NBA star Joe Ingles will use his break from the hardwood for the Utah Jazz to sit in the bleachers and cheer on his fiancee - and respected member of the Australian team - Renae Hallinan in the Netball World Cup when it starts in Sydney on Friday night.

Ingles, who marked the one-year-to-go anniversary for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Wednesday, admitted he found it hard to be a spectator at last year's Glasgow Commonwealth Games when Hallinan was in the thick of the action.

"When you compete you feel as though you can help the team," he said. "Win or lose you can have a hand in what happens.  Now I'm sitting in the crowd and if they're up or down or Renae is playing great or even not so well I want to go out and help. It is a little stressful, probably more than what I thought it would be, originally. During last year's final in Glasgow I was on the edge of my seat until the last five minutes when [Australia] blew the lead out.

"It's great to be here for Renae. She's followed me around the world supporting me at my club teams and for Australia and I've loved being able to support her."

Hallinan was crowned Australia's best netballer last year and Ingles said he'd drawn a lot from her professionalism and commitment. "She's very special and I've learned plenty from being around Renae," he said. "She's helped me go up another level in all categories; it's special to watch her because I'm aware of the work she has done. Not a lot of people see what happens behind the scenes and when you see that put into action, like last year's gold medal [victory] is . . .  relieving . . . to have a happy soon-to-be wife. I love that I can support her and learn as much as I can from her and use it for my own situations."

Ingles, who is one of seven Australians playing in the NBA last season, was adamant the Boomers could make a big mark in next year's Olympics. "We have a good chance to do something special," he said of Rio. "From the first day of camp we'll specify what we have to do to get to where we want and that will be set in stone. There won't be any leeway for anyone."

While it's said all other nations at the Olympics compete behind America for the silver, Ingles was adamant Australia wouldn't be in awe of their opponents.

"You can be in awe of who you're playing against," he said. "Now seven or eight of us are playing against [the NBA stars] every night you don't get that nervousness [you might otherwise feel] when you're up against a LeBron James.

"You think 'it is what it is', and all of our guys [in the NBA] are playing. No one is [stuck] on the bench and not playing or not dressing [to play]."