BASKETBALL PLAYERS from Australia

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Australian Basketball Players of all time. This list of famous Australian Basketball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Australian Basketball Players.

1. Lauren Jackson (1981 - )

With an HPI of 43.21, Lauren Jackson is the most famous Australian Basketball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 31 different languages on wikipedia.

Lauren Elizabeth Jackson (born 11 May 1981) is an Australian professional basketball player. The daughter of two national basketball team players, Jackson was awarded a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 1997, when she was 16. In 1998, she led the AIS team that won the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) championship. Jackson joined the Canberra Capitals for the 1999 season when she turned 18 and played with the team off and on until 2006, winning four more WNBL championships. From 2010 to 2016, Jackson played with the Canberra Capitals, which she did during the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) offseason during the time she continued WNBA play. Jackson made the Australian under-20 team when she was only 14 years old and was first called up to the Australian Women's National Basketball Team (nicknamed The Opals) when she was 16 years old. She was a member of the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics teams and captain of the 2008 Summer Olympics team, winning three silver medals. She was also part of the Australian team that won the bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Jackson was a member of the Australian Senior Women's Team that won a silver medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship for Women in China, co-captain of the team that won a gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and captain of the team that won a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women in Brazil. In 2001, Jackson entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft and was selected by the Seattle Storm, which viewed Jackson as a franchise player. She won two WNBA titles with the Storm, in 2004 and 2010, the latter also earning Jackson the WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. Jackson ranks among the top WNBA players in played games, minutes played, field goals, three-point shots, and turnover percentage. Jackson played club basketball in Europe with WBC Spartak Moscow in Russia and Ros Casares Valencia in Spain. She also played in the Women's Korean Basketball League, where she was named the league's Most Valuable Player and set a league record scoring 56 points, and in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association. Jackson announced her retirement from basketball on 31 March 2016, citing a persistent knee injury as the reason for her decision. Besides her basketball career, Jackson is in the process of attaining her university degree at the Macquarie University, majoring in gender studies.Jackson was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020. In 2021, Jackson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Jackson came out of retirement in April 2022, to play for the Albury Wodonga Bandits in NBL1 East.

2. Kyrie Irving (1992 - )

With an HPI of 42.98, Kyrie Irving is the 2nd most famous Australian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 50 different languages.

Kyrie Andrew Irving (; Lakota: Ȟéla, lit. 'Little Mountain'; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. An eight-time All-Star and three-time member of the All-NBA Team, he won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016. Irving played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils before joining the Cavaliers in 2011. He won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the 2014 All-Star Game. In the 2016 NBA Finals, Irving made the championship-winning three-point field goal to complete the Cavaliers' historic comeback over the Golden State Warriors. After another Finals appearance in 2017, Irving requested a trade and was dealt to the Boston Celtics. He played as a Celtic for two seasons, after which he signed with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent in 2019. After four seasons with the Nets, Irving requested a trade and was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks in 2023. He has also played for the United States national team, with which he won gold at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. In February 2020, he was elected as one of the seven vice-presidents of the National Basketball Players Association, replacing Pau Gasol.Throughout his career, Irving has promoted numerous conspiracy theories. His refusal to get vaccinated for COVID-19 led to him missing the majority of the 2021–2022 NBA season. Some of these conspiracies, including tweeting a link to the movie Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, have been characterized as antisemitic. He has written, directed and acted in a number of advertisements as the role of "Uncle Drew", which became a feature film in 2018. He has starred as himself in Kickin' It (2012) and has done voicework in We Bare Bears (2016) and Family Guy (2018).

3. David Andersen (1980 - )

With an HPI of 35.24, David Andersen is the 3rd most famous Australian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

David Emil Andersen (born 23 June 1980) is an Australian-Danish former professional basketball player. One of Australia's most experienced and successful players, Andersen won 12 league championships (9 European national domestic league championships and 3 EuroLeague championships) abroad and played in Italy, Russia, Spain, Turkey and France. He also played in the NBA, spending two years in the league between 2009 and 2011. In 2018 and 2021, he won championships with Melbourne United in the National Basketball League (NBL).

4. Andrew Bogut (1984 - )

With an HPI of 34.96, Andrew Bogut is the 4th most famous Australian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Andrew Michael Bogut (born 28 November 1984) is an Australian former basketball player who spent the majority of his professional career playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 7-foot (213 cm) tall center was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the first overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft. He earned All-NBA Third Team honors with the Bucks in 2010. He was traded to the Golden State Warriors in 2012, and was named NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2015, when he won an NBA championship with the Warriors. Bogut played college basketball for two years with the Utah Utes, and earned national player of the year honors in 2005. He declared for the NBA draft, and became the first Australian to be the NBA's first overall pick. In his first year with the Bucks, Bogut was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2006. He earned all-league honors in 2010 after averaging a career-high 15.9 points along with 10.2 rebounds per game. He missed most of 2011–12 with an ankle injury, when he was traded to Golden State. After the Warriors won the NBA Finals in 2015, Bogut helped the Warriors win an NBA-record 73 games in 2015–16. He was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he played briefly before other short stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. In 2018, he returned to his home country to play for the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL) and won the NBL MVP honours. Following the 2018–19 NBL season, Bogut signed back with the Warriors. He then returned to the Kings for a second season before retiring in 2020. Described as one of the leading faces of Australian basketball, Bogut has been credited for serving as a cornerstone of the Australian national team, for paving the way for an entire generation of Australian players in the NBA and in playing a leading role in re-vitalising the Australian NBL.

5. Luc Longley (1969 - )

With an HPI of 34.53, Luc Longley is the 5th most famous Australian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Lucien James Longley (born 19 January 1969) is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player. He was the first Australian to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played for four teams over 10 seasons. Longley most notably played for the Chicago Bulls, with whom he won three championships from 1996 to 1998. He represented Australia as a player at three Olympic Games in 1988, 1992 and 2000, and has worked as an assistant coach for the Australian national basketball team. Longley began his career in Australia with a brief stint playing for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1986. He played collegiately for the New Mexico Lobos and was drafted 7th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1991 NBA draft. Longley played three middling seasons with the Timberwolves before he was traded to the Chicago Bulls in 1994. He became the Bulls' starting center during their historic 1995–96 season when they set the NBA record for most wins in a regular season with 72. Longley was an important component of the team's success and stayed in the Bulls' starting lineup during their championship three-peat. Following the demise of the Bulls after their 1998 championship win, he had brief stints with the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks.

6. Ben Simmons (1996 - )

With an HPI of 32.86, Ben Simmons is the 6th most famous Australian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Benjamin David Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, after which he was named a consensus first-team All-American and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year. Simmons was selected with the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. After sitting out a year due to an injured right foot, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018 and was selected three times to the NBA All-Star Game. As the result of a holdout from the 76ers following the 2020–21 season, which led him to be traded to the Nets, Simmons is the most-fined player in NBA history. Simmons attended Box Hill Senior Secondary College in his hometown of Melbourne, Victoria, before moving to the United States to attend Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. In his only season in college, LSU began the season with high expectations, but they failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Simmons left school to enter the NBA draft, becoming the third Melbourne-born number one overall pick (following Andrew Bogut and Kyrie Irving) in 11 years. Simmons is the son of an American-born father, Dave, who played professional basketball in Australia. A dual citizen of Australia and the United States, Simmons has played for the Australian national team.

7. Patty Mills (1988 - )

With an HPI of 32.14, Patty Mills is the 7th most famous Australian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Patrick Sammy Mills is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mills was born and raised in Canberra, and is of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian descent. In 2007, he became the third Indigenous basketball player to play for the Australian national team. Mills was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft after playing two years of college basketball for the Saint Mary's Gaels. Mills played for the Portland Trail Blazers for two seasons. In 2011, during the NBA lockout, he played for the Melbourne Tigers of the National Basketball League (NBL) and for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China. Mills returned to the United States in March 2012 and signed with the San Antonio Spurs. He became a strong contributor off the bench and helped the Spurs win the 2014 NBA championship. In 2021 he led the Australian Boomers to their first ever medal in international competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Mills is known for his three-point shooting and his leadership qualities.

8. Joe Ingles (1987 - )

With an HPI of 29.66, Joe Ingles is the 8th most famous Australian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Joseph Howarth Ingles (born 2 October 1987) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Australian national team. He primarily plays at the small forward position. He is the Utah Jazz all-time leader in three-pointers made. Ingles was part of the Australian basketball team that won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

9. Dante Exum (1995 - )

With an HPI of 28.92, Dante Exum is the 9th most famous Australian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Dante Exum (born 13 July 1995) is an Australian professional basketball player for Partizan of the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He chose to bypass college and was ultimately selected by the Utah Jazz with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.Exum competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the Australian men's basketball team. In the bronze playoff, he scored or assisted on 13 of Australia's points in the pivotal 20-8 run that turned a five-point lead into a 17-point advantage (105-88) with just over a minute remaining.

10. Aleks Marić (1984 - )

With an HPI of 27.92, Aleks Marić is the 10th most famous Australian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Aleksandar "Aleks" Marić (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар "Алекс“ Марић, born 22 October 1984) is an Australian-Serbian former professional basketball player. Marić gained a reputation as a winner over the course of his successful European career, securing contracts with several basketball powerhouse outfits. Rising to stardom at Partizan Belgrade in 2010, he was part of a Serbian Cup and Adriatic League championship winning team, as well as an All-EuroLeague First Team member. That breakout season earned him selection to the Australian national team for the 2010 World Championships and the 2012 London Olympics. In 2019, he became an assistant coach with the Sydney Kings.