Which Australian NBA Player is Having the Best Off-Season?

Delly got married, Ingles scored 52 milly

Joe Ingles on Summer Vacation
Image via Complex Original

Joe Ingles summer vacation

Joe Ingles on Summer Vacation

The NBA off-season has become a spectacle in its own right. It’s a time to turn your Adrian Wojnarowski tweet notifications on and enjoy the pettiness of NBA players across social media. Those rare players who choose to stay away from social media feuds resort to calling out other players during interviews from the stands in summer league, in between signing some of the largest contracts in world sport.

There’s always a lot to keep up with during the month of July, and the Australian boys certainly haven’t disappeared off quietly into their holidays either, with some big money contracts making noise around the league. Fresh off one of the most successful seasons in the NBA by Australian players, we ranked the top 5 players having the best off-seasons.

Honourable Mention: Matthew Dellavedova

Matthew Dellavedova

5. Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons.

4. Jonah Bolden

View this video on YouTube

youtu.be

It was always going to be a good off-season for Bolden. His stock continued to rise the closer we got to the draft and he was eventually taken with the 36th pick, joining Simmons as a fellow 76er. The most exciting part of all this? Bolden has genuinely been bossing summer league, producing highlights like this.

It’s fair to say he’s someone to keep an eye on throughout the year, even though it does appear that he may be plying his trade over in the Euroleague next season.

Hopefully Bolden's stellar summer league form transfers over to his club form next season. But then again, if he continues to stay grounded by retweeting inspirational DJ Khaled quotes all day, he’ll make it to the top in no time.  

3. Aron Baynes

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

+1 for signing with the second-best team in the Eastern Conference.

-1 for having the worst facial hair/man-bun combo on the planet.

Baynes left $2 million dollars of guaranteed money on the table when he left Detroit to join the Celtics. If you factor in the Celtics’ prospects of contending for the Eastern Conference championship this season and the fact that Baynes will no longer have to face the wrath of the OG below, it looks to be a wise decision.

 

2. Joe Ingles

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

Joe got PAID. $52 million over four years is an awful lot of money for a babysitter. It’s an incredible story for a guy who was brought into the fold to look after young draftee Dante Exum, who he now earns $10 million a season more than. It’s a life-changing payday for a guy who bounced around Europe after leaving the NBL when he was just 22.

Also, Ingles did this in the playoffs.

He deserves every dime of his contract for that alone.

1. Patty Mills

Patty Mills in action

Signing a $50 million contract can do a lot of things for a guy. Mills is now the 4th highest earner on the Spurs roster and may fall into a starting role by virtue of Tony Parker’s injury issues. Yes, his contract is worth $2 million less over the life of it than Joe Ingles’, but he’s still earning nearly $240K a week, so we don't think he minds.

Patty makes it to the top of the rankings because his contract is with the Spurs and if you’re just tuning in, this season was the 18th consecutive 50-win season under Gregg Popovich – which is also the NBA record. You could put money on it happening again next season, so hopefully, we’ll be seeing Mills deep in June yet again.

He also got to go 1v4 against some bikini-clad models to promote his girlfriend Alyssa Levesque’s new brand Strait Swim.

Shooters shoot, we guess.

Latest in Sports