On 8 February 2010, Melbourne Tigers teammates Sam Mackinnon and Chris Anstey both announced their retirement from the game, their last game in the NBL being the following Saturday night when the Melbourne Tigers played the Gold Coast Blaze at The Cage. The Melbourne Tigers coach at the time, Al Westover, lamented the retirement of two greats of the Australian basketball scene, and spoke of both players in glowing terms, saying "there was only one Sam Mackinnon. It's a big loss today. They are two legends of the game."