Basketball celebrates 80 years at the Rio Olympics 2016 but it’s only the seventh edition that will allow professional players to compete. A ruling in 1989 changed the face of basketball at the quadrennial event and professional players contracted to franchises in the NBA took it to a whole new level.
USA has dominated basketball at the Olympics since 1936 but there have been other teams that have come close and even gone all the way. 2016 is no different and while the USA roster looks the best bet on paper to win the gold medal, there are a few players from the other teams who could make a difference too.
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47 NBA players will be at the Olympics spread across 10 teams. Here are five players fans will want to keep an eye on.
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5) Ricky Rubio – Spain
Spain suffered a hammer blow last month when Marc Gasol was officially ruled out of the Olympics. The Memphis Grizzlies center had broken his foot back in February and will not be part of the team that won the silver medal in 2008 and 2012.
Without Marc and also Serge Ibaka (who opted not to play this year), Spain will pin their hopes on Ricky Rubio who has the experience of Pau Gasol and Jose Calderon (both in their 30s) on one hand and youngsters such as Nikola Mirotic and Willy Hernangomez on the other to count on. The Point Guard had set a record in 2008 when he became the youngest player to play in a final aged only 17 and he will be looking to do one better this time.
The subject of a possible trade next season, Rubio will have to set aside his NBA woes with the Minnesota Timberwolves and focus on the job at hand when he dons the red-and-yellow jersey of Espana.
4) Manu Ginobili – Argentina
Part of the heroic squad that captured the gold medal in 2004 after defeating USA in the semi-finals, Manu Ginobili will be playing in his last Olympics. Most of the players from that squad will be too with the likes of Luis Scola, Carlos Delfino and Andres Nocioni also making it to significantly increase the average age of the squad (the four players alone have an average age of 36).
The quartet are on their last legs and 39-year-old Ginobili knows there won't be another international tournament left in him once the Olympics are over. He's got at least one more season with the San Antonio Spurs but fans should not expect him to don the blue-and-white Argentina kit again after Rio 2016.
The odds of Argentina upsetting a young and hungry USA team are bleak. Nevertheless, Ginobili will be looking to end his international career on a high even though a medal may not be in the offing. However, it will be nice to see the final chapter of a glittering career from one of the true global non-American superstars of the sport.
Ginobili bid goodbye to Argentina fans when he played probably his final game on home soil before going to Rio and the shooting guard was almost in tears when he thanked the crowd following the game.
“We are very happy to continue after all this time representing the country,” he said. A true and humble sportsman of the ilk we may not see again for a long time.
3) Rudy Gobert – France
A second-generation basketball player whose father also played for France in the 1980s, the 24-year-old will be easy to spot on the court. The center is 7’1” and has been with the Utah Jazz since 2013.
Gobert set the record for the longest wingspan (7’9”) and the highest standing reach (9’7” – just five inches short of the ring!) when he declared for the 2013 draft. Although not a prolific scorer, the man set franchise records for blocks and rebounds, showing exactly how important he was in the lane – which is no wonder why he was nicknamed the ‘Stifle Tower’.
But he does have the intelligence to find space and create space for his teammates while simultaneously making himself available with baseline runs and stationing himself near the ring for the right pass. Once he’s up in the air, he is almost unstoppable.
Gobert had a good pre-Olympic warm-up game against Serbia with 16 points even though France lost and he will be one to look out for in Rio.
2) Dario Saric – Croatia
At 6’10”, Saric is a power forward to be reckoned with. A two-time FIBA European Young Player of the Year and also the youngest player to win an MVP of the Month in the Euroleague, the 22-year-old is already the talk of the town in Europe and is now headed to the NBA to play with the Philadelphia 76ers in what will be his rookie year next season.
Croatia just about managed to squeeze through to the Rio Olympics when they beat Italy in overtime in the final of the Olympic qualifying tournament. Daric was named the MVP of the tourney and even averaged 10 rebounds per game. Even in the pre-Olympics warm-up matches, he recorded 18 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists against France.
Saric can shoot from the perimeter and looks adept at isolation plays with a quick jumper in his arsenal. Although still a little rough around the edges, his first ever Olympics will be key to his development before his NBA debut.
1) Kevin Durant – USA
When USA won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, it was the likes of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James who stole the spotlight. But it was another player who stepped up to take the team all the way and basketball connoisseurs saw that. It was none other than Kevin Durant.
An Oklahoma City Thunder player until recently, Durant has been in the news after his decision to quit the franchise and move to last season’ s runners-up and 2015 champions Golden State Warriors to team up with Steph Curry and co. But he has put that circus aside to concentrate on defending USA’ s Olympic gold and has already impressed in the preparation games before heading to Rio.
Durant was the top scorer in 2012 and is one of the surviving members of that squad. He was the top scorer in the two big games against Argentina and China in the past two weeks. And the Warriors pre-season could start in earnest in Rio when he teams up with Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
