SYDNEY, March 7 (Xinhua) -- One of Australia's most revered basketball players, Andrew Bogut, is set to rejoin his former franchise, the Golden State Warriors, who are currently the reigning NBA champions.
Based in Oakland, the California team confirmed the news on Thursday but have not specified the exact details of the contract arrangement.
"I appreciate the opportunity and if it's waving a towel for 20-odd games and just being a good teammate, I'm happy to do it," Bogut said at a Sydney media conference.
"I'm not silly. I know I'm older and there are some very good players playing."
"Hopefully I have a good three months in Golden State, win a championship, come back and then get an NBL one next season."
Bursting onto the scene back in 2005, the 213cm center shocked the sporting world when he became the NBA's No. 1 draft after being snapped up by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Since then, Bogut spent 13 seasons in the American league, picking up a championship in 2015 with the Golden State Warriors, before heading back to Australia to play for the Sydney Kings in 2018.
The talented Aussie is also a three-time Olympian, representing his home country in Athens 2004, China 2008 and Brazil 2016.
While many Aussie fans are thrilled about the 34-year-old's return to NBA, it appears some of his former teammates are equally as excited.
"It's so exciting, weird, a blast from the past, all that combined," Golden State Warriors star player Steph Curry told U.S. media.
"Obviously I know they [have] got a couple more steps before it's official, but he's a guy that we [have] got a lot of experience with."
"He knows our system, he knows how we do things around here."
"He was instrumental in that turnaround to become a championship-calibre team."
