Australian-born Kyrie Irving has been selected as the number one overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Irving joins Andrew Bogut as the only Australians to have their name called first in the NBA’s annual young talent dispersion.
Irving attended Duke University, playing under Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The freshman point guard only played 11 games, due to injury, but showed enough potential to have the Cleveland hierarchy believe he was the best talent available in the class of 2011.
In a nice twist for local fans, Irving carries an Australian passport and is eligible to play for the Australian National team.
Irving was born in Victoria whilst his father Drederick was playing as an import for Bulleen in the ABA, Australia’s second tier basketball competition.
In a further ironic twist, Drederick’s coach at Bulleen was current Australian Boomers coach Brett Brown, a recent member of the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff.
Whilst Irving moved to America when he was two years old, he has expressed his interest in representing Australia.
However, there is some bureaucratic red-tape to overcome before it becomes reality.
Irving represented the USA in junior basketball, and would therefore need approval from basketball’s world governing body, FIBA, and USA Basketball, before he could commit to the Boomers.
Irving is expected to be a solid contributor as a rookie, before becoming a top 10 point guard in the league in a few years time.
Whether that’s enough for Cleveland fans still stung by LeBron James defections remains to be seen.
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