Patrick Mills has become the ninth Australian-born basketballer to be drafted into the NBA after he was taken by the Portland Trail Blazers at pick 55 in Friday's 2009 draft.
Mills joins Milwaukee centre Andrew Bogut and Toronto's Nathan Jawai as Aussies currently plying their trade in the pre-eminent basketball competition in the world.
Mills, 20, has just completed a stellar sophomore season with college team Saint Mary's in America, averaging 18.4 points a match in 32 appearances.
He also starred for the Boomers at the 2008 Olympics, averaging a team-best 14.2 points across six matches, and scored 13 points in a warm-up match against the USA before the Beijing Games began.
Mills now has the likes of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Travis Outlaw as team-mates.
Earlier, the Los Angeles Clippers used their No.1 draft pick on Oklahoma power forward Blake Griffin.
South Dragons championship-winning swingman Joe Ingles was not selected and neither were fellow Australians Aron Baynes and Luke Nevill.
Griffin, who was named Big 12 Player of the Year and averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists last year, was widely-expected to be drafted first and so it proved.
Griffin, who became the first Oklahoma player ever to be taken No.1 overall, joins a team that has just two winning seasons in the last 30 years and one playoff appearance since 1997.
"I'm not worried about what's happened in the past, I'm looking forward to the future," he said.
"I'm excited about the opportunity and I'm going to try and make the best of every situation. Hopefully I can bring something they don't have."
The Memphis Grizzlies selected Hashim Thabeet with the second pick with the Connecticut centre set to become the first player from Tanzania to play in the NBA having been born in Dar-es-Salaam.
"To get this opportunity to come out here and play ball, it's what I've wanted to do all my life. For me, it's a blessing," he said.
The Oklahoma City Thunder selected James Harden third with the Arizona State guard considered one of the most complete players in the draft.
"I just want to go there and work hard and try my best to earn my spot on the team," he said.
"They're young and they're great, there's great chemistry there and I want to go there and help them out."
Guard Tyreke Evans went fourth to the Sacramento Kings while 18-year-old Spaniard Ricky Rubio, who is trying to negotiate a buy out with DKV Joventut, was the first of the Minnesota Timberwolves' back-to-back picks at five. Fellow guard Jonny Flynn followed at six.
The Golden State Warriors selected Stephen Curry, son of former NBA star Dell Curry, seventh much to the bitter disappointment of a boisterous New York crowd who wanted the Davidson guard to go to the Knicks. They selected Jordan Hill eighth.
Brandon Jennings, who opted to play professionally in Italy with Lottomatica Roma last year instead of going to college, went to the Milwaukee Bucks 10th overall while Tyler Hansbrough, the ACC's all-time leading scorer, was the 13th pick for the Indiana Pacers.