MELBOURNE (Australia) - The reins of Australia's national team are back in the hands of Brett Brown, the country's basketball federation has announced.

Following an impressive run at the helm by Andrej Lemanis, who steered the Boomers to within seconds of a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics and of a spot in this summer's FIBA Basketball World Cup Final, Australia have put Brown in charge for the second time.

The 58-year-old served as head coach from 2009 through the 2012 Olympics in London, where he guided the team to a seventh-place finish.

"When the opportunity to coach the Boomers next summer in Tokyo came up, I was reminded of my deep history with Australia and Australian basketball," stated Brown.

"I felt a duty to try and help in any way that I could. The spirit of the country and the athletes of the country exemplify on a day-to-day basis the passion that is Australian sport. That passion is respected and recognized throughout the world and I'm very excited to be a part of that again.

"This is our mission and my message to our team: We're going into the 2020 Olympics to win a gold medal. I understand the magnitude of this statement. I would feel irresponsible having any other goal but this."

A year after the London Games, Brown, who had been the top assistant to San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, was appointed coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, a position he still holds.

One of Australia's most promising players, Ben Simmons, has been with the NBA team since the 2016-17 campaign. He last represented Australia at the FIBA Oceania Championship 2013.

Brown's association with the Boomers dates back to 1995, when he was assistant coach. It was a role he held through 2003.

The American's association with Australia goes back even further to 1988 when he served as an assistant to Lindsay Gaze, the FIBA Hall of Fame coach who was in charge of NBL side Melbourne Tigers. Brown's first head coaching position came with North Melbourne Giants several years later, in 1993. He led the Giants until 1998.

Since last coaching Australia, several of the national team players have seen their careers reach new heights as members of clubs that captured NBA crowns.

Brown has several Boomers in the squad that have established successful NBA careers

Aron Baynes and Patty Mills played for San Antonio when they won the championship in 2014 while
Matthew Dellavedova celebrated a title triumph with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. Andrew Bogut was a member of the Golden State Warriors when they won the NBA championship in 2015.

Joe Ingles, also, has gone from being a journeyman pro in Europe to a key man with the Utah Jazz, a team he has played for since 2014.

Ryan Broekhoff, a member of the 2016 Olympic squad that Lemanis coach, and Jonah Bolden of Brown's Sixers, are other Australians in the NBA.

The Boomers have climbed to an all-time high No. 3 in the FIBA World Ranking, presented by Nike and expectations will again be high for the team when it plays in Tokyo. Australia claimed direct qualification for the Olympics as the Oceania side with the highest finish at the World Cup.

FIBA