Greatest Aussie NBA players of All-Time
Originally posted on https://outofmyleague.substack.com/
Surprisingly, even to an Aussie, Australia has had quite a few great NBA players. Of course, ‘great’ depends on your perspective. No, we have not had a Lebron James (Yet. Give Ben Simmons some time), but, Australia has produced multiple players who have had long, successful NBA careers since Luc Longley set the precedent in 1991. Just how good you have to be to play one game in the NBA, let alone have a solid decade-long career, is overlooked by most basketball fans.
The average NBA career is 4.5 years. To be one of the 500 best basketball players in the world for one second is a remarkable achievement. To do it for years on end, and in the best teams, is something that should be heavily commended.
The following article lists Australia’s best six players to ever play in the NBA. This list was based on the players' achievements in he NBA, meaning it ignores any Olympic and National Honours. I was tempted to force the list to a top-10, but to do so would have been disrespectful to the calibre of the six players who are a clear step above. Let’s get started by mentioning some people honourably.
Honourable Mentions
Despite what I literally just said, there aren’t that many amazing Australian Basketball players who have performed well in the worlds best competition. Right now, Australian basketball is the strongest it has ever been. The problem is, they’re all young and have achieved little in the NBA.
These honourable mentions are either too young to have achieved anything of substance, or whose achievements don’t quite reach the heights of our top six.
#3. Thon Maker
Drafted with the 10th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, Maker stands at 7'1 and, hypothetically, has the ability to space the floor.
Still raw, he needs some work but has looked promising in his short NBA stint. In his two years for the Bucks, he’s played one-hundred-and-four games, averaging 4.3points and 2.3rebounds on 42%FG and 34%3P shooting splits. Nothing special yet, his future is promising if developed correctly.
#2. Dante Exum
Exum came out of College with huge amounts of hype.
Unfortunately, injuries have put his career on hold. A 6'5 PG with immense speed, Exum was drafted with the 5th pick in the 2014 Draft by the Utah Jazz.
Exum played every game in his rookie season; averaging 4.8 points, 2.4 assists in 22 minutes per game. Exum sat out the entirety of his second season with an ACL injury, but in his third year Exum improved to 6.2PPG, though his assist totals dropped to 1.7.
Unfortunately, with his injury history, he has lost the blistering pace that had him touted so highly out of college. Exum is yet to play this season, undertaking surgery to stabilise the AC joint in his left shoulder and is currently out indefinitely. It’s a massive shame because I think if he can ever stay healthy he could have a real impact on an NBA team.
#3. Joe Ingles
Signed by the Jazz in 2014, Ingles is an all-around solid forward.
A good defender, an above-average passer and a great three-point shooter, he’s the kind of player that any team would love to have.
In eighty-two games last season, Ingles averaged 7.1PPG / 2.7APG / 2.9RPG/ 1.2STL on 45%FG and 44%3P. He has improved in all those categories this year. Through fifty-three games this year, Ingles is averaging 10.2PPG / 1.1STL / 4.1APG / 4.1RPG on 46%FG and 45%3P. The ability to play multiple positions, pass the ball and shoot it from deep, Ingles has solidified himself as one of the NBA’s best role-players.
6. Ben Simmons
“He is the complete package.” — Stephen A. Smith
I know, I know, “What! How can a rookie be on this list! You know nothing!”. But, cmon. Are we really gonna say that if Simmons never plays another NBA game after this season, he’s not better than Joe Ingles, Dante Exum and Thon Maker? Or even deeper into Australian Lore, Shane Heal, who, while loved eternally for giving it to Barkley, averaged 2PPG in 2 years in the NBA, six seasons apart? Maybe Andrew Gaze, who despite being an NBA champion (1999), averaged 1.7 points in twenty-seven NBA games? No, we’re aren't.
Drafted first overall to the Philadelphia 76ers, Simmons was the most hyped rookie since Lebron James came out of St-Mary’s St-Vincent High School. A 6'10 and 108KG Point Guard, he is a basketball player made from a machine. Injured for the entirety of his rookie season, ‘The process’ that has kept 76ers fans afloat since the 2011–12 season (when they finished 35–31… which I guess isn’t too bad. It’s okay, 6er fans.) Simmons and teammate Joel Embiid, are the core of ‘The Process’ .
Thus far, both have been healthy this season and have led Phili to the eighth spot with a 25–25 record. Simmons is averaging 16.7PPG, 7.2APG, 7.8RPG, and with single-game stats like 19/17/14 which has only been achieved by seven other players in NBA history, he will undoubtedly be Rookie Of The Year.
Simmons has amounted five triple-doubles this season, tying for the most in a rookie season since Magic Johnson, with thirty-two games left in the season. Some think, and I can’t disagree, that he should have been an All-star this year, and he would have been the first Australian to be given the honour. Unfortunately, Goran Dragic filled the spot left by the injured Kevin Love.
We will just have to wait I suppose, but as it is, Simmons sits sixth on this list, just due to what he’s done in fifty games and what his future looks to hold. There is no doubt that Simmons can finish as the far and away best Aussie NBA player ever, and one of the best players ever, period.
5. Aron Baynes
“His hustle, his desire on every single play, his aggressiveness. He’s a great teammate, great sense of humour, really enjoys playing. He’s a great guy to have on a team.” — Gregg Popovich
Yes, Aron Baynes is the fifth-best Australian NBA player of all-time. Even if he sucked, I mean, look at that hair/beard combo! But, alas, he doesn't suck. Now, I’m not gonna be able to write much about Baynes, because, let's be honest, he’s only played 5 seasons and hasn’t done much. So, let's get into why he’s on this list, shall we?
Signing with the San-Antonio Spurs in 2013 after a four-year stint in Europe, Baynes played sixteen games in the second half of the 2012–13 season. He played only 8.8 minutes a game, averaging 2.7PPG and nearly 4.5RPG. Yeah ok, nothing to write home about. But hey, pretty good production for less than nine minutes. In year two, Baynes averaged three points and just under three rebounds in slightly more than nine minutes per game. That same season, the Spurs beat the Lebron-led Miami heat in five games, and Baynes played seven minutes per game in fourteen playoff games, averaging two points and two rebounds. Not many players get to contribute to an NBA Championship.
Though, the biggest accolade towards Baynes’ eligibility for this position is Tim Duncan telling him to “shut the fuck up”(0.51) on the way to the team bus after Championship celebrations. Baynes is a solid bench center, though he has become more than that.
After two years in Detroit with the Pistons, averaging 5.6PPG & 4.6RPG, Baynes was signed by the Boston Celtics in the 2017–18 off-season and has been productive for the best team in the Eastern Conference. Baynes is averaging 5.3PPG & 4.3RPG in eighteen minutes. He has started forty of fifty-three games for Boston and is a crucial piece for one of the leagues best teams.
His entire NBA Career, Baynes has been a solid Centre who defends the paint well, rebounds and can score when needed, which is pretty rare these days and always important. His value is clear with one his teams going to the finals twice and winning a Championship and the Celtics on pace to reach the Finals . Baynes has had a great NBA career, with plenty years left in it.
4. Matthew Dellavedova
“He plays as hard as he can every night. He’s not afraid. he plays courageously… What's not to love?” — Coach David Blatt
The icon that is Matthew Dellavedova was born in the 2014–15 season and will live on forever. We’ll get to that in a minute.
Going un-drafted in the 2013 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Delly on a two-year deal. The Cavs were poor in the 2013–14 season, finishing with a 33–49 record. However, a bad team gives time to players who wouldn’t get it elsewhere though, and Dellavedova played 17 minutes a game in seventy-two games, averaging 4.7PPG and 2.7APG, a good number for an un-drafted PG.
The following season marked the coming home of LeBron James and Cleveland had huge expectations of winning the Championship. Delly played 20MPG in sixty-seven regular-season games, slightly improving his averages from the year before, to 4.8PPG/3APG. Seen as a hard worker and gritty defender but not much else, no one paid him much attention.
Cleveland dominated the Celtics in round one, however, it cost them. Kevin Love went down for the rest of the playoffs after Kelly Olynyk yanked Love’s shoulder from its socket, dislocating it.
The Cavs saw some resistance against Chicago, finding themselves down 2–1. But with a buzzer-beater by Lebron in Game four, which came off an inbounds pass from Delly, Cleveland went on to win in six games. Facing the sixty-win and four-Allstar led Atlanta, the Cavs found no problem, dispensing of them in four games.
Now, here it was, the NBA Finals, Lebron and the Cavs versus the MVP Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. In game one, Lebron, Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson played 45, 43, 47 minutes respectively, Lebron finishing with 44/6/8. Delly finished with 0 points, 3 assists and the Cavs lost game one 108–100 in an Overtime thriller. Worse than the loss, however, was the Krie fracturing his knee cap one minute into overtime, ruling him out for the series.
What happened next is the reason Delly finds himself fourth on this list. Starting in game two of the NBA Finals, guarding the MVP and playing forty-minutes after averaging seventeen in the regular-season, he was dramatically out of his depth, or he should have been. What actually happened was Curry scored 19 points on 5–23 from the field, with only two points in OT, and went 0–8 when guarded by Delly. After the Cavs 95–93 overtime win, Lebron had stated “It had everything to do with Delly. He was spectacular.”
The Cavs won again in game three. Delly stood up next to Lebron when he was needed and played his heart out. Finishing with 20 points, 4 assists and playing fantastic defence on Curry. Unfortunately, great players find a way. Delly quite literally left everything he had out on the floor that night, needing to be put on an IV drip afterwards.The Cavaliers went on to lose the next three games and the Warriors won the Championship 4–2. Dellavedova’s averages of 8PPG,3APG,3RPG,1STL in the Finals don’t portray the level that he played at. Seen as someone who’s “going to give everything he’s got”(Lebron) Delly quickly became an icon in Cleveland.
The 2015–16 regular-season was his best yet playing 24MPG in seventy-six games and averaging 7.5PPG, 4.4APG and 2RPG. He would only play 12mpg in the playoffs, though he averaged solid numbers of 4PPG and 3APG. He played only 7.6mpg in the Cavaliers historic 3–1 down comeback win in 7 games and in doing so became an NBA Champion, only the sixth Australian to do so. The following season the Milwaukee Bucks received Dellavedova in a sign-and-trade deal and he put up 7.6PPG and 4.7APG in the 2016–17 season in 26MPG. This season he has played less minutes (19) and is averaging 4.4PPG and 3.9APG.
The whole situation in which his finals performance came, and what it says about him as a player is the reason for him being high on this list. It was unbelievable watching him guard Steph on the worlds biggest stage, and he stood up to the challenge.
3. Patty Mills
“He can shoot the basketball and has a lot of energy. But he’s beloved on this team for his enthusiasm, his kindness, his understated gravitas. As long as I’m here, he’s going to be here.” — Gregg Popovich
Drafted by the Portland Trailblazers with the 55th pick, Mills became the first indigenous Australian to be drafted in the NBA. Unfortunately, Mills fractured his foot at practice and missed the NBA Summer League. Returning from injury to the Idaho Stampede in the D-League, Mills made his debut for the Blazers on the 4th of January, tallying 2 assists in five minutes. Returning to the Stampede on the 13, he was recalled again on the 23rd. Appearing in ten games in his rookie season, Mills averaged 2.6 points in nearly 4 MPG. In his sophomore season, Mills played in sixty-four games, averaging 5.5PPG and nearly 2 assists.
If nothing else, Mills is credited with the creation of the “3 goggles” celebration. When Blazers teammate Rudy Fernandez was not shooting well, Mills would do the “3 goggles” action, insinuating that he couldn’t shoot because he couldn’t see well. When Fernandez started shooting the three well, he would celebrate with the “3 goggles” to show Mills that his vision was just fine. Seeing as it is the go-to three-point celebration now, I’d say it’s quite the achievement.
Signing with the San Antonio Spurs on March 27th, Mills scored 34 points on the 26th April, surpassing Andrew Bogut as the Highest single-game point tally by an Australian. Playing only 11MPG in the 2012–13 season, Mills averaged 5.1PPG & 1APG. In the playoffs, which ended in a finals loss, Mills played nine games, averaging 1.3PPG in 3 minutes.
The 2013–14 season marked an increase in minutes and production for Mills. Playing eighty-one games with 10.2PPG and 1.8APG on 46% shooting and appearing in every game. Mills has been the definitive sixth-man for the Spurs since the 2013–14 season and playing a significant position for Gregg Popovich, a man who demands excellence, for a team that is always a contender is a huge accomplishment . Only 29, since the Spurs won their Championship, Mills has averaged 9PPG, 3APG on 42% shooting and 38% from three.
2. Luc Longley
“The one with the biggest body, but also the one with the biggest, warmest heart.” — Phil Jackson
Drafted to Minnesota with the 7th pick in the 1991 NBA Draft, Lucien ‘Luc’ Longley became the first Australian to ever play in the NBA and had a solid rookie year with averages of 4.3PPG/1BPG/4RPG in fifteen minutes a game.
Longley played two-and-a-half seasons with Minnesota, averaging 5.4PPG/1.2APG/1.2BPG/4.7RPG before, forty-nine games into his third season, being traded to the Chicago Bulls. Playing twenty-seven games with the Michael Jordan-less Bulls in the 1993–94 season, Longley started seventeen, averaging 7.6PPG/2.3APG/5.1RPG. It was this year that Longley got his first taste of playoff basketball, in which the Bulls were eliminated in a game 7 loss to the Knicks. Longley started only two of ten games averaging 6.3PPG, 1.3APG, 1BPG and 4.5RPG.
Jordan rejoined the Bulls halfway through the 94–95, finishing the season as a playoff team. Longley averaged 6.5PPG/1.3APG/4.8RPG in eighteen minutes, starting none of his fifty-five games. The Bulls were beaten in six games by Shaquille O’neal and the Magic with Longley averaging 5.6PPG/1.1APG/3.2RPG in 20mpg.
In the three years after Jordan returned to the Bulls, Chicago went onto win three consecutive NBA Championships. Longley became the first Australian to win an NBA Championship, let alone three of them. In those three regular seasons Longley started all one-hundred-and-seventy-nine games averaged 9.9PPG/1.2BPG/2.4APG/5.5RPG and in the playoffs he tallied 7.6PPG/1BPG/1.8APG/4.7RPG, starting fifty-three of fifty-five games.
Just by looking at his numbers, Longley would not seem to be any more deserving than others previously listed for second place, but to play alongside Michael Jordan in the three most important seasons of his career shows how good he was. If he wasn’t doing what needed to be done, Jordan would have exiled him.
To signify his importance to the greatest player of all-time, Longley jokes that when he missed two months in the 1996–97 season due to a dislocated shoulder, he received phone calls from Jordan telling him to get back on the court soon because he had no one to set screens for him. After the Bulls Championship team split, Longley was shipped off to Phoenix, where he played only two seasons averaging 7.1PPG/1.7BPG/4.9RPG before ending his NBA career with one season at the Knicks.
Luc Longley gave all Australians who came after him, like the first-place player who you will see next, the ability to know its possible for them to play, and thrive, in the NBA. He was a trailblazer for Australians in the NBA and he was a significant contributor to three NBA Championships alongside the Michael Jordan.
1. Andrew Bogut
“He gives us a stronger line-up on the defensive end and no matter how many minutes he plays, when he’s out there he makes an impact.” — Stephen Curry
Bogut is without a doubt Australia’s greatest NBA player of all-time. Drafted in 2005 to the Bucks with the first overall pick, Bogut was the first Australian ever be drafted number one.
Starting seventy-seven regular-season games for the Bucks and playing in all eighty-two, Bogut averaged 9.4PPG and 7RPG in 28 minutes.The Bucks finished 5th in the east with a record of 40–42. Bogut’s season was enough to see him gain All-Rookie First-Team honours, the first Australian to do so.
The bucks made the playoffs that year and losing to the the first-placed Detroit Pistons, with Bogut averaging 8.5PPG, 3.4APG & 6.2RPG in what would be his first and only taste of playoff basketball until 2012. With his sophomore season cut sixteen games short due to a sprained left foot, Bogut played sixty-six games, averaging averaging 12.3PPG, 3AST , 8.8RPG in 34MPG. Unfortunately, this season started a trend that would put a cloud over most of his career; injuries. The only time he would play in every game during the season was his rookie season. He did, however, play seventy-eight in 2007–08, showing more improvement and averaging impressive numbers of 14.3PPG/1.7BPG/6APG/9.8RPG.
Averaging 11PPG/1BPG/2AST/10RPG in only thirty-six games the following season, he missed the last thirty-one games due to a stress fracture in his lower back, the first serious injury of his career. The 2009–10 season was a break out season for Bogut with averages of 16PPG, 2.5BPG, 10RPG, with career-highs in both points and blocks. Unfortunately, this season ended in heartbreak. On April 3rd, as Bogut was running the fastbreak, he came into contact with Phoenix Suns Star Amar’e Stoudemire, landing awkwardly on his wrist. Bogut was diagnosed with a broken hand, sprained wrist and dislocated elbow, ruling him out for the rest of the regular season. Bogut was rewarded for his fantastic season by being picked to the All-NBA Third Team, once again, the first Australian to achieve such an honour.
The following season Bogut averaged 12.8PPG, 11RPG and led the NBA in blocks, with 2.63 per game, another fantastic achievement and yet another thing he was the first Australian to do.
During the NBA lockout season,2011–12, Bogut attempted to go back home to Australia and play in the NBL, though the Sydney Kings could not pay the insurance on his 39 Million Dollar contract. Causing him to return to the Bucks. After only twelve games, Bogut sustained his third serious injury — a fractured ankle. On the 13th of March, Bogut was traded to the Golden State Warriors, undergoing surgery in April to “clean out loose particles particles and bone spurs in the ankle”. Bogut didn’t return until January 28th.
Bogut played only thirty-two regular season games, averaging 5.8PPG/1.7BPG/7.7RPG. Playing in the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year, Bogut averaged 7.2PPG,10.9RPG,1.7BPG, with a special performance in which he put up fourteen points and a whopping twenty-one rebounds.in the 2014–15 season, Boguts’ Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games to win the Championship. One of only a few Aussies to hold up the Larry O’brien trophy at that time, Bogut was rewarded further, named to the NBA All-defensive first team.
Injuries have continued to addle Boguts career, from small ones that saw him waived by the Dallas Mavericks, to the fracturing of his Tibia last year, playing only 56 seconds for the Cavaliers. Though all that, Bogut continues to be sought after by teams, currently a solid bench-piece for the Lakers.
It is the winning of an NBA championship, which is extremely rare, even for NBA greats, along with his excellent numbers as well as his renowned defensive and blocking capabilities, not to mention accolades of All-Rookie First Team, All-NBA Third Team and all-Defensive First Team which leaves there no other choice than Andrew Bogut. The greatest Australian to play in the NBA.
I wrote this a few years ago now, and just had a fun time editing the ramblings of seventeen-year-old me. Don’t worry — I didn’t edit it heavily. It still has all the pieces of an article written by someone with no experience. Nowadays, I just have little-to-no experience, and write about Rugby League and Basketball at outofmyleague.substack.com. Take a look, it would mean a lot! You can also find me on Twitter @maxbdelaney . Come say hi!
