Australian Basketball superstar and NBA centre for the Milwaukee Bucks, Andrew Bogut, is unlikely to suit up for the Golden Star Australian Boomers, when they take on New Zealand in September in the FIBA Oceania Championship, the official qualifier for the London Olympic Games.

The news comes after the announcement that the NBA has gone into lockout, with NBA team owners and the players union unable to reach consensus on the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement, which keeps all players off the court until a resolution is made.

As a result of the NBA lockout, the players are no longer entitled to many benefits, which includes the NBA’s insurance cover, the channels with which Basketball Australia would use to insure Bogut for any upcoming international commitments, including the series against New Zealand.

As a result, the sport’s governing body in Australia has not been able to secure the insurance to provide the guaranteed coverage of Bogut’s multi-million dollar contract, therefore preventing him from taking to the floor until the NBA lockout concludes. 

Basketball Australia CEO Larry Sengstock said that Bogut’s commitment to the Australian national program is something that he takes great pride in, and the inability to represent his country, and be a part of their campaign to qualify for the London Olympic games is as disappointing to him as it is for the many basketball fans around the country who would have been looking forward to seeing him play.

“Bogut has always held his National commitments and the Boomers program as a high priority throughout his career,” said Sengstock

“It’s disappointing for us that we may not have him for the New Zealand series but it also highlights the level of player that he is,” he said.

Although the news is a blow to the Boomers Olympic campaign, Sengstock is still confident that the depth of the Boomers' program will still put them in good stead heading into the series.

“Following some great wins against a strong Chinese side in the YouYi Games last week, and with many of our marquee players still to return to the program, the loss of Bogut, although significant, does not change the fact that we are confident we can beat New Zealand in what will no doubt be an exciting series, and qualify for the London Games,” he said.

Golden Star Australian Boomers head coach Brett Brown was equally disappointed with the news, but is appreciative of the position that Bogut finds himself, and is also confident that the other Boomers players are more than capable of filling the gap left by the superstar centre.

“The news that Andrew Bogut will miss the New Zealand series is extremely disappointing. The NBA lockout has made his insurance issues impossible for Basketball Australia and Andrew to feel comfortable that his contract would be fully insured in the event of injury. And as a group we understand and support Andrew," said Brown.

“I am however excited to compete against New Zealand with the current group of players that are more than capable of representing Australia from a talent perspective and a spirit perspective that we all expect."