Ian Davies played college basketball in the United States at Graceland College in Iowa, graduating in 1978, and then played one season in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) with the Maine Lumberjacks. He represented Australia at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics and 1982 and 1986 World Championships. Davies was a pure shooter who led all scorers at the 1980 Olympics and was the second leading scorer at the 1982 Worlds. After the 1980 Olympics Davies returned to Australia and played 10 seasons in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL), starting with Launceston Casino City in 1980-81, and leading them to the NBL title in 1981. He later played with Newcastle Falcons (1982-85) and Geelong Supercats (1986-87), before finishing his playing career with the Sydney Kings from 1988-90. He then became the director of the Darling Harbour Sports Centre in Sydney before returning to his native Tasmania later in life. He stayed involved in basketball, both as a coach and in administration. Davies was inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame in 2001.