Across four games in the 2017 qualifiers, Atem averaged 9.8 points and 9.3 rebounds in 30.2 minutes per game, with his event totals listed at 39 points and 37 rebounds while shooting 15-for-38 from the field, 4-for-15 on three-pointers, and 5-for-7 at the foul line, and he was credited with 4 assists and 3 steals across the window.

His game log in that March stretch included a 9-point, 9-rebound, 2-assist performance in 31 minutes against Egypt on 12 March 2017, a 6-point, 9-rebound outing against Kenya on 14 March, a 20-point, 8-rebound game against Rwanda on 15 March, and a 4-point, 11-rebound, 2-assist effort in the classification game against Kenya on 17 March 2017, and he appeared alongside other South Sudan players from that same qualifying roster such as Teny Bak Puot and Riak Bol Bol, with Simon Mayen Malok also listed among South Sudan participants in the event records.

Major international databases and player pages checked for Atem Atem’s career history did not verify any club stints outside Australia and the United States, so the only non-USA and non-Australia tenure that could be confirmed from the available records was his South Sudan national team appearance in the 2017 FIBA AfroBasket Qualifiers.