Aussies in NBA: How Jingles plans to use his $52 million

It's been a summer of lucrative new deals for our Aussies in the NBA. With Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, and (to a slightly lesser extent) Aron Baynes getting new contracts, it's really put a high, tangible value to all the hard work we know they put in each and every night, bringing Australian basketball back to global relevance.

Jingles' contract has been the largest of them all; he netted $52 million over four years, returning to a Utah Jazz team still hoping to be competitive after Gordon Hayward's departure to the Boston Celtics. It was never a very tough decision for him to make, with his family settled and happy in Utah.

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And now, he's looking for ways to give back to the community that has welcomed him and his family with open arms.

https://twitter.com/telegraph_sport/status/886048358766321664

“We are going to do a lot of stuff with underprivileged children and families,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

“I mean, we don’t need that much money. Nobody in the world needs that much money. So we’ll spend a lot of time helping out kids and families that need the help. We’ll start in Utah because we are going to be there in a few months, but then we’ll do some things in Australia."

It took Ingles a little while to make it to the NBA. I mean, he was a rookie in the league at the tender age of 27, and even then, he almost didn't make it in that year after being cut by the Los Angeles Clippers just before the regular season started. It hasn't been all roses for the swingman and he's not one to suddenly forget the tough times now that he's made it.

"I mean, I’m not going to change who I am," Ingles said. "I’m about to turn 30 now, and I’ve been like that my whole life. People looking from the outside might think that things will change because I’ll have access to a lot more money, but it won’t happen."

In the world of professional sports, where the money is bonkers and nothing is ever enough, it's refreshing to see a little humanity and sanity for once.

There really aren't that many multi-millionaires out there that are this down to earth. Jingles is one of the good guys, for sure.