Joe Ingles is determined to return from injury a better player and says retirement will only be considered after the gold medal ceremony at the Paris Games.
The Boomers star ruptured his ACL while driving to the basket for the Utah Jazz earlier this week and will miss the rest of the NBA season.
The 34-year-old is off contract beyond this season and, despite being an integral piece of the puzzle and adored by the Jazz fanbase, says he will understand if the title-chasing club look to trade him.
He said any talk of retirement was fanciful and his wife, Australian netball star Renae, had made sure of it when he got home.
"She was like 'It's not a point of you coming back, you're going to come back better'," Ingles told NBA.com of what was said by Renae, a world and Commonwealth Games champion with the Diamonds.
"My kids, Renae, they're obviously going to play a huge part in this. I'm sure there's going to be some heavy ups and downs but I'll have the right people around me ... I'm pretty lucky.
"I'm very confident ... I have zero doubt I'll be able to come back better than what I was before.
"My game and the way I play, I'm not going to lie, I've never relied on athleticism.
"I've been able to be successful by being who I am and the way I play."
He insists he's still focused on backing up the Boomers' historic Tokyo bronze medal in Paris, with a decision on his future only after the "2024 gold medal ceremony".
"Some guy tweeted at me like can we have a moment of silence? That's crazy to me," he said.
"I get the age part of it and the injury, it's silly and I laugh a lot.
"One article in Australia, it was like 'his career is hanging by a thread'. It's actually torn, there's no thread."
Ingles is in his eighth season at the Jazz and is their all-time leading three-point shooter, only getting his shot in the NBA after a distinguished career in Europe.
