Dante Exum took to Instagram to indicate his intentions to play for the Australian Boomers in next months Tokyo Olympics.
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Dante’s inclusion was questionable for the majority of the year due to being an unrestricted free agent this NBA off-season and working through a significant calf injury suffered while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.
The Melbourne-born point guard hurt his calf in early January, restricting him to just six games in the 2020-2021 NBA season.
Exum, now with the Houston Rockets, is a huge boost to the Australian’s chances of claiming their first Olympic medal in Japan with news he is fit and able to give it his all. Exum has been working out and participating in full practice sessions with the Rockets prior to the end of the season.
While the current Boomers squad consists of 19 players, this will be reduced to 12 this week once player availability is confirmed. Dante is expected to be a lock considering he is ready to return to the court.
Exum has had a horror run of injuries in recent years but will add a significant impact to the Boomers, particularly on the defensive end if selected for the Tokyo Games.
He will be playing without an NBA contract during the Olympics so a dominant Olympic campaign could show NBA teams he is healthy and still possesses the potential teams saw when he was drafted as the 5th pick in 2014.
The last time Exum played for the Boomers was in 2015 during a European tour where he went down with an ACL injury during a Boomers’ win over Slovenia.
At just 15, Exum was invited to the Australian Boomers squad under the watchful eye of then Head Coach Brett Brown – becoming the youngest ever player to be involved in the men’s national team squad.
His inclusion is welcome news with reports from the USA that his Boomers teammate Ben Simmons is unlikely to play at the Olympics after making a decision to focus on developing his skills during this NBA off-season.
ESPN senior reporter Brian Windhorst said Simmons was “doubtful to play for Australia in Tokyo Olympics, sources said. Will spend the offseason working on skill development. Aussies scheduled to begin training this week in L.A.”
As yet no official word has come from Simmons to Basketball Australia nor Brian Goorjian and the team are still expecting Simmons to join them in Las Vegas, prior to the team’s pre-Olympic tournament which includes two games against the USA next month.
BOOMERS 19-MAN OLYMPIC SQUAD: Aron Baynes, Ryan Broekhoff, Xavier Cooks, Mitch Creek, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Josh Giddey, Chris Goulding, Josh Green, Isaac Humphries, Joe Ingles, Nick Kay, Jock Landale, Patty Mills, Brock Motum, Duop Reath, Ben Simmons, Nathan Sobey, Matisse Thybulle.