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Olympics: Australia’s Strong Chance For Their First Basketball Medal

By Matthew Hallett

Aug 17, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Australia small forward Joe Ingles (7) reacts after the game against Lithuania during the men's basketball quarterfinals in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 17, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Australia small forward Joe Ingles (7) reacts after the game against Lithuania during the men's basketball quarterfinals in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Australia’s basketball team is turning heads. They are making the basketball world sit up and take notice at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Australia is watching the 2016 Rio Olympics with great interest at the moment. Despite the time difference, the first live sport is on at 10 p.m. at night local time. And yet, the Australian Boomers have captured the attention of a nation in this Olympic basketball tournament.

There was genuine excitement in the lead up to the tournament. Australia had the No. 1 draft pick, Ben Simmons, as well as the strongest team of this generation.

Simmons decided to focus on the early stages of his career, rather than risk playing for his country and potentially injuring himself like Dante Exum. Andrew Bogut went down with a knee injury in June, it did not look good for the national team.

Bogut managed to get himself fit, but there was a sense of foreboding within the Australian public. How could they possibly compete with the European teams, let alone Team USA?

I stayed up until 03:15 Australian time for the first game, falling asleep a few times  but my alarms were set. Australia played France, the fifth ranked team in the world. Bogut was on the team, but Australia had a chance — nothing more.

Aug 10, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Australia center Andrew Bogut (6) dunks the ball against USA during men’s basketball preliminary round in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 10, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Australia center Andrew Bogut (6) dunks the ball against USA during men’s basketball preliminary round in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /

Then, watching Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova go to work, involving Bogut and Aron Baynes with Joe Ingles in support, the amazing happened, Australia beat France by 21 points. Even Cameron Bairstow was able to contribute.

The coverage of that win was awe-inspiring, with two replays of the game in the day and discussions with the ex-Australian shooter Andrew Gaze. It didn’t take long to sink in: Australian Men’s basketball might have something.

Fast forward and the only time that Australia has been beaten at the tournament is by Team USA, a team of superstars all with the same goal. Six games so far at the Olympics for five wins. This has never been the case for Australia, especially not with the margins involved. Australia has an average winning margin of 24.4 points. Team USA has played almost the same teams for a winning margin of 24 points.

Now that they have beaten Lithuania and made their third semifinal in their Olympic basketball history, Australia as a nation is now talking about basketball. The armchair experts have gone from making our women’s team the only medal chance to talking about how Australia will win their first medal at either the World Championships or Olympic basketball.

What chance does this armchair critic say that Australia has? Australia might never have a better chance of winning a medal than they do right here and right now.

Why do I think this? Australia has put together the best team it has ever had. There are five NBA players in the starting five. America might not think much about that but for a country of about 22 million people, that is pretty special.

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Like with the Golden State Warriors, it all starts with Andrew Bogut. Yes, Stephen Curry has been the MVP for the past two years but can a team win a championship without defense? No. Bogut has played out of skin these games. His defense has created offense. He has also created offense, some of the passes he can pull off as a seven footer reminding me of Arvydas Sabonis.

It is not all Bogut, however. He is the linchpin and allows Australia to compete against teams with centers like Rudy Gobert, DeAndre Jordan and Jonas Valanciunas, but it is the combined play of the starting backcourt that has Australia talking about medals.

Matthew Dellavedova has been tremendous. Has he shown Australia why the Milwaukee Bucks are going to pay him $38.4 million over the next four years. I think so. The ability of Dellavedova to set up the offense has turned people who only followed the NBA for Bogut into proper basketball followers.

Patty Mills is the other backcourt starter. The Australian public love Mills, they love a humble winner. Mills has simply been on fire this tournament, showing why the San Antonio Spurs have great faith in the Aussie.

Now, thanks to these guys who have gotten tremendous help from Aron Baynes, Joe Ingles and the deep bench, Australia believes that they have a chance for a medal.

I am not talking about the team, I am talking about the Australian people. I am getting texts and emails between midnight and 8:00 a.m. on game days from people who never followed basketball.

Do they have a chance at a medal? I say yes, they have a real shot. Australian head coach Andrej Lamanis has used his players to perfection. The starting five have picked themselves, they are the best five players available to Australian basketball at the time.

Mills has shot well, Dellavedova has passed and defended like only he can. Bogut has been the form big man of the tournament and Aron Baynes has been scary around the rim — and not just because of his top-knot and beard.

Australia has always felt that they had a chance at a medal, with genuine disappointment when they get knocked out early. For the first time ever, Australia goes into a semifinal in Olympic basketball with favoritism. Australia will not take Serbia lightly but it is the easiest semifinal that they will ever get.

The other semifinal involves the top two teams in the world, Team USA and Spain. The feeling is that if Australia loses to Serbia, then fourth is a distinct possibility. Beat Serbia and this team will go down in Australian basketball folklore, the first national men’s team to win a medal at any major championship.

Coming into the tournament there was a buzz around the basketball community that Australia could win a gold medal. I would love to see that, and for the first time ever Australia has the players who actually believe it can happen. Having NBA players on the team has been crucial, day in and day out they play against Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and the rest of Team USA’s roster.

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The mystique has gone and now it is another game of basketball. Australia has a good chance, they have the system, belief and skill set. There is a good feeling in the air. With the young talent waiting in the wings like Simmons, Exum and Thon Maker, that excitement is growing.