Anneli Maley

Anneli Maley (born 1 September 1998) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She is also contracted with the Perth Redbacks of the NBL1 West. She made her WNBL debut in 2016 and then spent two seasons in the United States playing college basketball for the Oregon Ducks and TCU Horned Frogs. With the Bendigo Spirit in 2022, she was named the WNBL Most Valuable Player.

Early life and career
Maley was born in Melbourne, Victoria. She attended Eltham High School and played both basketball and volleyball as a youth.

In 2014 as a 15-year-old, Maley moved to Canberra to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and play for the BA Centre of Excellence in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). After two seasons, she returned to Melbourne and was set to play for the Nunawading Spectres in the 2016 SEABL season. However, due to burn out which led to anxiety and depression, Maley took time away from basketball in 2016 after she was admitted to a hospital psychiatric ward after a panic attack mirrored the physical symptoms of a cardiac arrest.

Maley returned to basketball later in the year at Box Hill Senior Secondary College, where she led the school to the Australian Schools Championship title.

In December 2016, Maley signed with the Adelaide Lightning for the rest of the 2016–17 WNBL season. In 12 games, she averaged 3.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. She then played for the Dandenong Rangers in 2017 SEABL season.

College career
In April 2017, Maley signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for the University of Oregon. With the Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference in the NCAA Division I, she played in 37 games as a freshman in 2017–18, including all 18 Pac-12 regular season games and all three Pac-12 tournament games as the Ducks won both conference titles. She averaged just under 10 minutes per game and scored a total of 81 points on the season.

In April 2018, Maley transferred to Texas Christian University (TCU). She was initially deemed ineligible to play in the 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but she received a waiver to play immediately. She left the TCU Horned Frogs mid season after playing 10 games between 6 November and 20 December.

Professional career
In February 2019, Maley signed with the Diamond Valley Eagles for the inaugural NBL1 season. She went on to earn NBL1 Youth Player of the Year honours.

In August 2019, Maley signed with the Southside Flyers for the 2019–20 WNBL season.

Maley joined the Sydney Uni Flames for the 2020 WNBL Hub season in Queensland. She then joined the Eltham Wildcats for the 2021 NBL1 South season.

Maley joined the Bendigo Spirit for the 2021–22 WNBL season and went on to win the WNBL Most Valuable Player Award. She subsequently joined the Chicago Sky and had a four-game stint during the 2022 WNBA season. She then returned to the Eltham Wildcats for the 2022 NBL1 South season.

After a second season with the Bendigo Spirit in 2022–23, Maley re-joined the Chicago Sky for the 2023 WNBA preseason. She then returned to the Eltham Wildcats for her third NBL1 South season.

On 23 June 2023, Maley signed with the Perth Lynx for the 2023–24 WNBL season. She was named team captain. In her debut on 3 November 2023, she had 21 rebounds against the Sydney Flames to break the Lynx's 20-rebound record set by Jenny Crouse in 2002. On 18 February 2024, she had 17 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists in a 94–79 win over the University of Canberra Capitals.

Maley joined the Perth Redbacks of the NBL1 West for the 2024 season. On 7 June, she had 27 points and 24 rebounds in a 91–90 loss to the Lakeside Lightning. She was named to the All-NBL1 West First Team.

On 5 July 2024, Maley re-signed with the Lynx for the 2024–25 WNBL season.

Regular season

 * align="left" | 2022
 * align="left" | Chicago
 * 4 || 0 || 11.0 || .500 || .667 || .000 || 1.8|| 0.8 || 0.8|| 0.3|| 0.3 || 2.0
 * align="left" | Career
 * align="left" | 1 year, 1 team
 * 4 || 0 || 11.0 || .500 || .667 || .000 || 1.8|| 0.8 || 0.8|| 0.3|| 0.3 || 2.0
 * align="left" | 1 year, 1 team
 * 4 || 0 || 11.0 || .500 || .667 || .000 || 1.8|| 0.8 || 0.8|| 0.3|| 0.3 || 2.0

National team career
Maley first played for Australia at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship. She went on to play at the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship, 2014 FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship, 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, and 2017 FIBA Under-19 World Cup.

In 2022, Maley played for the Australian Opals at the FIBA World Cup.

With the Australian 3x3 team, Maley won silver at the 2022 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup and bronze at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup. She helped Australia win gold at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup and helped the team win the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. She was subsequently named in Australia's first 3x3 Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Personal life
Maley's father, Paul Maley, was born in the United States and later moved to Australia where he played 270 games in the National Basketball League (NBL). She has two brothers. Her brother, Finnbar, was drafted by the North Melbourne Football Club in 2023.

Maley's fiancé, Marena Whittle, is also a professional basketball player.