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Andrew Bogut, one of the most decorated players in Australian basketball, has signed on for a second stint with reigning NBA champions Golden State Warriors, the team has confirmed.
- Basketball star Andrew Bogut has signed up with reigning NBA champions Golden State Warriors
- Bogut returned to Australia in 2018 to join the Sydney Kings, winning the NBL MVP award for the season
- Bogut has previously played with five NBA clubs, winning a title during four seasons with the Warriors
Bogut, who won a championship with Golden State in 2015, is coming off a season with the Sydney Kings in the NBL where he was named the Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year.
The Warriors, who are first in the Western Conference with a 44-20 record, did not disclose the terms of the agreement yet multiple reports said the deal for the 13-year NBA veteran was expected to be a one-year minimum contract.
NBA teams play an 82-game season, and with the Warriors 11.5 games clear of the ninth-placed Sacramento Kings, they are all but assured of playing in the post-season.
Speaking in Sydney, Bogut said he had spoken to Warriors coach Steve Kerr and was "under no illusions" that anything was guaranteed for him at Golden State.
"I appreciate the opportunity and if it's waving a towel for 20-odd games and just being a good teammate, I'm happy to do it," Bogut said.
"For me, it's an absolute honour to go and sign there and not play a minute — anything more than that is a bonus.
"I'm not silly. I know I'm older and there are some very good players playing.
"Hopefully I have a good three months in Golden State, win a championship, come back and then get an NBL one next season."
Prior to the announcement, Warriors star Steph Curry said he was "surprised" but excited at the prospect of playing with Bogut again.
"It's so exciting, weird, a blast from the past, all that combined," Curry said.
"Obviously I know they [have] got a couple more steps before it's official, but he's a guy that we [have] got a lot of experience with.
"He knows our system, he knows how we do things around here.
"He was instrumental in that turnaround to become a championship-calibre team.
"The fact that he's doing what he's doing in Australia, obviously he still loves to play the game. So I know he'll be able to help us."
Bogut became Australia's first number one NBA draft pick when Milwaukee selected him in 2005 and spent his first seven seasons with the Bucks before joining the Warriors where he was a starting big man for their championship run in 2015.
He was also with Golden State when they lost the 2016 NBA Finals despite holding a commanding 3-1 series lead over Cleveland.
His last game with the Warriors was game five of the 2016 NBA Finals, where he picked up a knee injury and was carried off the court against the Cavaliers.
Bogut went on to have brief stints with Dallas, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers and was an unsigned free agent when he joined Sydney last April.
In four seasons with the Warriors, he averaged 6.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.71 blocks a game in 236 games for the Oakland-based team.
Upon joining the Kings, Bogut was emphatic about his plans to play out the duration of his two-year contract with the purple and gold, saying at the time there were "no outs" in his deal if an NBA team should become interested.
The 34-year-old towering centre, who last played in the NBA during the 2017-18 campaign, is expected to help shore up the Warriors big-man depth as they chase a third consecutive NBA championship and fourth in five seasons.
In four seasons with Golden State, including the record-setting 73-win 2015-16 campaign, Bogut moved into second on the team's all-time field goal percentage list.
Melbourne-born Bogut, a stalwart for Australia who has appeared in three Olympic Games, played in 30 games with the Kings, averaging 11.4 points, a league-high 11.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 blocks.
Reuters/ABC
Topics: sport, basketball, united-states, sydney-2000, nsw, australia
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