Australian NBA Players: Every Australian to Play in the NBA

Australian NBA players have gone from rare curiosities to genuine stars. Here is every Australian to play in the NBA, from Luc Longley in 1991 to Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels and the 2026-27 crop, plus the No.1 picks, champions and records.

When Luc Longley ran out for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1991-92 season, he became the first Australian to play in the NBA.

More than three decades later, Australians in the NBA are no longer a novelty. Basketball.com.au counted 11 Australians on NBA preseason rosters at 10 clubs ahead of the 2026-27 season, and two of them are now franchise cornerstones.

Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels both start this season on four-year contract extensions. Giddey agreed to his extension with the Chicago Bulls in September 2025, and Daniels signed a four-year rookie-scale extension with the Atlanta Hawks on 20 October 2025 (US time), a deal that started this season.

The season has also brought the reminder of how fragile careers can be. Ben Simmons, the former No.1 pick, tore his right Achilles tendon at Sacramento Kings practice on 18 October (US time), days before his NBA comeback was due to begin.

Kyrie Irving, born in Melbourne, is back on court for the Dallas Mavericks after missing all of 2025-26 with a torn ACL, and he has again said he would like to play for Australia.

Below is every Australian NBA player, ordered by the season they debuted, plus the records, champions and award winners. Games played are regular-season totals from Basketball-Reference as of 12 November 2026.

Who counts as an Australian NBA player?

Our list includes players born in Australia and players born overseas who grew up here or have represented the Boomers. That brings in Aron Baynes (born in New Zealand), Matisse Thybulle (born in the US, part of the Boomers squad that won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics) and the South Sudan-born trio of Thon Maker, Deng Adel and Duop Reath. It also includes Irving, who was born in Melbourne and holds Australian citizenship but has played for the United States. By that measure, 40 Australians have played in the NBA.

Australians in the NBA in 2026-27

These are the Australians on NBA rosters this season, according to Basketball.com.au and SEN’s season preview:

Josh Giddey, Chicago Bulls: The 24-year-old runs the Bulls’ offence after averaging 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists across 54 games in 2025-26. He was the No.6 pick in 2021 and joined Chicago in a trade for Alex Caruso in June 2024.
Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks: The Bendigo product won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award and made the All-Defensive First Team in 2024-25, when his 229 steals were the most in a season since Gary Payton in 1995-96. He made the All-Defensive Second Team in 2025-26.
Jock Landale, Atlanta Hawks: The centre joined Atlanta from Memphis during 2025-26 and averaged 10.6 points across 68 games that season.
Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks: Back after his ACL injury, the nine-time All-Star is averaging 22.9 points through his first nine games of 2026-27.
Josh Green, Utah Jazz: The Sydney-born wing has joined his third NBA club after stints with Dallas and Charlotte.
Tyrese Proctor, Cleveland Cavaliers: The former Duke guard, taken with pick 49 in 2025, is in his second season with the Cavs.
Matisse Thybulle, Los Angeles Lakers: The two-time All-Defensive Second Team pick joined the Lakers after a knee injury limited him to 30 games for Portland in 2025-26.
Rocco Zikarsky, Minnesota Timberwolves: The former Brisbane Bullets centre, drafted at pick 45 in 2025, is a long-term development project behind Rudy Gobert.
Duop Reath, Phoenix Suns: Reath joined the Suns just before the season after three seasons in Portland.
Johnny Furphy, Indiana Pacers: Furphy is working back from a torn ACL suffered in February 2026.
Ben Simmons, Sacramento Kings: Simmons signed a one-year deal with the Kings in September but will miss the season after Achilles surgery.

Australian NBA records and milestones

First Australian in the NBA: Luc Longley, Minnesota Timberwolves, 1991-92
No.1 draft picks: Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee, 2005) and Ben Simmons (Philadelphia, 2016). Kyrie Irving (Cleveland, 2011) was also born in Melbourne, which means all three No.1 picks born in Australia came from the same city
Most NBA games by an Australian: Patty Mills, 921 across 16 seasons
Most NBA points by a Boomers player: Patty Mills, 8,004. Irving has 18,639, the most by any Australian-born player
Rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons (2017-18). Irving won it in 2011-12
Most Improved Player: Dyson Daniels (2024-25)
All-Stars: Ben Simmons, three times (2019, 2020 and 2021). Irving has nine selections
All-NBA: Andrew Bogut (Third Team, 2009-10) and Ben Simmons (Third Team, 2019-20)
League leaders: Bogut led the NBA in blocks in 2010-11, Simmons in steals in 2019-20 and Daniels in steals in 2024-25
Youngest triple-double in NBA history: Josh Giddey, at 19 years and 84 days, on 2 January 2022
First Indigenous Australian in the NBA: Nathan Jawai, Toronto Raptors, 2008-09

Australian NBA champions

Nine Australians have NBA championships on their record, according to Basketball-Reference. Longley remains the only one with three.

Luc Longley: 1996, 1997 and 1998, Chicago Bulls
Andrew Gaze: 1999, San Antonio Spurs
Patty Mills: 2014, San Antonio Spurs
Aron Baynes: 2014, San Antonio Spurs
Andrew Bogut: 2015, Golden State Warriors
Matthew Dellavedova: 2016, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kyrie Irving: 2016, Cleveland Cavaliers
Jack White: 2023, Denver Nuggets (on a two-way contract)
Alex Ducas: 2025, Oklahoma City Thunder (on a two-way contract)

Mills also led the Boomers to their first Olympic medal, bronze at Tokyo in 2021, while Ducas lifted the trophy with the Thunder in his only NBA season.

Every Australian to play in the NBA

Players are listed by the season they debuted, with their NBA clubs and regular-season games played. Players who have appeared in the 2026-27 season show “to now”.

Luc Longley (1991-92 to 2000-01): Timberwolves, Bulls, Suns and Knicks, 567 games
Andrew Gaze (1993-94 to 1998-99): Washington Bullets and Spurs, 26 games
Mark Bradtke (1996-97): 76ers, 36 games
Shane Heal (1996-97 to 2003-04): Timberwolves and Spurs, 49 games
Chris Anstey (1997-98 to 1999-00): Mavericks and Bulls, 155 games
Andrew Bogut (2005-06 to 2018-19): Bucks, Warriors, Mavericks, Cavaliers and Lakers, 706 games
Luke Schenscher (2005-06 to 2006-07): Bulls and Trail Blazers, 31 games
Nathan Jawai (2008-09 to 2009-10): Raptors and Timberwolves, 45 games
David Andersen (2009-10 to 2010-11): Rockets, Raptors and New Orleans Hornets, 103 games
Patty Mills (2009-10 to 2024-25): Trail Blazers, Spurs, Nets, Hawks, Heat, Jazz and Clippers, 921 games
Kyrie Irving (2011-12 to now): Cavaliers, Celtics, Nets and Mavericks, 788 games; Melbourne-born, has represented the United States
Aron Baynes (2012-13 to 2020-21): Spurs, Pistons, Celtics, Suns and Raptors, 522 games; born in New Zealand, raised in Australia
Matthew Dellavedova (2013-14 to 2022-23): Cavaliers, Bucks and Kings, 479 games
Cameron Bairstow (2014-15 to 2015-16): Bulls, 36 games
Dante Exum (2014-15 to 2024-25): Jazz, Cavaliers and Mavericks, 320 games
Joe Ingles (2014-15 to 2025-26): Jazz, Bucks, Magic and Timberwolves, 750 games
Thon Maker (2016-17 to 2020-21): Bucks, Pistons and Cavaliers, 263 games; born in present-day South Sudan, represented Australia
Ben Simmons (2017-18 to 2024-25): 76ers, Nets and Clippers, 383 games
Mangok Mathiang (2017-18): Charlotte Hornets, 4 games
Deng Adel (2018-19): Cavaliers, 19 games; born in present-day South Sudan, represented Australia
Isaac Humphries (2018-19): Hawks, 5 games
Jonah Bolden (2018-19 to 2019-20): 76ers and Suns, 51 games
Mitch Creek (2018-19): Nets and Timberwolves, 5 games
Ryan Broekhoff (2018-19 to 2019-20): Mavericks, 59 games
Matisse Thybulle (2019-20 to now): 76ers, Trail Blazers and Lakers, 389 games; born in the US, lived in Sydney as a child
Josh Green (2020-21 to now): Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets and Jazz, 358 games
Will Magnay (2020-21): Pelicans, 1 game
Jock Landale (2021-22 to now): Spurs, Suns, Rockets, Grizzlies and Hawks, 297 games
Josh Giddey (2021-22 to now): Thunder and Bulls, 343 games
Dyson Daniels (2022-23 to now): Pelicans and Hawks, 284 games
Jack White (2022-23 to 2023-24): Nuggets and Grizzlies, 21 games
Xavier Cooks (2022-23): Wizards, 10 games
Duop Reath (2023-24 to now): Trail Blazers and Suns, 152 games; born in present-day South Sudan, raised in Australia
Alex Ducas (2024-25): Thunder, 21 games
Jack McVeigh (2024-25): Rockets, 9 games
Johnny Furphy (2024-25 to 2025-26): Pacers, 85 games
Luke Travers (2024-25 to 2025-26): Cavaliers, 24 games
Lachlan Olbrich (2025-26): Bulls, 37 games
Rocco Zikarsky (2025-26 to now): Timberwolves, 6 games
Tyrese Proctor (2025-26 to now): Cavaliers, 60 games

How many Australians have played in the NBA?

Using the definition above, 40 Australians have played at least one regular-season NBA game. Most were born in Australia, from Longley and Gaze through to Proctor and Zikarsky. The list grew quickly from the 2010s, as the NBL’s Next Stars program and American college basketball opened new pathways.

Some careers were brief. Will Magnay played one game for New Orleans in 2020-21, and Mitch Creek and Isaac Humphries played five games each. At the other end, Mills, Joe Ingles (750 games) and Bogut (706) each passed 700 games.

Who is next?

No Australian was taken in the 2026 NBA Draft, only the third time since 2018 that has happened. The next wave is led by Dash Daniels, Dyson’s younger brother, who chose to stay at Melbourne United for a second Next Stars season.

The national team also has a big year ahead. With the 2027 FIBA World Cup less than a year away, the Boomers’ NBA contingent will be watched closely. Irving told Basketball Network in Macao in October that he was “still trying to sneak onto the Australian national team”, but he has played for the United States, and FIBA eligibility rules make a switch difficult. In February 2025 he told reporters he was “in the process” of trying to change his eligibility.

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