Jim Slacke

{{Short description|American basketball player}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Jim Slacke

| image =

| caption =

| position = Forward

| height_cm = 198

| weight_kg =

| league =

| team =

| number = 12

| nationality = American

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1953}}

| birth_place =

| high_school =

| college = Chico State (1972–1973)

| draft_year =

| career_start = 1979

| career_end = 1985

| years1 = 1979–1985

| team1 = Illawarra Hawks

| highlights =

• NBL Free Throw Percentage leader (1980)

}}

Jim Slacke (born {{circa|1953}}) is an American former professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the Illawarra Hawks.

After playing college basketball for the Chico State Wildcats in 1972–73,{{cite web|url=http://www.chicowildcats.com/documents/2015/11/3/2015_16_Basketball_Media_Guide_with_cover.pdf|title=Chico State Wildcats 2015–16 Basketball Media Guide|work=ChicoWildcats.com|accessdate=September 23, 2017|page=34 (36)}} Slacke moved to Australia where he joined the Illawarra Hawks and played in the New South Wales Men's Division 1 basketball competition. The Hawks were preseason favourites for the 1977 Championship behind Slacke and Gordie McLeod.{{cite web|url=http://www.botinagy.com/blog/flashback-4-august-1977/|title=FLASHBACK 4: August, 1977, ABM|work=botinagy.com|access-date=24 January 2023}}

In 1979, the Hawks were founding members of the Australian NBL. Slacke was part of the inaugural team and averaged a career-best 23.8 points per game in his first season. In seven seasons with the Hawks, he played 143 games and averaged 17.5 points per game.{{cite web|url=http://websites.sportstg.com/team_info.cgi?action=PSTATS&pID=194195666&client=11-8739-124009-199549-16568037|title=Player statistics for Jim Slacke|work=SportsTG.com|accessdate=September 23, 2017}} Slacke was one of the NBL's all-time best free throw shooters with an 86 per cent clip for his career.{{cite web|url=http://www.hawkshistory.com.au/legends/profile-jim-slacke.html|title=Profile - Jim Slacke|work=HawksHistory.com.au|accessdate=September 23, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923061705/http://www.hawkshistory.com.au/legends/profile-jim-slacke.html|archive-date=September 23, 2017}} He led the NBL in Free Throw Percentage in 1980 with 87.2% (68/78).{{cite web|url=http://nbl.gearbox.performgroup.com/nbl-all-time-leaders|title=All Time Leaders|work=nbl.gearbox.performgroup.com|accessdate=September 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923062541/http://nbl.gearbox.performgroup.com/nbl-all-time-leaders|archive-date=September 23, 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://spatialjam.com/nbl-historical-stats/|title=NBL Historical Stats|work=spatialjam.com|accessdate=October 29, 2019}}

In January 2018, Slacke was named one of the 12 Greatest Hawks of All Time by the Illawarra Mercury.{{cite web|url=https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5163176/your-12-greatest-illawarra-hawks-of-all-time-revealed/|title=Your 12 greatest Illawarra Hawks of all time revealed|work=illawarramercury.com.au|date=January 13, 2018|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113040635/https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5163176/your-12-greatest-illawarra-hawks-of-all-time-revealed/|archivedate=January 13, 2018}}