Today apos;s Birthday 28 11

Today's Birthday, November 28: Australian basketballer Andrew Bogut (1984 - ).

Imposing big man Andrew Bogut has helped the Sydney Kings shed their violet crumble tag after a shaky start to his debut NBL season.

The Kings have gone from wooden spooners to title contenders with the arrival of the former NBA championship winner.

Never afraid to speak his mind, the 34-year-old has weighed in on the issues of flopping, televised swearing during timeouts and perceived over-officiating across his first two months in the NBL.

The sports-mad son of Croatian immigrants in Melbourne, Bogut was cut from a Victorian junior representative team as a teenager.

Showing his resilience, the Australian Institute of Sport product bounced back to be named best player of the under-19 world championships and US college basketball's freshman of the year before representing Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Bogut's statistics soared during his sophomore year at the University of Utah, and in 2005 Milwaukee made him the first Australian to be selected with pick No.1 in the NBA draft.

The young Australian hit the ground running for list.ly the Bucks, playing 153 straight games until being sidelined with a foot injury in 2007.

He built a reputation as a double-double beast and skilled-passing big man to earn a spot on the All-NBA Third Team in 2010.

But the 213cm centre's career-best season came crashing down when he fell on his wrist while attempting a dunk.

His resulting injuries - a dislocated elbow, broken hand and sprained wrist - from the sickening incident ruled him out for the Bucks' trip to the playoffs.

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Bogut's attempts to return home to play in the NBL were thwarted when Milwaukee demanded his contract be covered by insurance.

The Boomers big man was traded to Golden State in 2012 and overcame further ankle and knee issues to become the Warriors' defensive anchor.

With their Australian centre in the frontcourt, the Warriors claimed the 2015 NBA championship over LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.

After losing the 2016 Finals, the 73-win Warriors dealt Bogut to Dallas to clear room for 2014 MVP Kevin Durant before the Australian was later cut and turned foe by joining Cleveland to aid their push for back-to-back titles.

But it wasn't to be as the three-time Olympian cruelly broke his leg just 56 seconds into his Cavaliers debut.