The Best-Ever Australians to Play in the NBA

Figure 1 Numerous athletes have flown the flag for Australian in the NBA over the years - Source: Unsplash

It has been quite a while since the NBA was dominated by solely US-born stars. Just in the last few years, the league MVP award has been awarded to Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid from Cameroon, and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. The NBA is now a truly global league and all the better for it.

The NBA is a multicultural, international league these days – and all the better for it. If you take a look at the best NBA betting websites, the teams may all be from the US (apart from Toronto, of course) but the players come from all over the globe.

Basketball has been a hugely popular sport in Australia for decades now, with its own thriving domestic and regional teams. But the NBA is still the best league in the world – and the one that all the top athletes aspire to be a part of. Here are some of the best-ever players to make it from Australia.

Luc Longley

We couldn’t really start anywhere else but with Luc Longley. Credited as the first Australian to ever play in the NBA, Longley was born in Melbourne but spent much of his childhood in Fremantle. He even played in Australia before starting his US college career with the University of New Mexico in 1987.

Longley made an immediate impression and was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the seventh pick overall in the 1991 NBA Draft. Struggling at first, he played for that team for two years before being traded to the Chicago Bulls. It was there that his career really took over, as he won three championships as one of the best-ever teams in the league’s history. He also played for the Suns and the Knicks before injuries forced his retirement in 2001.

Ben Simmons

Another Melbourne native, Ben Simmons’ father is an American who played for Melbourne Tigers after finishing college in the late 1980s. Simmons was actually also a very good Aussie Rules player but chose basketball, moving to the US to play high school hoops. Ultimately, he committed to LSU to play NCAA basketball.

With the Tigers not playing any postseason hoops, Simmons decided to make himself eligible for the NBA Draft after just his freshman year. There were some questions over his character but the 76ers took him with the very first pick. That turned out to be a good move, as he won the Rookie of the Year award and has been an All-Star on three occasions. He later played for the Brooklyn Nets. Due to ongoing injury issues, Simmons’ current playing status is uncertain as of 2025.

Andrew Bogut

Now back coaching in Sydney, Andrew Bogut was born in Melbourne in 1984 after his parents emigrated from Croatia in the 1970s. He also excelled at tennis and Aussie Rules but stuck with basketball after some serious setbacks, eventually earning a scholarship to play at the University of Utah.

Bogut went on to become one of the best-ever Utes – even having his number retired – and was chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks with the very first pick of the 2005 NBA Draft. It was with the Golden State Warriors that he won a championship ten years later, however. He ended his playing career in Sydney after a glittering NBA career and was recently named as the assistant coach of the Kings in the NBL.

Patty Mills

Born and raised in Canberra, Patty Mills is of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian descent – and became just the third Indigenous player to represent his country in 2007. His uncle, Danny Morseu had been the second 30 years earlier. By that time, he had begun playing college ball for Saint Mary’s in California.

Mills played just two years of college hoops before making himself eligible for the NBA Draft. He was taken by the Portland Trailblazers but injuries and a lockout disrupted his chances of game time, and he played back in Melbourne and in China before returning to the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs in 2012. It was there that he won a championship and his career has taken him to Brooklyn, Miami, Atlanta, and Utah, before his current team, the Clippers.

Joe Ingles

Joe Ingles had a less conventional path to the NBA. After beginning his professional career in the NBL, he played in Spain and won a championship in Israel before joining the Utah Jazz in 2014.

Ingles spent eight years with the Jazz, becoming their all-time leader in three-pointers made. He was traded to Portland in 2022 but missed games due to injury, then played for Milwaukee and Orlando. As of 2025, Ingles is currently a free agent and has not played since the 2023–24 season, sparking speculation about possible retirement.

Figure 2 Aussies on NBA courts is not an uncommon sight - Source: Unsplash

Kyrie Irving

Not usually thought of as Australian, Kyrie Irving was born in Melbourne while his father was playing pro basketball there. Irving holds dual US-Australian citizenship but moved to the US at a young age.

Drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011, Irving won an NBA championship alongside LeBron James in 2016. He’s also been a nine-time All-Star. After stints with the Celtics and Nets, Irving is currently playing for the Dallas Mavericks as of 2025. However, he has recently struggled with injury issues, and his availability for the upcoming season remains uncertain.