other day, where Joe takes a few more shots at Exum in a fabulous interview that’s as tongue-in-cheek as ball in basket.

"Jamieson Welsh: I’m here with Joe Ingl…Joe Ingles: I ain’t talkin’ about Dante.JW: Haha! No problem! Joe, met you last time at the Clippers/Nuggets pre-season game in Vegas. How would you view everything that’s gone on since then? How’s the transition… Like the role on that team vs. the role on this team?JI: I didn’t really have a role on that team! (laughs) Yeah, I mean when I went there, at the start they wanted to try and get me some minutes at the 2 and 3. Yeah, I mean, at the time guys that were playing that weren’t playing great & they were trying to play them into form with the season coming up and obviously I understand that I was only in training camp with them. So, the opportunity there was fairly limited. But, yeah, obviously getting waived was disappointing but, I got a call pretty much straight away from these guys & knowing Quin a little bit from Europe & knowing… [Stares blankly at Dante Exum]… him over there… Obviously I jumped at the opportunity to come here. Yeah, it’s been great since then.JW: Well since we’re talking about “him over there”, how would you describe your relationship with Dante? Especially seeing now you’re on the same team. I heard stories that you guys ride to games together…JI: Well… First of all, I don’t like him at all. I had to pick him up because he had no drivers license. Which is pretty pathetic at the age he was… Umm… And then…Dante: “I had no say”I know you didn’t have a say, you’re 15 years old! But, yeah, we’ve known each other over the last few years through the national team. He’s been lucky enough to sit on the bench & watch me play for the national team. We were roommates too with that. Obviously coming here where you don’t know anyone, it’s helps to have someone that you are familiar with.–Believe the Hype"

Follow the link above for the whole hilarious sit-down, although as recommended, I’d listen to it while following along with the transcript to get the full effect of Joe Ingles’ dry humor.

Ingles is a rather decent basketball analyst and writer as well. That’s right, Joe Ingles used to be — GASP! — a basketball blogger. No kidding! And he’s pretty damn good at it too.

Aussie league NBL player Tommy Greer got a few mates together while he played for the Melbourne Tigers and started a website called Downtown for Australian basketball fans.

Joe had a column series called Holy Hoops, chronicling his journeys and experiences while playing basketball around the world. A gem of an entry has Joe doing a Q & A with none other than another underrated funny guy, Ricky Rubio.

"At the conclusion of his last Holy Hoops column for Downtown, Joe Ingles asked for readers to tweet their choice for this week’s edition. The options: an interview with somebody high-profile or a Twitter Q & A with Joe. Well, the people made their choice loud and clear and our man Joe has delivered in spades. Ladies and Gentlemen…..Ricky Rubio!Joe Ingles: We played and roomed together my first year in Barcelona and your last year. Did you understand my Australian accent at the start?Ricky Rubio: At the beginning it was hard. Plus my English wasn’t that good either. But by the time I got used to it and actually you helped me to improve. But your accent is funny though.–Downtown, Joe Ingles with Ricky Rubio"

Somehow I have a sneaking suspicion that Slo Mo Joe might be a bit of prankster. He’s certainly a sneaky, snarky knee-slapper after a couple of cold ones!

Stay tuned to Jody Genessy of the DesNews who says he has some more Ingles anecdotes on the way soon.