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12 Players to Watch in the Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Olympics

The men’s basketball court at the Paris Olympics, which features 12 teams, is filled with household names from the NBA and players on the sidelines looking to shine on the international stage.

Here we look at a key player from each team competing for the gold medal.

group A

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Hernangomez will be entering his third Olympics looking to help Spain improve on its sixth-place finish at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, the country’s worst finish at the quadrennial event since a seventh-place finish in Sydney in 2000. La Roja will need Hernangomez to play a key role if they are to reach the podium this time around.

The 7-foot-1 center currently plays for Liga ACB and EuroLeague giants Barcelona and is a high-IQ center with great hands. Hernangomez has performed well for Spain in the past, most notably winning the MVP award at the 2022 EuroBasket. Despite his size, the 30-year-old is also a decent facilitator and can create his own shot.

Canada is set to make its first Olympic appearance since the 2000 Sydney Games. With a roster full of NBA talent, the Canucks will look to capitalize on their successful bronze medal campaign at the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup by beating the United States in the battle for third place.

There’s no doubt that Gilgeous-Alexander is Canada’s talisman, as the 26-year-old finished second in MVP voting last season after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The 6-foot-6 point guard is one of the world’s best offensive engines, able to set up teammates or score himself. In a short tournament where teams often struggle to find chemistry, having the best perimeter scorer will be invaluable to Canada’s path to gold.

The Aussies will be looking to emulate their bronze medal success from the Tokyo Games – the country’s first Olympic feat in men’s basketball. While the country has plenty of NBA players, Giddey will be running the show for Australia.

In Paris, Giddey will get his first chance to be the main option in a team’s offense. At 6’10”, the Chicago Bulls guard can see over the defense and throw passes all over the court. He’ll be relied upon to set up sharpshooters Patty Mills and Jack McVeigh. Giddey is still only 21, but his creativity has already been shown in Australia’s Olympic warm-up games, where he nearly notched a triple-double in a narrow defeat to the US.

Two-time NBA MVP Antetokounmpo appears to have finally figured out the FIBA ​​game. The Milwaukee Bucks star had been out of the game for a few years after averaging just 14.8 points per game at the 2019 FIBA ​​World Cup, but has been a beast since then. Antetokounmpo has averaged 28 points per game in 11 games with the national team since 2022, including a dominant performance in Greece’s Olympic qualifiers earlier in July.

Greece has found a strategy to maximize Antetokounmpo by having him drive downhill alongside four shooters. Every rotation player on the country’s roster took at least a third of their shots from deep in Olympic qualifying, including 7-foot-1 big man Georgios Papagiannis. This team will be a tough opponent if these guys can make shots around the Greek Freak.

Group B

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Expectations couldn’t be higher for Wembanyama’s second NBA campaign or his second official stint with the French senior national team. France won all four games the Rookie of the Year played in during the 2023 World Cup qualifiers, with Wembanyama making nearly half of his three-pointers and blocking nearly three shots per game.

Along with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, France has arguably assembled the best rim-protecting frontcourt ever. And they come together to play FIBA ​​rules, which allow defensive three-in-the-keys and grabbing the ball from the basket. Wembanyama will also be tasked with leading the offensive charge, and France could challenge for gold on home soil if he can pull it off.

This is a golden age for German basketball. The program is coming off a bronze medal at EuroBasket 2022 and a historic gold medal at the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup. At the heart of the new success is Orlando Magic forward Wagner.

The 22-year-old was Germany’s second-leading scorer at both tournaments, trailing only Brooklyn Nets point guard Dennis Schroder. Having recently signed a five-year contract extension with Orlando, Wagner will be seen as the national team’s star. At 6’10”, Wagner has a level of size and athleticism not often seen on the international stage. In a friendly win over France, Wagner showed he could be Germany’s main man, leading the team in scoring and shooting an impressive 7-of-10.

From NBA flop to Brazilian superstar, it’s been one hell of a rollercoaster career for the former Toronto Raptors first-rounder. Famously hailed as “two years away from two years away” by NBA draft analyst Fran Fraschilla when he was a skinny teenage winger in 2014, Caboclo has bulked up and now plays center for his country. He also played for Partizan Belgrade of the Euroleague last season.

Caboclo was on fire in the Olympic qualifying round, averaging 17.8 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting a blistering 66.7% from the floor, 57.1% from distance and 90.5% from the free throw line. On a team lacking proven NBA talent, Caboclo will have to contend with France’s Twin Towers and Germany’s Wagner Brothers if Brazil is to make a real splash at the Games.

The Los Angeles Lakers forward returns to the Akatsuki after missing last year’s FIBA ​​World Cup, citing exhaustion following a run to the Western Conference finals. Even without Hachimura, Japan qualified for the Olympics without getting the host slot for the first time since 1976.

With his versatility as a scorer, Hachimura can set the tone for Japan as the team’s most talented player and push the team past the group stage. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 26-year-old scored 34 points against Slovenia and averaged 22.3 points over three games. Flanked by quality players throughout the roster, the Games could be the stage where Hachimura breaks out even more.

Group C

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All 12 members of the loaded U.S. Olympic roster are NBA powerhouses, and nearly all are multiple All-Stars and future Hall of Famers. And yet Edwards, the youngest member of the team, is its most intriguing player.

Over the past 12 months, Edwards has led the U.S. World Cup team in scoring, led the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in franchise history and made the 22-player Olympic team. After establishing himself as the No. 1 option on a team featuring LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry and then being promoted to the starting lineup in recent exhibition games, see the Paris Olympics as a chance for Edwards to establish himself at the top of the NBA.

Another player who missed the World Cup, Jokic, sat out the tournament after winning a championship with the Denver Nuggets. The Eagles held their own without him, finishing with silver after a six-point loss to Germany in the final. With Jokic in the lineup, Serbia might have won gold.

While the “Joker” already has an Olympic medal from the 2016 Games, Serbia has had questionable results between then and the 2023 World Cup. The team was defeated in the quarterfinals by Argentina at the 2019 World Cup and eliminated by Italy in the round of 16 at the 2022 EuroBasket – both squads had Jokic. The Serbs also missed the 2020 Olympics altogether. Can Jokic lead Serbia to its first gold medal with a roster bolstered by Bogdan Bogdanovic and Vasilije Micic?

Alvarado was crucial to Puerto Rico’s Olympic qualification, winning the tournament’s MVP award after averaging 16 points, 3.8 rebounds, three assists and 2.3 steals en route to perfect home performances against Lithuania, Mexico and Italy. To secure the country’s first berth in 20 years, the New Orleans Pelicans guard dropped 23 points to knock Lithuania out of the Summer Games for the second straight time.

Los Gallos had a roster that included Carlos Arroyo when they last made the Games in 2004 and surprised an American team that featured veterans Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson and youngsters LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Richard Jefferson. With the Americans back in the same group, can Alvarado and his Puerto Rican team pull off another upset?

Welcome to the Olympics, South Sudan. The Bright Stars are making their Summer Games debut after earning a spot at last year’s World Cup. Jones was one of the tournament’s standouts as his country claimed the title of best team in Africa with wins over China, the Philippines and Angola. In the lead-up to the Olympics, South Sudan gave Team USA its best game in an exhibition game, jumping out to a 16-point lead despite losing. Jones finished with a triple-double, with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Jones will be crucial to South Sudan’s success. The 26-year-old will likely be his country’s best offensive option at the Games, surrounded by a lineup of tall and long defenders on the perimeter and in the paint. While the former Louisville guard is just one player on the roster, the team will need his scoring ability to compete with the group’s top picks.