The best Australian NBA players 2024/2025
From left to right: Josh Green, Dante Exum and Josh Giddey | Getty Images

FOR A COUNTRY as small as Australia, where junior basketball programs must compete with their AFL, NRL, Union, soccer and cricket counterparts, we have a long, proud history of punching well above our weight when it comes to sending local talent Stateside. Even by our standards, however, Australian representation in the NBA is in the midst of a golden era, with thrilling draft prospects, grizzled veterans and potential all-stars alike all flying the green and gold in the world’s biggest basketball league.

Now, a new season is upon us, with a record number of Aussies taking part and our home-grown talent generating more buzz than ever across the league. Who will make the leap to become Australian basketball’s new poster boy? Will Melbourne-born eight-time all-star Kyrie Irving, having expressed interest in switching allegiances to pull on an Australian uniform, do so? And what, of course, of Ben Simmons? 

Here’s everything you need to know, and which players to keep tabs on.

1. Josh Giddey, G, Chicago Bulls

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Now on a new team and seeking a fresh start after a 2023-24 campaign defined more by off-court scandal than his performance on it, Josh Giddey remains one of the shining hopes of Australian basketball for the coming decade. Carrying renewed expectations as a starter and a potential leader on a young Chicago Bulls outfit, while it’s unlikely Giddey will be a playoff factor this year, he’ll be incentivised to show out regardless as he approaches free agency.

2. Ben Simmons, PF, Brooklyn Nets

Ben Simmons NBA for Esquire Australia
Ben Simmons photographed by Arnaldo Anaya-Lucca for Esquire Australia. Styling: Wesmore Perriott.

It’s fair to say that no Australian basketballer in history has generated more hype, and subsequently more disappointment, than Ben Simmons. A consensus number one pick once touted as a generational prospect, Simmons’ fall from grace after three consecutive all-star years, brought about through a combination of genuine injuries, contract impasses and prolonged speculation about his work ethic and mental state, has left him fairly unpopular with fans and critics alike. 

After playing just 15 games out of a potential 82 last year, Simmons now insists he’s healthier than ever and ready to return to his all-star best. That being said, we’ve heard that before, and given he’s in a contract year after three fairly miserable seasons in Brooklyn, there’s no guarantee he’ll even be a Net come the season’s end.

3. Patty Mills, G, Utah Jazz

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The literal and spiritual torch-bearer of Aussie basketball for the last decade, Patty Mills may well be entering the twilight of his career, but he clearly has no intention of riding off into the sunset any time soon. The 36-year-old will play the role of wily veteran on a youthful Utah Jazz team in the midst of a rebuild, tasked more with mentoring young talent than contributing big plays. But after proving he still has fire in his belly during a white-hot Olympic campaign, there will doubtless be moments Mills’ elite shooting is called upon to deliver this inexperienced team some valuable wins.

4. Dante Exum, G, Dallas Mavericks

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Dante Exum’s road to the top has been long and winding. A former lottery pick now almost a decade into his career, injury and poor form had the Melburnian hovering on the precipice of utter obscurity. A two-year stint playing in Europe rejuvenated the 29-year-old, however, and Exum now finds himself a key rotation man in a Dallas Mavericks side that will once again be gunning for the championship this year. 

The only downer? Exum is scheduled to be out until January due to a wrist injury. But hey – no-one really starts paying attention until after Christmas anyway, do they?

5. Josh Green, G/F, Charlotte Hornets

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Let’s get one truth out of the way – the Charlotte Hornets aren’t very good, nor are they likely to be any time soon. But Josh Green makes them better, having been traded by the Mavericks in a multi-team deal that will see him take on the role of a potential starter alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. Green’s potential remains to be established after a stint as a bit-part player with the Mavs, but if he can establish himself in the core of an exciting new Hornets team, he could become one of the nation’s most exciting success stories.

6. Johnny Furphy, F, Indiana Pacers

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There’s a sense of tempered excitement surrounding Johnny Furphy, a towering shooting guard who, despite never having played college or even top-tier Australian basketball, went to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of this year’s draft. His Summer League performances suggest there’s the makings of a proper NBA starter in Furphy, and he’ll be one to watch as the season progresses and more opportunities arise for the 19-year-old.

7. Dyson Daniels, G/F, Atlanta Hawks

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After being traded from the Pelicans in the off-season, Dyson Daniels will no doubt be feeling a renewed sense of purpose with an elevated role in an Atlanta team increasingly desperate to realise its potential after years of rebuilding around star point guard Trae Young. Daniels will likely serve as Young’s primary lieutenant on the floor, providing a level of defensive nous the Hawks desperately need, as he comes off a huge Olympic campaign.

8. Joe Ingles, F, Minnesota Timberwolves

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Slowly morphing into one of Australia’s great NBA journeymen, Ingles is now on his fourth team in as many seasons after joining the Minnesota Timberwolves over the American summer. Much like Mills, Ingles will likely occupy a rotation role on the T-Wolves as Anthony Edwards and co. seek the Western Conference title they came closer than ever to capturing last year. Even so, the 37-year-old’s elite shooting ability from beyond the arc, as well as his existing chemistry with once-again teammate Rudy Gobert, will likely see him get major minutes.

9. Kyrie Irving, G, Dallas Mavericks

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Yes, we get it. Kyrie Irving, at least officially, isn’t an Australian basketball player – yet. For now, at least, the eight-time All-Star’s allegiance remains with the stars and stripes – but after being overlooked for the 2024 Paris Olympics off the back of one of his best ever seasons, Irving raised eyebrows by declaring he’d be interested in switching ties to represent his country of birth in LA in 2028. He’ll be 36 by that time, but if he did officially pull on the green and gold, it would regardless be a monumental moment for Australian basketball.

Who is the best Australian NBA player?

Patty Mills is widely regarded as Australia’s best-ever NBA player, having sustained a high level of play for well over a decade and played a key role in guiding the 2014 San Antonio Spurs to the NBA title. Known as one of the league’s great all-time leaders and an outstanding shooter, he’s widely credited with improving all of the five NBA teams he’s now played for, with a career and reputation no Australian before him has managed to accumulate.

Luc Longley remains the NBA’s most decorated Australian, having won three NBA championships as part of Michael Jordan’s legendary Chicago Bulls team of the mid-late ’90s. The towering centre operated outside of the spotlight occupied by stars like Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, but with three rings and a decade of success in the NBA across four different teams, he still stands, in terms of accolades at least, Australia’s greatest NBA player.

How many Australian basketball players are in the NBA?

There are currently 14 rostered Australian players in the NBA, 11 of whom occupy full-time roster slots. The other three, Jack McVeigh (Houston Rockets), Alex Ducas (Oklahoma City Thunder), and Luke Travers (Cleveland Cavaliers), will enter the 2024-25 season on two-way deals, meaning they’ll split their time between the NBA and their teams’ respective G-League affiliates.


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