The men’s Olympic basketball tournament in Rio de Janeiro next month won’t be lacking in characters.
The 2016 Men’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament ended on Sunday, finalizing the field for the 2016 Rio Games in August.
Each country has its own set of stars and storylines, whether it’s NBA players hoping to bring glory to their nations or underdogs looking to put their country “on the map” in basketball.
From young players looking to make their mark to seasoned veterans looking for one last chance to bring glory to their country, this year’s Olympics will not be lacking in drama or theater.
There are six continents represented in Rio and three of the teams are from South America, which should make for raucous crowds at their games.
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We have now completed the official Draw of the #Rio2016 Men's Olympic #Basketball Tournament! pic.twitter.com/6eEYcbVBab
— FIBA (@FIBA) July 10, 2016
As usual, the United States is the team to beat, as Team USA has won the last two gold medals and has been the champion in 14 of the 18 Olympics in which men’s basketball has been included.
Some of the best American NBA players opted to rest this summer for various reasons, but even with a group of “second-tier” NBA players, they will certainly be the odds-on favorite.
The globalization of basketball is spreading like wildfire, as evidenced by the 2016 NBA Draft, in which an NBA-record 15 international players were selected in the first round. There’s no better example of the truly global impact of basketball than the Olympics.
Here are 12 storylines to watch for in the Rio Olympics, one for each country.
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