Bogut says team must come first for Aussies

ANDREW Bogut says the talent- laden Boomers will need to park their egos at the door as they chase an elusive first major medal at the 2019 basketball World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics.

On paper, an Australian side including the likes of current NBA stars Ben Simmons, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills and Aron Baynes, along with Bogut, arguably ranks behind only the United States in terms of pure ability.

One of the key reasons why Bogut, 33, decided to end his time in the NBA and return home to play with the Sydney Kings on a two- year deal was that the shorter season would take less of a toll on his body, freeing him to be at his best for the national team.

Bogut – a former NBA No. 1 draft pick – has been a key part of the national set- up since the 2004 Athens Olympics. But he has never played on an Australian squad with the depth and talent which coach Andrej Lemanis now has at his disposal.

“The Australian national team has historically been a team that has not been as talented as other teams so we’ve used that as the Aussie fighting spirit, punching above our weight,” Bogut said at the NBL’s NextGen camp yesterday.

“Now we’re starting to become the flip- side of that, where other nations will be below us talent- wise, so we’re going to be the hunted.

“We don’t want to lose the culture we’ve had of being a team first and being about each other and a brotherhood.

“We don’t want to to be like other teams who are just talented. The question is when you’ve got a lot of talented guys coming in – you do the maths.

“Someone is going to get screwed for minutes, someone is going to get screwed for touches, someone is going to get screwed for points.

“That’s where playing for your national team is unique and where everyone has to understand their role.”