He has been the head coach of three teams in the Australian National Basketball League: the Brisbane Bullets, which won an NBL championship in 2007, the now-defunct Gold Coast Blaze and the Adelaide 36ers.

Wright was born in Alton, Illinois and enrolled at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa after high school.

Wright transferred after his freshman year to the University of Texas for a chance to play with the school's prestigious Longhorns basketball team.

[1] Wright and teammates' Lance Blanks and Travis Mays stellar offensive performance dubbed the trio as the "BMW Scoring Machine" during the 1989–90 basketball season.

Wright spent the spring of 1991 at the Chicago National Basketball Association tryout camp, where he showcased a high field goal percentage and averaged nearly ten points a game.

Friends and Longhorn teammates celebrated the announcement at Joey Wright's apartment; but despite all the excitement the former University of Texas basketball star was much concerned with his low draft pick.

[5] The 36ers, who had finished last in three of the previous four NBL seasons, finished second in the season, with Joey Wright named the NBL's Coach of the Month for November after leading the 36ers to a 5–0 record for the month which included a 91–86 home win at the Adelaide Arena over the previously undefeated Perth Wildcats on November 22, 2013.

[10] He operates two businesses at his home in Austin, Texas but spends his time overseas in Australia as a basketball coach.