Coach slam dunks Bogut despite accolade

On the day Andrew Bogut received one of the great honours of his career a former NBA coach has slammed him.

Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut

Australian star Andrew Bogut has been named one of the top defenders in the NBA. (AAP)

Andrew Bogut has been named one of the top defenders in the NBA, but former New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy describes him as just "another guy".

The Melbourne-born centre and his Golden State Warriors team-mate Draymond Green were selected on the NBA's All-Defensive teams on Wednesday.

Bogut, a 10-year veteran of basketball's top league, was named on the All-Defensive Second Team and will earn a big bonus written into his contract for such an award.

Green made the All-Defensive First Team.

It's the first time both players were named on the teams.

Bogut's award comes despite criticism from Van Gundy, who works as an NBA analyst for ESPN.

On a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Van Gundy described Bogut as just "another guy" and said the Warriors could beat the Houston Rockets without him.

The Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets in game one of the Western Conference Finals in Oakland on Tuesday with Bogut spending most of the game on the bench after picking up three early fouls.

Van Gundy's response came from a question about teams making the right selection with the number one pick in the NBA Draft.

"You're talking about the number one pick, you can get Tim Duncan or you can get Andrew Bogut," said Van Gundy, adding he did not want to disrespect Bogut. "You can get a Hall of Famer or you can get another guy."

Bogut was the number one pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2005 draft.

"You can have Dwight Howard, who's going to the Hall of Fame, or you can have Bogut," said Van Gundy, referring to the Rockets' All-Star centre.

"Both were number one picks in their respective drafts."

Van Gundy is an ESPN commentator with Mark Jackson, the former Warriors coach sacked by the team last year.

Bogut has been openly critical of Jackson.

Joining Green in the first team are Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio), Tony Allen (Memphis), DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers) and Chris Paul (LA Clippers).

In the second team Bogut is joined by Anthony Davis (New Orleans), Jimmy Butler (Chicago), John Wall (Washington) and Tim Duncan (San Antonio).


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Source: AAP


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