By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
The men’s basketball tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 will make sure that fans both at home and in person at venues can witness star power like never before.
The honorable mentions are already huge: FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 MVP Dennis Schroder, Puerto Rico’s leader Jose Alvarado, Japanese sensation Rui Hachimura, Brazil’s dominant frontcourt asset Bruno Caboclo, and a lot more.
Heading to this summer’s Olympic Games, however, there are 10 players you can’t miss on. Here’s the full list with NBA superstars keeping club competitions out of their minds only for a few weeks, fully focusing on securing an unforgettable medal in Paris 2024.
Nikola Jokic – Serbia
Serbia got the job done at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 despite not having Nikola Jokic ready to play, finishing 2nd only behind the World Champs of Germany.
However, it’s undeniable that the Joker isn’t only a show-stealer on the court, but also an unrepleaceble mechanism in the Serbian national team’s offensive flow engine.
Yet to conquer a success with his national team, he still brought home a silver medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, when he didn’t have such a superstar status. Eight years in the making, he wants to add an Olympic gold medal to his already legendary resume.
Giannis Antetokounmpo – Greece
After being named (twice) NBA MVP, winning the NBA Championship with the Milwaukee Bucks and representing Greece at both FIBA Basketball World Cup and FIBA EuroBasket, a spot in the Olympic Games was the only thing left to accomplish for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Despite coming off an injury that ruled him out of contention in the 2023-24 NBA Playoffs, he did it all in order to be healthy enough for the Greek national team at the beginning of July. In the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament played at home in Piraeus, he finally made his dream reality.
Now, having to face Spain, Australia, and Canada in Group A in Paris – one of the toughest groups ever since the birth of the basketball tournament at the Olympic Games, in 1936 -, the Greek Freak is called to another successful campaign at the Eiffel Tower’s shadow.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Canada
Taking Canada back to the Olympic Games after 24 years after grabbing the bronze medal at the FIBA Basketball World Cup following an unforgettable 3rd-place game against Team USA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needed to be named MVP of the competition for several analysts.
At the end of the day, he finished with numbers nobody ever averaged for the Canadian national team in the past: 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game. As demonstrated in Canada’s road to the Olympic Games in Paris, dropping 23 points in the win over France, he doesn’t want to stop now.
It’s 88 years that the red-and-white North American side hasn’t stepped on the podium in the five-interlaced rings: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may write history once again for Canada.