Australia Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has announced a reduced squad of 19 players that will head to Las Vegas for exhibition games against Argentina, Nigeria and two games against the USA.
- Aron Baynes (Toronto Raptors)
- Ryan Broekhoff (SE Melbourne Phoenix)
- Xavier Cooks (Sydney Kings)
- Mitch Creek (SE Melbourne Phoenix)
- Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- Dante Exum (Houston Rockets)
- Josh Giddey (Adelaide 36ers)
- Chris Goulding (Melbourne United)
- Josh Green (Dallas Mavericks)
- Isaac Humphries (Adelaide 36ers)
- Joe Ingles (Utah Jazz)
- Nick Kay (Real Betis)
- Jock Landale (Melbourne United)
- Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs)
- Brock Motum (Nanterre 92)
- Duop Reath (Crvena Zvezda)
- Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Nathan Sobey (Brisbane Bullets)
- Matisse Thybulle (Philadelphia 76ers)
The team will be reduced to a roster of 12 on Thursday, prior to the exhibition games but changes may be made before heading to Tokyo for Olympic competition.
Boomers and three-time Olympic Head Coach Brian Goorjian is excited by the talent and the opportunity in Tokyo.
“Having so many talented players is fantastic but it will certainly make for a challenging selection process,” said Goorjian. “The fact that a number of first-time aspiring Boomers are pushing for selection to the ultimate international stage is testimony to the great depth of talent in Australian basketball.”
“It will be great to have the group together to push each other, the focus of our experienced Olympians has been unbelievable and we won’t shy away from the fact that we are chasing gold in Tokyo”.
The recent cull saw Mitch McCarron (Melbourne), William McDowell-White (New Zealand), Will Magnay (Perth), Thon Maker, Mitch Norton (Perth) and Deng Adel all dropped from the Boomers Olympic Squad.
The team is expected to be built around the Boomers talented NBA stars Mills, Baynes, Dellavedova, Ingles, Simmons and NBL star, Jock Landale.
Mills averaged 22.8 points per game at the China World Cup, on 49.6% shooting from the field, 40.4% from three and 86% at the free-throw line. It’s not a stretch to say that Mills has been one of the world’s greatest basketball players in FIBA competition over the past twenty years.
With Andrew Bogut retired, Baynes is Australia’s most experienced big man and the best screen setter on the team. With the FIBA being shorter, Baynes has become a devastating outside force from the perimeter also, something he leveraged in 2019 to great success.
The inclusion of Simmons and Ingles is still uncertain due to their involvement in the NBA playoffs.
If Simmons goes to Tokyo, Dellavedova’s time may come to an end. It’s unknown what kind of form Dellavedova is in right now due to 18 months of injuries that kept him from NBA play and there won’t be a lot of minutes at the guard spots if both Simmons and Mills are playing in the backcourt, with both players likely to command 30 minutes a game.
Delly remains a required player for the Boomers, but his impact will rest on tangible items, such as whether the shooting stroke he remodelled before the 2019 World Cup brings better results than the 25 makes he’s recorded from 106 three-point shots over his past two NBA seasons.
Meanwhile, the Boomers’ biggest Olympic gold medal threat, Team USA, is starting to assemble an NBA-dominated roster for the Tokyo Games.
NBA stars Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard and Draymond Green have all committed to playing for USA at the Tokyo Olympics which begin on July 23.
While LeBron James ruled himself out to focus on recovering from injury and the filming of Space Jam 2, Team USA is expecting Stephon Curry to commit to playing this week, establishing a strong core for the reigning Olympic champions. The remainder of the team is expected to be announced after the completion of the NBA playoffs.
The Americans will also be chasing their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal after winning in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
BOOMERS PRE-OLYMPIC EXHIBITION GAMES:
July 10: Argentina v Boomers
July 12: USA v Boomers
July 13: Boomers v Nigeria
July 16: USA v Boomers
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
