By Adam Joseph
Follow @AdamJosephSport
Eleven years ago, Andrew Bogut became the first Australian to be selected with the no. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. At the time, he was quick to separate himself from his fellow countrymen, stating in clear terms he was no Luc Longley—the first Australian to play in the NBA.
“I’ve had a better collegiate career than anyone else from Australia that came over here,” he said. “I’m not as slow as Luc Longley, I’m more athletic, I can shoot better, I’m more competitive. So I think it’s not even fair to bring that name up.”
Bogut apologized for that statement long ago, and it has since been chalked up to the errors of youth. He’s now the elder statesman on the Australian National Team, and though injuries prevented him from being the sort of franchise transformative force this summer’s Australian-born top overall pick, Ben Simmons, might aspire to be, he’s helped pave the way for a contingent of players the rookie should be proud to be a part of.
In the history of the National Basketball Association, Australia has 20 players who have made the grade. Twenty. That’s barely more than a standard NBA roster. To put that in perspective, there have been over 3,000 players pass through the league in the last 50 years alone.
By comparison, Australia is a speck on the basketball map.
Basketball ranks as the ninth most popular sport in Australia, but sits 11th in attendance. In a country of just over 23 million people, competition to become a leading sport can be difficult. Australia is one of the world’s greatest sporting nations per capita, and one that regularly punches above its weight; making it difficult to break through the hierarchy.
It has won World Cups in Cricket, both Rugby League and Union, Netball, and the Women’s Basketball team (the Opals) won the 2006 World Cup in Brazil. The Socceroos won the Asian Cup. Australia dominates the Commonwealth Games ahead of nations like England, and remain ever-present in Olympic medal tallies.
Australia also has its own national game, Australian Rules Football, that’s not well known outside the country. It is far and away the nation’s most popular sport—almost twice as popular as the likes of Cricket, Rugby, Golf, and Soccer.
Through the first decade of the 2000’s, the National Basketball League (NBL), Australia’s highest level of basketball, lost multiple teams to bankruptcy. One of the league’s marquee franchises, the Sydney Kings, was purchased for a mere $15,000.
Its problems were symptomatic of the floundering interest the sport encountered in Australia. While pickup games are prevalent in countries where basketball reigns, in Australia it’s difficult to find a place where that is available in many areas. Organized competition is the only real route to pursue even a casual level of basketball. The lack of national infrastructure within the sport makes it difficult with the game to grow in the country.
Australians looking for opportunities have either been forced to declare for the draft early, head to small American colleges, or seek opportunities overseas because the NBL simply lacks the exposure to make a significant impression on a global scale.
The Boomers slummed through their last three Olympic campaigns, finishing ninth in Athens (2004), then two consecutive seventh place finishes in Beijing (2008) and London (2012). They also failed to post a top 10 finish in their last three FIBA World Cups, and failed to qualify in 2002.
But the Boomers are also in the midst of a transformation after these challenging times. In the past three years, Australia was represented three times with lottery selections in the NBA Draft (Simmons, Dante Exum, and Thon Maker). Three veterans (Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, and Patty Mills) also played important roles on the last three NBA championship teams. And with a stunning victory over France to open up the Olympic games in Rio, without their two brightest young players, they’re showing signs of a brighter future.
Much of the success can be traced to a development program that is more successful than some very strong NCAA schools, the Australian Institute of Sport:
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has had eight players drafted into the NBA since 2002, including Bogut, Exum, Mills, Simmons and Cameron Bairstow, among others. Other talents such as Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, and Aron Baynes, also spent time in the AIS as Juniors.
Mills spoke to Vice Sports recently about the influence of the AIS on Australian Basketball:
“When I first came in, there was only Andrew Bogut, who was by himself in the league for a number of years,” Mills says. “[The growth] comes down to the AIS, really. All of the people that are in the NBA now came through that program, really developed and done what is needed to play at this level.”
The Institute’s influence has paid off. The Spurs’ backup point guard was a late second round pick for the Portland Trail Blazers after a successful college career at St. Mary’s. After going undrafted out of Washington State, Baynes pursued an overseas career before the New Zealand-born, naturalized Australian was spotted by the savvy San Antonio Spurs. Now he’s earning $20 million over three years in Detroit.
Bogut was an NBA Champion in 2015 with the Golden State Warriors, and is one of the league’s key defensive big men, though he has somewhat of a reputation as a dirty player (as does Dellavedova).
Dellavedova signed a four-year, $38.5 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks this summer. Coincidentally, like Mills, “Delly” spent his college career with St. Mary’s.
Joe Ingles also paved his way into the NBA for a brief stint by impressing overseas, and is the only current Australian NBA player to play in the domestic league.
Chris Goulding is a star of the NBL with Melbourne United, and is a sharpshooting wing who can bring value to the team in Rio if his teammates can create space and shots for him. David Andersen is an experienced forward entering his fourth Olympic campaign, while Bogut is a skilled passer and screener who can be the bedrock of the Boomers’ defensive scheme.
Simmons, a potential superstar who’s sitting out these Olympics to prepare for his first NBA season with the Philadelphia 76ers, is the key to unlocking their International potential. The collection of players around him are nice, but there is no player in that group who is a bona fide star.
His tremendous ball handling for his size, ability to penetrate, and remarkable court vision will allow good shooters like Mills, Dellavedova, and Ingles to spot up. Mills and Dellavedova are perfectly capable ball handlers, but neither are good at penetrating—a weakness of the team without Simmons.
Thon Maker, who declared his intention to represent Australia internationally, has the potential to be a versatile big in the Australian set up. While he lacks offensive polish, he is extending his range out to the three-point line and can make use of his crazy wingspan and 9-foot-3 standing reach to inherit the mantle as defensive lynchpin when Bogut retires.
The Boomers will also be missing Dante Exum, who is finding this way back from a knee injury suffered this time last summer.
The team went through a mixed preparation before their victory over France, though not completely unusual during exhibition games in the lead up to a tournament. They were impressive in a comeback win over Argentina, but following that they fell 96-67 in a disappointing loss to Brazil. Lithuania, the world’s third ranked team, got the better of them 81-68 before an impressive beating of China in Bogut’s return saw them prevail 82-53.
“We try not to gauge ourselves in the warm-up games because it’s about getting the team on the same page,” Andersen said to ESPN.
With a solid defensive team possessing no clear offensive leader and a bunch of streaky shooters, offensive consistency is the key to the Boomers medal hopes in Rio. Grinding out wins will be vital to their progression, as is the questionable health of Bogut, who is still suffering from a knee injury sustained in the NBA Finals.
Expectations are huge in the Boomers home country, as the current squad is being hailed as the team’s “Greatest Ever” even without the likes of Simmons and Exum. That goes to show how the team and the sport itself are steadily rising in Australia.
“I am going into my third Olympics and I have a lot of experience under my belt. I feel am the leader of the team, spearheading these guys into the right direction and that’s to get a medal” Mills told the Herald Sun.
Six current NBA players will head with the Boomers to Rio, while Exum and Simmons time in the International spotlight will come at a later date. Mills was the only NBA player in London in 2012. How many will there be in 2020?
That depends on how well the pipeline of talent continues to develop.
The NBL has enjoyed a recent revitalization since a de-merger from Basketball Australia, with a change of tactics in entertainment and broadcasting from the league’s directors bringing fans back to watch games. There are plans for expansion domestically starting next season, as well as adding a team from China with the Chinese Basketball Association and FIBA’s approval.
But the NBA will be Australia’s next step into evolving as a basketball nation. In previous years, it was rare that Australians were found in the world’s biggest league. Luc Longley, Andrew Gaz,e and Shane Heal became trail blazers for Australians trying to make it overseas.
With a strong contingent of players in the world’s most famous basketball league, and a potential franchise star, it’s impossible for the Australian public not to notice. Though reports of their performances do not lead news broadcasts or dominate the headlines, the exposure of Basketball in Australia is steadily increasing.
In Simmons and Utah’s developing point guard, Dante Exum, the young Australians represent a brave new era for basketball in their homeland. The rising stars may not be present in Rio, but they are at the hub of an exciting future for their national team. And a legacY they can proudly embrace.
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