It may be hard to remember but there was a time where Andrew Bogut wasn't fawn of any comparison to fellow Australian NBAer Luc Longley.
Ahead of the 2005 NBA Draft, where Bogut became the first Aussie to be selected first overall, the Melbourne native shot down the comparisons between him and three-time NBA champion Longley.
"I've had a better collegiate career than anyone else from Australia that came over here," Bogut said in 2005. "I'm not as slow as Luc Longley, I'm more athletic, I can shoot better, I'm more competitive. So I think it's not even fair to bring that name up."
Since then the two have mended whatever rift may have been between them at the time with Longley going as far as comparing Bogut to his former Bulls teammates Michael Jordan after working closely with him for the Rio Olympics in 2016.
“The dynamics of the group are complicated, but it’s really clear what he’s brought — a degree of, confidence is not a good enough word, and arrogance is too strong,” Longley told David Aldridge in 2016. “It’s somewhere in there. There’s a few four-letter words we could use. You can use them.
"But he’s definitely brought some mass, some attitude, some bearing to our group. MJ did it with the Bulls in my experience, and even with MJ on the bench we all carried that, because he was around.
"Andrew does that with us. He’s so respected and he’s such a good basketballer. When he’s not playing and he’s sitting on the bench, it’s like having a fourth assistant coach … I’d never worked with him before and so I didn’t know what to expect, and I’ve been very impressed.”
Bogut clearly left an impression on Longley and the two Aussie talents left an impression on the basketball landscape of an entire nation.
While their personalities may have differed, the two seven-foot basketballers were far more alike on the court than they were different.
Post Moves
Both Bogut and Longley had the ability to score in the post in multiple ways. Both of them could use power and strength to back their opponents into the deep waters of the paint before they finished with a jump hook. They also had great footwork and a quick spin they could throw at you at any time.
Look at this move from Longley in a game against the Detroit Pistons. After getting the rock in the post, he waits for the floor to clear to give him room to operate and ruins his defender with a quick spin and layup finish.
Even at his advanced age, Bogut was still effective in the post because of his great footwork. Here he is against Cairns showing he can still get his fair share of buckets down low in the NBL.
Passing
Longley was definitely underrated as a passer in his time in the NBA. The triangle offence needs its bigs to be able to read and react and Longley did that very well in his time with the Bulls. In his five seasons in Chicago, Longley posted an assist percentage of 13.4. For context, Arvydas Sabonis one of the best passing big men of the 90s had a career assists percentage of 15.0.
Longley wasn't as great of a passer as Sabonis, but he was better and more productive than you'd think.
Here he is throwing a dime to a cutting Dennis Rodman for an easy deuce.
This is probably where Bogut separated himself a bit from Longley and many other bigs in the league. He wasn't just a good passer for a centre, he was a great passer, full stop.
He regularly finished in double-digits in assists percentage including a career-high 15.4 percent in 2014-15. Bogut's passes didn't just come from the low block, he was magnificent from the elbow and could even handle the rock a bit in his prime.
Here he is leading the break and finding Stephen Curry for an easy layup.
Defence
Longley never made all-defence or got credit for his individual defence, but there's something to be said about the rim protection he did prove to his teams especially during his championship years with the Bulls. The Bulls never finished lower than fourth in defensive rating in his four full seasons in Chicago. While a lot of that credit should go to his teammates that featured three of the all-time great defenders the league has seen in Scottie Pippen, Rodman and MJ, Longley was always there to protect the goal if need be, averaging just over a block a game in his time in the Windy City.
His ability to play safety and recover to his man allowed the Bulls to do so much more defensively than most teams were trying to do at that time.
Here he is coming up with a big rejection on Greg Ostertag who was left all alone for an easy layup...until Luc turned him away.
We know how good Bogut was defensively. It's almost a crime that he only made one All-Defence team but the talent at the centre position in the NBA during his era made it a tough team to crack.
But like Longley, Bogut's ability to play in space and recover made him an important piece to a championship defence.
Here's one of his many highlights turning away what would've been an easy two had he not been in the vicinity.
Whether it was in the post, playmaking or rim-protecting, Bogut and Longley both excelled at it in their primes. Injuries, unfortunately, plagued both of their careers, and we're left wondering what could've been had they remained healthier for longer stretches of time.
All in all, Bogut certainly benefited from the path that Longley brazed and many Aussie in the future will benefit from the path they collectively opened up.
When the Aussie basketball history books are written, it's going to be impossible to leave Andrew Bogut and Luc Longley out its pages.
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