As Andrew Gaze takes a seat at the top of the Sydney Kings' bench for their historic game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, he might take a moment to ponder what might have been.
Gaze, the Australian basketball great, had brief stints playing for the San Antonio Spurs and Washington Bullets in the 1990s but soon returned home to finish his career in the NBL with his beloved Melbourne Tigers.
Today, eight Australians are on NBA teams.
Joe Ingles and Patty Mills just signed four-year $US50 million contracts and Matthew Dellavedova is in the second year of his $US38 million deal.