Luc Longley has become a permanent member of the Australian Boomers coaching staff, working as an assistant to Andrej Lemanis.

Longley, a member of three consecutive championship teams with the Chicago Bulls from 1995-96, was the first Australian to play in the NBA. He also competed at the Olympics for Australia and was a coaching consultant with the national team for the 2012 London Olympics.

In a Basketball Australia statement Tuesday, Longley says the Olympics "was a chance for me to tip my toe in the water and I enjoyed it and the players responded to me pretty well."

Longley said he'd been away from basketball for a while "but I got to the stage where I really missed it and wanted to get back involved, and Andrej has given me that opportunity."