The NBA Finals is in full swing right now but that also means the NBA season is coming to an end. Most offseasons basketball fans have to settle for watching summer league games but not this summer. This year the Olympics is taking place in London and most of the worlds top players will be there. Most of the games at the last olympics in 2008 were great, and the gold medal game featuring Spain and the United States was an instant classic. Let's take a look at some of the top teams that will be in London this year:
United States- Everyone knows about the firepower the US has so I won't even go into detail with this team. Certain guys won't be making the trip to London for injury reasons or because they want to rest. You can expect big guns like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Paul to play.
Spain- Spain is the one team that can challenge the US. They have the size and good guardplay to hold their own. In the backcourt they have a couple of NBA guards in Jose Calderon and Rudy Fernandez. Also in the backcourt is Juan Carlos Navarro, one of the best shooters and players in Europe. They also have Sergio Llull, a talented combo guard who was drafted by the Houston Rockets a couple of years ago. With the ACL injury to Ricky Rubio he may have to play some backup point guard. In the frontcourt they have a trio of big time NBA players. The Gasol brothers Marc and Pau are proven NBA players and are some of the best in the game. Serge Ibaka is also becoming one of the best defensive players in the league. We may also see Bulls draft 1st round draft pick Nikola Mirotic get some playing time in London but it's uncertain weather he will make the team.
France- France has a ton of talent on their squad but they don't always play together and never really seem like a threat to win a big time tournament like the eurobasket or the olympics. They are led by one of the best point guards in the NBA Tony Parker. He combines with Joakim Noah and Nicolas Batum to make France a tough out for any opponent. Also playing is Boris Diaw who is a solid player. The team took a hit whe Maverick players Rodrigue Beaubois and Ian Mahinmi withdrew from competition. Also, Noah has an ankle injury and will need a few weeks to recover so it's uncertain what his plans are but all signs point to him playing.
Great Britain- Great Britain is the host country and get an automatic bid to play. The Bulls' Luol Deng is their best player. Another solid player is big man Joel Freeland. He was a draft pick of the Blazers a few years back and they've been trying to bring him over.
Brazil- Brazil is a team that could surprise. They have 4 NBA players on the roster. Nene, Leandro Barbosa, Anderson Varejao, and Tiago Splitter. Marcelo Huertas from Barcelona is also expected to be the teams starting PG. With a froncourt rotation of Nene, Varejao, and Splitter, they can make trouble for a lot of teams.
Argentina- Argentina is a veteran and experienced team. Many of the players on their 2012 squad were members of the 2004 one that won the gold medal. Their top two players are NBA players Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola. Both of them play at a very high level in international competition. They also have two other NBA players in Carlos Delfino and Andres Nocioni. At PG they have a very solid player in Pablo Prigioni. A team like this can make a lot of noise because their core players have been together so long and have won a lot. They might not be able to match the athleticim of other countries but they can outsmart and manage games alot better then most.
China- This China team with Yao Ming could actually be suprising but unfortunetly Yao is retired. They have a bunch of current or former NBA scrubs in Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue or as he's known in America the "Chinese Magic Johnson", and Wang Zhizhi. Their captain is Liu Wei, a solid player in the Chinese league but against a lot of NBA and ACB level PG's will struggle.
Qualification Preview
Their is 3 spots left to be taken for the Olympics and these spots will be earned by doing good in the Qualification. Here I will preview my top 3 teams:
Lithuania: Lithuania is a deep international team with alot of talent unknown to American fans. The most notable player they have is Linas Klieza who is a much better national team player then he is an NBA player. They have also have last years 5th pick in Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas is still very young but has a crazy amount of potential. They also have Mantas Kalnietis, who is an underrated point guard. Jonas Mačiulis should make a big impact as well.
Dominican Republic: The biggest name on this team won't be playing at all. John Calipari, one of the biggest names in Basketball will coach this team which is better then most people realize. In the middle they have one of the top young Centers in the game Al Horford. Another NBA player Francisco Garcia will have to become a big time scorer if this team is going to advance to the Olympics. They also have a phenom on their team, 16 year old Karl Townes may get some playing time in this tournament. Jack Martinez will also have to be big if they are going to advance.
Greece- The greeks are led by big man Antonis Fotsis. In a tournament with solid big men he's going to have to be a scoring threat inside. Greek PG Vassilis Spanoulis will also play in this years olympics after sitting out the eurobasket last year. He is very talented and has a had a couple of NBA stints but went back to europe to earn more money. Ioannis Bourousis and Nick Calathes will also need to be big for this team.
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