Top 5 non-US basketball players to watch out for at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Basketball at the summer Olympics is definitely guided by the USA basketball team's performance. If the team, full of NBA stars most of the time, is well-balanced and on its best behavior, the rest might be playing for second place. However, basketball has become a global sport in the last few decades and other national teams enjoy their fair share of NBA players on the rosters for the Tokyo Olympics.

While some countries might have a handful of NBA players on their rosters, the USA has gone to the Olympics with a roster filled with NBA stars since 1992, when the "Dream Team" went to Barcelona and dominated.

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Best 5 non-US basketball players to watch out for at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Still, these are different times, and the USA is not the current World Champion, as Spain was the team that earned that distinction in the latest FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019.

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The American team has shown some shakiness in the exhibition games before the Olympics, which will have basketball action starting in seven days.

With the US having issues with its roster and even losing a couple of exhibition matches, other countries might be hopeful heading into the Tokyo tournament. Still, the USA will have most of the best players at the Olympics, starting with Kevin Durant.

The tournament has 12 teams distributed in three groups of four, and the top two from each group will advance to the quarter finals, while the two best third-placed teams will also advance.

In this article, we will give you five players that are not from the US that could have a big impact in how the Olympics' tournament unfolds.

Without further ado, let us start.

#5 Pau Gasol

Bronze Medalist Pau Gasol of Spain stands on the podium - 2016 Rio Olympics

Pau Gasol will play for Spain in the Olympics and he will still be looking for his and his country's first gold medal in basketball. Gasol has participated in the last four Olympic games for Spain and has achieved three medals with his national team, a couple of silvers and a bronze last time out in Brazil.

Gasol, who will surely be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame when eligible, is currently playing for Barcelona.

He is also coming off a Liga ACB championship with Barcelona and averaged 10 points per game while shooting 45.8% from the three-point line in 16 games.

The 41-year-old is clearly past his prime, but it will be interesting to see him and Spain shooting for a gold medal that has been achieved in World Cups, but not at the Olympics.

#4 Gabriel Deck

Argentina does not have its 'Golden Generation' from the 2004 Olympics, when Manu Ginóbili led the team to a gold medal, but the South American squad is coming off a silver medal in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and it should not be underestimated at the Tokyo Olympics.

Apart from Luis Scola's great story, leading the team at age 41, and Facundo Campazzo's performances at the point guard position, the key player for Argentina could be OKC Thunder's Gabriel Deck.

Deck, who starred in the 2019 World Cup, played for Real Madrid from 2018 until 2021, when he signed with the OKC Thunder. Deck made his NBA debut on April 29th, 2021 and averaged 8.4 points per game (10 appearances) with the Thunder.

The 26-year-old will probably lead Argentina's offense in the Tokyo Olympics and he will need to play big for the squad to advance in a group with Spain, Slovenia and Japan.

#3 Ricky Rubio

Ricky Rubio should be a key performer for Spain in the 2020 Olympics just as he was in the 2019 FIBA World Cup when he led Spain to the championship.

Rubio averaged 16.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and six assists per game in the 2019 championship and was Spain's offensive leader. Now, in the Olympics, Rubio will need to perform similarly for Spain to have a shot at its first basketball gold medal at the Summer Olympics.

Rubio has also won two European Championships with Spain and two medals at the Olympics (silver in 2008 and bronze in 2016).

#2 Patty Mills

Patty Mills #5 of Australia dribbles the basketball.

Australia will play in the Tokyo Olympics without point guard Ben Simmons, but the team still has a solid squad with Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes and young players like Matisse Thybulle.

While Thybulle will provide elite defense, Baynes is a good interior presence and Ingles can playmaker and shoot on the offensive end, Patty Mills is the leader of the team and his performance will be essential for the success of the team.

Mills will also be one of Australia's flag bearers and will be representing his country for the fourth time in the Olympics. Australia finished fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics, while Mills also led all scorers with an average of 21.2 points per game in the 2012 Olympics.

#1 Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic #77 of Slovenia and the Dallas Mavericks

Slovenia will arguably have the only other NBA superstar at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as the Slovenian national basketball team qualified for the event for the first time in its history.

Luka Doncic was clearly the driving force behind Slovenia's performance in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Kaunas, Lithuania, defeating the home team in the final.

Slovenia won each of its four games at Kaunas by double digits and Doncic gave a spectacular performance. He finished his showing in the tournament with a 31-point triple-double in the final against Lithuania (with 11 rebounds and 13 assists).