By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey is excited about the potential the Australian national team can have in the 2024 Olympic Games with him and Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons on board.
“I’m excited for what he [Simmons] can do and hopefully soon we can both be a part of the Boomers together and help Australia win a gold medal,” Giddey said per the Daily Mail.
A few days ago, Simmons expressed his willingness to join Australia in the next Olympics, saying that it’s a “dream” of his to compete with the Boomers. The 26-year-old three-time All-Star was previously expected to play in the 2016 Olympics and the 2019 World Cup but ultimately decided to skip both tournaments.
Now, Simmons seems eager to return to his national team and Giddey very much welcomes this addition. He believes that once Simmons fully recovers from a long period of inactivity, he can reclaim his previous All-Star-caliber form.
“Obviously he was dealing with some stuff with Philly and then [made] a fresh start in Brooklyn,’ Giddey said. “People forget that Ben’s an All-Star. He was, I mean he is one of the best players in the league. He’s obviously going to need time to find his feet, he hasn’t played for a long time in the NBA.”
Giddey sets the bar very high for Australia in both the Olympics and the 2023 World Cup.
‘World Cup’s coming up next year and anything short of a gold medal we won’t be happy with,’ Giddey said. “I think the country’s finally at a point where we can confidently go into these tournaments with a gold medal on our mind. In previous years, it might have been the hope but how realistic it was I don’t know. It definitely was at the last Olympics and the last World Cup.