Bogut was acknowledged in Bahrain over the weekend and formally inducted alongside Pau Gasol (Spain) Mike Kryzewski (USA), Dawn Staley (USA), Leonor Borrell (CUB), Ratko Radovanovic (SRB), Ticha Penicherio (PRT), Fadi El Khatkib (LBN) and Alphone Bile (Cote d’lvoire).
The 213cm centre / forward was the first ever Australian selected #1 in an NBA Draft. Bogut accumulated 682 games across 14 seasons in the NBA with the Bucks, Warriors, Mavericks, Cavaliers, Lakers.
His career culminated with the ultimate success in 2015, with a reinvention alongside Steph Curry and Steve Kerr at the Golden State Warriors leading to an NBA Championship.
At National team level, Bogut was a rock for the Boomers progression from 2004 – 2019.
He featured at three Olympic Games tournaments, two World Cups and an Oceania Cup on his way and is revered as a key contributor the modern evolution of the Australia Boomers culture.
“When I first got involved with the national team. For us to just make it to the second round of a tournament was like a championship back then,” said Bogut.
“The bar wasn’t set high and mediocrity was sort of accepted. And that wasn't necessarily a knock on us, it was just that the talent pool wasn't at the level that we have now,”
“Being a part of that changing mindset of like, ‘Hey, we have the guys that are capable of being half decent now and can compete’ and being a part of lifting the national team to be consistently in the top four or a chance to medal at every tournament. It’s something that I really hold dear to my heart,” added Bogut.
Born and raised in Melbourne’s outer south-east, Bogut made his FIBA debut at the 2003 Under-19 World Cup where he was crowned tournament MVP for his dominant form in Australia’s gold-medal winning campaign in Greece.
He spent time with Utah playing NCAA college ball from 2013 – 2015 before setting new heights for an Australian men’s player in the draft.
“The environment (for Australian’s being drafted to the NBA) has completely changed now, it’s very different to when I was coming up,” said Bogut.
“I never thought I was going to be an NBA player. I never thought I would be a #1 pick as a young kid. As it progressed it all happened so quickly, I was an emergency on the Victoria State team as a 16 – 17 year old and then three years later I was playing in the NBA. So I am really proud of that,”
“You would always hear from a lot of people in Australia, ‘the odds are so small, it’s pretty much impossible, why bother?'. So having people grow that pathway is important. Breaking the glass ceiling for Australian players to get to the NBA through the draft process and be a lottery pick and show other kids that it’s achievable,” said Bogut.
An Australian getting their name called at the NBA Draft is a common occurrence nowadays, however the reality of Bogut’s entry into the league paints a realistic picture of the journey.
“If you were an Australian or even an international back then, for the most part you had to come through the college system. European players were getting picked a little bit more than Australians, and if you were Australian you would only ever really get picked from the NBL. Just going over there and not knowing where my path would lead,” said Bogut.
“I think Luc (Longley) was the only one at that stage that had a long tenured career in the NBA that was drafted. We obviously had other guys drafted and that had coffee stops before heading back to Australia or Europe,”
“The odds 30 to 40 years ago weren’t great, but I guess, to be able to do that and seeing everything that’s followed with guys like Ben Simmons, Dante Exum, Aron Baynes, Patty Mills and now the next generation with the likes of Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels. It’s do-able and we’re probably batting above our average as far as how many Australians are getting in the NBA on a consistent basis,”
Bogut now joins fellow Aussies Penny Taylor, Robyn Maher, Tom Maher, Michele Timms, Jan Stirling, Andrew Gaze, Lindsay Gaze and Al Ramsay in FIBA’s prestigious Hall of Fame for their impact as players, coaches or contributors.
Offered a moment to acknowledge a favourite moment the Boomers triumph against the USA on home soil stands out.
"Yeah, I think (the career highlight) was beating the USA in in Melbourne,” said Bogut.
“It was a big deal for us, you know, even though it was a friendly game, from never beating the US, to do it on home soil in my home city, in front of what is an all-time record crowd for basketball in Australia,”
“It was sensational. Just be part of that environment and how it all went down,” he added.
There was also an extended appreciation of his time at the Australian Institute of Sport and the impact of Marty Clark.
“There’s a contrast of people that you come across on the journey, both positive and negative that have an impact on where you are today,” said Bogut.
“For me Marty at the Australian Institute of Sport (now Centre of Excellence) was definitely one that really helped me prepare for the pro level at understanding how important the little traits are,” said Bogut.
“You go through junior ranks and the process of having good coaches and bad coaches so for me, I think going to the AIS and being around Marty Clark was integral to my development as far as being a professional.
“It was just the little things, simple stuff like showing respect for people by being on time and all the fundamentals of character that I now hold dear. A lot of it comes from my time at the AIS and I think that was really important.”
Bogut has made a step into the world of coaching and will serve as an Assistant to legendary Boomers coach Brian Goorjian at the Sydney Kings in 2025-26.
