Eight Aussies bank $180M in guaranteed NBA money this season

• Meet Australia's $307M(!!) Boomers backcourt
• Every Dyson Daniels Atlanta Hawks game in 2026-27
• Every Josh Giddey Chicago Bulls game in 2026-27

Australian Boomers backcourt pair Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey headline the eight Australians holding guaranteed NBA contracts for the 2026-27 season, while three more are chasing places on opening-night rosters as training camps roll on.

Daniels, 23, and Giddey, 23, carry matching USD $25 million cap hits this season. Daniels is in the first year of the four-year, USD $100 million extension he signed with the Atlanta Hawks in October 2025, and Giddey is in the second year of his four-year, USD $100 million deal with the Chicago Bulls.

Neither is the top earner on our list, because Melbourne-born Kyrie Irving, 34, is on USD $39,491,282 with the Dallas Mavericks and holds a USD $42,416,562 player option for 2027-28.

Jock Landale, 30, re-signed with Atlanta on a one-year, USD $14.1 million deal in July. Matisse Thybulle, 29, joined the Los Angeles Lakers on a guaranteed one-year veteran minimum worth USD $3,286,399, which counts against the Lakers cap at USD $2,449,421.

Josh Green, 25, has had the busiest off-season of the lot, traded by the Charlotte Hornets to Minnesota in the four-team deal that took former NBL Next Star LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves. Minnesota then moved him on to the Utah Jazz seven weeks later to clear room to sign Jonathan Kuminga. He is in the final year of his three-year rookie extension with the Jazz, at USD $14,679,012, without having played a game for the Timberwolves.

Second-round picks Tyrese Proctor, 22, and Johnny Furphy, 21, are on four-year deals worth about USD $8.7 million and USD $8.6 million respectively, with the Cleveland Cavaliers holding a team option on Proctor for 2028-29 and the Indiana Pacers holding one on Furphy for 2027-28.

Furphy's place is secure but his return date is not, because the ACL he tore in February still points to a midseason comeback, according to Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan, who would not attach a date to it.

Rocco Zikarsky, 20, is in the second year of his two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, after a rookie season that brought five NBA games and a G League All-Star selection.

The three Australians without a guarantee are led by Ben Simmons, 30, who is back in the NBA after a season away on a one-year minimum deal with the Sacramento Kings. HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported the deal is non-guaranteed and worth up to USD $3.5 million, with USD $1 million paid if Simmons is on the roster when the Kings open the regular season.

Duop Reath, 30, agreed a one-year deal with the Phoenix Suns in September after starting centre Mark Williams had shoulder surgery. The contract he signed on September 25 (US time) is a non-guaranteed training-camp deal, which Basketball Reference lists as an Exhibit 10, so he is competing for his place with the Suns rather than holding one.

Alex Toohey, 22, is back at Golden State on an Exhibit 10 deal after the Warriors waived him from his two-way contract in December following season-ending knee surgery, and he is in camp chasing a two-way spot.

Dante Exum, 31, had no reported deal for 2026-27 as at October 3, 2026, after a 2025-26 season lost to knee surgery ended with the Washington Wizards waiving him in February.

Five more Australians with NBA experience have taken their games elsewhere. Lachlan Olbrich, 22, left the Bulls after a two-way rookie season and signed a one-year deal with Alvark Tokyo in Japan's B.League. Luke Travers joined Melbourne United on a two-year deal after two seasons in Cleveland.

Joe Ingles, 39, has also signed a two-year deal with Melbourne United after his NBA career finished in Minnesota. Patty Mills, 38, is playing under Tony Parker at LDLC ASVEL in France, and Jack McVeigh has re-signed with the Cairns Taipans for NBL27.

Seven of the 12 Australians on NBA contracts are on deals that run out at the end of 2026-27. Landale, Thybulle, Green, Simmons and Reath are headed for unrestricted free agency in 2027 if they see their contracts out, Zikarsky in line for restricted free agency and Toohey on a one-season camp deal. Irving can join them by declining his player option.

Daniels is locked in until 2030 and Giddey until 2029, while Furphy would reach restricted free agency in 2028 and Proctor unrestricted free agency in 2029 if their clubs take up their options.

basketball.com.au counts Melbourne-born Irving, who represents the United States, among the Australians in the NBA. Every Australian NBA pre-season game is listed in our 2026-27 pre-season guide, and the latest is on our Aussies in the NBA hub.