RUI Hachimura and Patty Mills have been selected by their respective countries as flag bearer for the Tokyo Olympics.
Hachimura, who plays for the Washington Wizards, has been chosen by Japan as it host the Olympics, while Mills, a guard for the San Antonio Spurs, will also take the role for Australia in the opening ceremony of the Games.
Hachimura will be joined by wrestling star Yui Sasaki as flag bearers for Japan, while Mills and swimmer Cate Campbell have been selected for Australia for the July 23 festivities.
For the first time, there will be two flag bearers in the Olympics as the International Olympic Committee promotes gender equality.
NBA players picked as flag bearers
The 23-year-old Hachimura is one of the young Japanese basketball stars, having just finished his second season with the Wizards this year. He will be playing his first Olympic Games.
Mills is also the first Indigenous Australian to be named as flag bearer in the Olympics. Playing in his fourth Olympic Games, the 32-year-old Mills led the Boomers to a fourth-place finish in Rio De Janeiro.
Mills is also an NBA champion for the Spurs in 2014.
Yui is already a two-time wrestling world champion even at 22 years old.
The 29-year-old Campbell made it to her fourth Olympic Games, the third Australian to do such feat. She won one of her two golds in Rio when she was part of the 4x100m freestyle team.
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