Andrew Michael Bogut (born 28 November 1984) is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach with the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL).
Bogut spent the majority of his career 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. Bogut 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. Bogut 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 and made his second Finals. Bogut was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he played briefly before other short stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. In 2018, Bogut returned to his home country to play for the Sydney Kings and won the NBL Most Valuable Player Award. Following the 2018–19 NBL season, he signed back with the Warriors and made his third Finals in 2019. Bogut 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-vitalizing the Australian NBL.
Bogut was born in Melbourne on 28 November 1984. His parents, Michael and Anne, immigrated to Australia from Croatia in the 1970s, with his father from Osijek and his mother from Karlovac. Bogut grew up playing Australian rules football and tennis in addition to basketball. As a child, he patterned his basketball game after Toni Kukoč, a Croatian NBA player who spent the majority of the 1990s playing for the Chicago Bulls. As a 15-year-old, Bogut was cut from the Victoria junior state representative team. In response to this setback, he began to improve his game with the help of Siniša Marković, a professional basketball player from Yugoslavia. Bogut's emergence began after joining the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 2002. He competed for the AIS men's team in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) in 2002 and 2003, helping the AIS win the East Conference title in his first season and won the SEABL East MVP in his second season. Bogut later joined the U-19 Australian junior national team, and was named the most valuable player of the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, in Greece, after leading the Emus to the title. In eight games, he averaged 26.3 points, 17 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game, and he shot 61 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line. One of the highlights of his MVP conquest was a 22-point, 18-rebound performance, in a 106–85 victory over the US, in the quarterfinals of the medal round.
As a freshman at Utah in 2003–04, Bogut averaged 12.5 points and 9.9 rebounds in 33 games. He subsequently earned CollegeInsider.com All-Freshman Team honours, Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, second-team All-Mountain West Conference, and NABC second-team All-District 13.
As a sophomore in 2004–05, Bogut started all 35 games for the Utes, leading them to a 29–6 record, the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, and a Mountain West Conference championship. He led the nation with 26 double-doubles and scored in double figures in 37 consecutive games dating back to the final two games of the 2003–04 season to have the sixth-longest streak in the country. He ranked 19th in the NCAA in scoring (20.4 ppg), second in rebounding (12.2 rpg) and eighth in field goal percentage (62.0), and led the Mountain West Conference in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. He became one of 31 Utah players all-time to score 1,000 points in his career, but just the third to reach that mark in two seasons. He was named the 2004–05 national player of the year by both ESPN.com and Basketball Times, and earned Associated Press first-team All-American and leading vote getter, becoming the 11th Ute all-time to earn All-America honours. Bogut also earned Naismith College Player of the Year honours and the John R. Wooden Award. He later had his No. 4 jersey retired by Utah.
Bogut was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the first overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft, becoming the first Australian player and the second Utah player (the first being Bill McGill) to be drafted number one overall. As a rookie in 2005–06, he earned All-Rookie First Team honours and finished third in votes for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He played in all 82 regular season games for the Bucks in his first season, averaging 9.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Bogut's second season in the league was cut short after he sprained his left foot and was put on the injured reserve for the final 15 games. He had previously played in 153 consecutive games. He improved his numbers in 2006–07 to 12.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
In the 2007–08 NBA season, Bogut set career-highs in points (14.3), rebounds (9.8), blocks (1.7), steals (0.8) and minutes (34.9) per game. He tallied a career-high 29 points against the Phoenix Suns in December and finished 9th in the NBA in blocks, 11th in rebounding and 12th in double-doubles (38). He started in 78 games for the Bucks, missing just four games through injury.
In the 2008 offseason, Bogut signed a five-year, $60 million extension that would keep him under contract through the 2013–14 season. The deal also had $12.5 million in possible incentives.
Bogut appeared in just 36 games for the Bucks in 2008–09, missing the final 31 games of the season with a stress fracture in his lower back. He faced more time on the sidelines during the 2009–10 season due to a strained ligament and bruise in his left leg. On 3 April 2010, near the end of a breakout season, Bogut suffered a major injury. That night, in a game against the Phoenix Suns at the Bradley Center, Bogut had a chance to score on a fast break attempt. As he went up, Amar'e Stoudemire appeared to make some contact with Bogut and he lost his balance while completing the dunk. He hung onto the rim for a brief moment to try to right himself but could not, and fell at an awkward angle. Placing his right arm out to break the fall, Bogut landed with all of his weight on top of his wrist and his arm twisted as he landed. The next day, Bogut was diagnosed with a broken hand, dislocated elbow and sprained wrist, injuries that kept him out of for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. In what was a breakout season for Bogut, he finished with averages of 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, earning All-NBA Third Team honours, becoming first Bucks player named to the squad since Michael Redd in 2003–04. Bogut helped the Bucks to a 46–36 record, their most wins since going 50–32 in 2000–01, and their first playoff appearance since 2006.
Bogut returned to the Bucks' line-up in 2010–11, playing in 65 games and leading the league in blocks with 2.6 per game.
During the 2011 NBA lockout, Bogut chose to return home to Australia and play in the NBL for the 2011–12 season. He was linked to the Gold Coast Blaze, Adelaide 36ers and the team he supported when growing up, the Sydney Kings. Ultimately, he chose the Kings (who finished last in 2010–11), but the insurance to cover his remaining $39m contract with the Bucks could not be resolved, leaving the Kings and the NBL without his on-court services. Following the breakdown in contract negotiations over the insurance money, Bogut stated he would like to join the Kings coaching staff in a bid not only to help the club, but help raise the NBL's profile. This, however, did not occur and he later returned to the Bucks following the conclusion of the lockout. On 25 January 2012, he fractured his ankle, ruling him out for the rest of the season.