Why Australian Boomers are the best ‘team’ in Rio Olympics
TEAM USA has the megastars but Australia’s Boomers have their own NBA talent and in at least one major area, they’re outdoing every Olympic rival - including the Americans.
THEY’RE some of Australia’s highest paid sports stars with incredible individual careers but in Rio, the Boomers are simply a bunch of mates playing for the same historic cause.
Australia’s stunning run to the Rio Olympic semi-finals has been built on mateship, unselfishness and teamwork - and coach Andrej Lemanis says one stat in particular proves it.
The Boomers’ stunning ball movement in Wednesday’s 90-64 win over third-ranked Lithuania was reflected in the fact that 30 of their 33 field goals were assisted.
Remarkably, Australia has an assisted field goal rate of more than 80 per cent for the tournament, the highest of any team including almighty Team USA (71 per cent).
What it essentially means is the Boomers are creating and finishing chances as a result of teamwork rather than individuals trying to do it all themselves.
“Everyone’s prepared to sacrifice for what’s in the best interests of the team,” Lemanis said after his team moved closer to a first ever Olympic medal.
Forward Joe Ingles says it’s not normal.
“We have got 12 guys willing to give up their shot to get a better one. It’s pretty rare to get that out of 12 blokes,” he said.
AUSTRALIA SMASHES LITHUANIA TO BOOK SEMI SPOT
BOOMERS PLAYER RATINGS v LITHUANIA
PATTY MILLS’ GAME-CHANGING BOOMERS MOMENT
A TEAM OF WINNERS
A big reason for the unselfish culture is the fact Australia’s players are established, settled and highly decorated at club level, Lemanis says.
Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Patty Mills and Aron Baynes have all won NBA titles in recent years, while many other members of the squad are championship winners in Europe and the NBL.
“Nobody has an agenda other than what’s best for the team, which puts us in a particularly good place,” Lemanis said.
Bogut said job security was also a big factor.
“With national teams, it helps when you have guys with contracts, three or four year deals. It sounds silly but it works wonders,” he said.
“When you have guys who come in who aren’t contracted ... they try to prove themselves at the Olympics, being happy to get their numbers and so be it.
“We’ve got guys who are pretty settled financially and pretty settled with current teams and we’re playing the right way.”
... AND GOOD BLOKES
It also helps that Australian players don’t typically have big egos.
“I’ve got to say that Australian teams from my experience, it’s generally the case anyway,” Lemanis said.
“They’re all good people, they play for the right reasons, they’re proud to represent their country and they play with their mates at the end of the day.
“They’re always prepared to do what’s best for the friendship and to represent their mates the right way.
“People in Australian teams ‘hot-dogging’ to try and get their own individual needs isn’t something we concern ourselves with because it doesn’t happen.”
A TEAM BONDED
This Australian team isn’t a close one by accident. The connection between players has been strengthened by bonding sessions they’ve organised themselves around the world.
Australia’s NBA players all met up during last-season’s All-Star break and barely a word was spoken about basketball.
“It was just about getting together while we could to catch up and spend time with each other,” Patty Mills said.
“We spoke nothing about basketball that whole All Star break, it was just a matter of hanging out and having some fun.”
Australian-based players have had similar catch-ups, while the whole squad embarked on a memorable trip to Uluru before coming to Rio.
“It definitely helps us (as a team),” Bogut said of the US weekend spent with his compatriots.
“Just to be together and to know each other’s personalities, find out what makes us tick, what makes us fire, that kind of stuff.”
A TEAM THAT COACHES ITSELF
A huge indicator of this Australian team’s strong team culture was the way it handled the big occasion against Lithuania.
While other Australian national teams have crumbled all around them in Rio, the Boomers were under pressure to make their excellent group stage performance count in the do-or-die quarter-finals.
Asked what Australia’s coaches did to keep the players so loose and focused, assistant coach Luc Longley said not much.
“We don’t have to do a lot of management with our guys. Our guys are all over each other,” Longley said.
“They’re very focused. We’ve got good leadership and the group manages itself in that regard.
“You can often see in the warm ups that these guys were dialled in all day, but we don’t really have to do much at all.
“I know we should be saying what a great coaching job we’ve done but in actual fact, it’s all been embedded over the last four years of this group being together.”
Originally published as Why Australian Boomers are the best ‘team’ in Rio Olympics