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Olympic NBA Prospect Power Rankings: Knockout Stage

By Matthew Medley

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 07: Dario Saric
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 07: Dario Saric /
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Aug 15, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Spain center Guillermo Hernangomez Geuer (14) and Spain power forward Nikola Mirotic (44) reach for the ball against Argentina during the men's preliminary in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Aug 15, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Spain center Guillermo Hernangomez Geuer (14) and Spain power forward Nikola Mirotic (44) reach for the ball against Argentina during the men’s preliminary in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports /

Still Standing

Unlike our previous rankings, in which we separated the top five players from the lower tier of NBA prospects, there are now only six players left in the field and for the rest of the tournament, we’ll list the remaining players one-by-one.

We start with a player who began the tournament near the bottom of our rankings and is still unabto crack the top five, but has shown positive signs in recent games.

6. Willy Hernangomez: Hernangomez was a non-factor in Spain’s first two losses, but finally showed up in a big win over Nigeria, scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

The 7-foot center scored nine points in a blowout win over Lithuania, but played less than seven minutes against Argentina on Monday. To his credit, the New York Knicks prospect scored four points in that short amount of time, making the most of his minutes.

The 22-year-old may not get a chance to play significant minutes in Spain’s upcoming quarterfinal match against France, but the French frontcourt features several talented players and perhaps Hernangomez will be called upon to match up with guys like Rudy Gobert, Joffrey Lauvergne or Boris Diaw, if only to give Pau Gasol and/or Nikola Mirotic a few minutes to rest.

Next: 5. Domantas Sabonis