Olympic NBA Prospect Power Rankings: Knockout Stage
2. Bogdan Bogdanovic
Serbian fans were hoping to see Bogdan Bogdanovic bust out of his slump when he took the court against China on Sunday and the shooting guard did not disappoint, tying his tournament-high with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
It was the kind of game where the Sacramento Kings prospect was expected to have a big night and he capitalized on the opportunity, hitting 5-of-9 three-pointers.
The 23-year-old went through somewhat of a rough stretch against Australia, France, and the U.S., but those are tough opponents with good defenders.
It’s encouraging that Bogdanovic did damage against China and Venezuela, scoring 38 total points in those two games and shooting 15-for-25 (60 percent) from the field.
Serbia reached the knockout stage as the fourth seed in Group A, meaning it will take on Croatia in the quarterfinals.
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Although Croatia is a tough team and already pulled off big wins over Spain, Brazil, and Lithuania, its loss to Nigeria was a shock.
Croatia is one of the biggest mysteries of the tournament and although it earned the top seed in Group B, few would say it has the best roster in the group.
Meanwhile, Serbia lost to France by one point and lost to the U.S. by three.
If there ever was a game that looked like a four seed had a great chance at upsetting the one seed, this would be it.
Bogdanovic goes up against Bojan Bogdanovic, which will not only be confusing for fans, but also provides an exciting duel between two outstanding shooters.
Bogdan is young and still a bit raw, but if he gets going, Croatia will have its hands full. Serbia is still waiting for Bogdan to come through in a big game against a tough opponent and this game would be the perfect time to make that leap.
It makes for one of the most intriguing matches of the quarterfinals and another reason for that is because the game features the other NBA prospect in our rankings, the number one player in each of our last three lists.
Next: 1. Dario Saric