Olympic NBA Prospect Power Rankings: August 8
Lower Tier
Rather than go into great detail on the players who are featured in the lower-tier of our power rankings, we will just give some quick notes on these players and how they have fared so far in the Olympics.
After one game, the following players sit in the lower-tier of our rankings, but there’s plenty of time for them to rise up the list.
11. Alex Abrines: The small forward did not play in Spain’s 72-70 loss to Croatia. The 23-year-old was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 32nd pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.
Thunder fans should get the chance to see him on the court for Spain soon, as their next two opponents are Brazil and Nigeria. Both games are potential blowouts. Perhaps Abrines will see the court when Spain is not going up against the more competitive teams in Group B.
10. Zhou Qi: The 7’2″ center played just less than 18 minutes in China’s opening-game loss to the U.S.
It was a blowout and it’s tough to grade someone when going against an opponent that is far superior and a team that is full of NBA superstars, but if it means anything, Zhou was actually outplayed by his teammate, who was drafted after him.
Zhou was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 43rd pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. His line for the blowout loss: three points, one rebound, one block, one steal. He went 0-for-3 from the field, hitting 3-of-4 free throw attempts..
When the competition becomes less difficult, we’ll get a better read on Zhou.
9. Wang Zhelin: The other young 7-footer selected out of China in the 2016 NBA Draft, Wang, had a slightly better performance against the U.S. on Saturday. The 22-year-old shot 2-for-5 from the field, scoring five points in just less than 16 minutes of action.
He also grabbed a rebound, dished out an assist and came away with a steal. Wang was selected 14 picks behind Zhou, drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies. The game against the U.S. is obviously a small sample size, but through only one game, Wang is just ahead of Zhou in our power rankings.
That could change soon.
8. Willy Hernangomez: Spain’s head coach, Sergio Scariolo, must not have wanted to play the young guys in his team’s loss to Croatia, as Hernangomez played only three and a half minutes of action on Sunday.
The 23-year-old center was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 35th overall pick in 2015, but traded to the New York Knicks, who signed him a year later.
Knicks fans could not have been happy with his Spanish Olympic debut, as even though he didn’t get much playing time, he missed all three of his field goal attempts. There’s a good chance we’ll see more of Hernangomez against Brazil and/or Nigeria in the coming days.
7. Nicolas Brussino: Argentina’s 23-year-old forward had a surprisingly quiet game in a blowout win over Nigeria on Sunday night.
Brussino signed with the Dallas Mavericks in July and is expected to be a part of their new-look team that is going to have to rebuild sooner rather than later.
Mavericks fans may have been disappointed with the way he was used against Nigeria, as he played just less than five minutes of action even though Argentina won by 28 points.
To Brussino’s credit, he made the most of his playing time, scoring two points, grabbing two rebounds and blocking a shot. His only basket was a dunk as time expired.
Unfortunately for Mavericks fans, Nigeria was the easiest game on Argentina’s schedule and if that’s how much playing time he gets in a blowout, it’s tough to say Brussino will get a good amount of playing time in these games.
6. Michael Gbinije: It was an encouraging game for the American-born guard of Nigerian descent, as the 24-year-old played 28 minutes against Argentina on Sunday. Gbinije was selected 49th overall by the Detroit Pistons out of Syracuse in the 2016 NBA Draft.
He made one Summer League appearance before suffering an ankle sprain, which sidelined him for the next few weeks.
He played in only one exhibition game (against the U.S.) before returning to action for Nigeria and despite the blowout loss, made some positive contributions in his Olympic debut, scoring six points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. He also came away with a steal.
Gbinije showed off his high flying-ability, as demonstrated in the picture above. The one blemish from his game that stands out most is that he went 0-for-3 from beyond-the-arc, but shot 2-of-3 from inside and made both of his two free throw attempts.
Nigeria doesn’t have much hope of coming away with a win, but Pistons fans will be keeping their eyes on Gbinije, as he could be a part of their guard rotation down the road.
Next: 5. Mindaugas Kuzminskas