Mike Tuck calls time on Sheffield Sharks playing career but plans on playing a role in BBL evolution

After 13 years playing top flight British basketball, all of them with Sheffield Sharks and the last 10 as captain of the club, the 39-year-old from Toronto has decided he has played his last game.

What began as a speculative journey from London to Sheffield one November evening in 2009 for a jobbing professional who had just been cut by a team in France, ends with the Canadian-British dual-registered forward finishing as the club’s leading points scorer having notched 4,297 in league play with the Sharks.

"An end of an era for myself but also for a generation of the Sharks,” said Tuck. “I’m just so, so grateful to the Sharks organisation for everything they have done for me.

"I wouldn’t have played for this long if it wasn’t for them, and all the experience, all the ups and downs and the doors it’s opened for me, I’m just so grateful to have had the career I’ve had with them.”

Tuck revealed the decision was a mutual one. He was logging fewer game minutes season on season and with the league moving into a new era of squads operating without a salary cap, the competition is only going to get stronger.

"Let’s be real, I’m no spring chicken,” admitted Tuck, who was still contributing off the bench as the Sharks finished second in the BBL Championship last term.

“We sat down a couple of times during the season and once afterwards and we decided together that this was the best direction to go in.

"I can definitely still contribute, there’s gas left in the tank, but for me now this is the best time to make the transition into this next stage of my life.

"I’ve felt ready for the last couple of seasons but Covid kind of extended it. I’ve been winding down in terms of minutes and my role has changed into a presence and a locker room guy, a voice for the guys to listen to.

"I’ve relished that role and enjoyed taking that role on but the other side of me, I don’t know how much longer I can take sitting on the bench for the majority of the games.

"This is the right time. I’ve had an amazing career, guys would dream of playing that long. It’s time and I’m excited.”

This is by no means the last Sharks or basketball fans will see of Tuck. For many years he has been the club’s marketing manager as well as a regular analyst on Sky Sports’ production of both BBL and NBA games.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “I’ll move full-time into my role as marketing manager for the Sharks, obviously it’s an exciting time for the club with the new arena being built and once we move into there my role within that arena and with the Sharks will grow into something bigger.

"Then I’ve got the TV stuff on the side with Sky Sports NBA and Sky Sports BBL which is heading in a really good direction and I would love to be a part of that.

"I had so many conflicting dates with games last year that it limited my TV availability, so hopefully next season I can do more.

"It’s a good way for me to stay in the game of basketball. I’ve been here so long, a prominent face in the league, now hopefully I get to continue to do that.

"I want to be a part of this charge and this energy that is around the league right now, I think the league is heading in the right direction.”

Tuck scored 25 points or more on 13 occasions for the Sharks and recorded a career-high of 33 against Mersey Tigers. As well as being the Sharks leading points scorer, Mike also leads the club in two point shots made (1,561) and rebounding (2,532). He finishes with career averages of 11.5 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game from 26.1 minutes on court.

He captained Team England at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018 but asked what his career highlight is, Tuck has no hesitation: "There’s so many, the biggest would have to be 2016 play-off final down at the O2, we beat Leicester and I took away MVP honours in front of quite a few friends and family members. That will always stick out to me.”