AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY
'Sports is our Business'
  • Home
  • NEWS
  • Radio
  • TV

It's opening night! NBA stars begin warming up for Rio

10/28/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
LeBron James (USA) - Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA). Photo: NBAE/Getty Images

CHICAGO (NBA) - The six teams tipping off the 2015-16 NBA season on Tuesday have something in common when it comes to international basketball.

Each outfit has players that will be at next year's Olympic Games in Brazil.


Early games on opening night in the NBA will see the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Chicago Bulls, and the Atlanta Hawks go up against the Detroit Pistons.

A late game will see the New Orleans Pelicans play away against the Golden State Warriors, the team that beat Cleveland in last year's NBA Finals.

Two Spaniards, EuroBasket 2015 MVP Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic, will be in a Bulls' lineup squaring off against a Cleveland side that has FIBA Oceania Championship winner Matthew Dellavedova of Australia, two-time Olympic champion LeBron James of the USA and 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup MVP Kyrie Irving of the United States.

The Rio Games will mark the fourth Olympic participation for Gasol.

It will be his second season with Chicago.

While leading Spain to EuroBasket glory this past summer, Gasol looked like a player who is in the form of his life.

The Bulls also have Cameron Bairstow of Australia's national team in their squad.

Irving will arrive in Brazil next summer as one of headline names in the men's tournament.

Fans still talk about his amazing performance at Spain 2014.

There is a good chance that James will be with the U.S. squad for a fourth straight Olympics.

He attended the 2015 USA Basketball national team mini-camp this summer.

Tiago Splitter, who will play for Olympic hosts Brazil at the 2016 Games, is now on the books of the Atlanta Hawks.

He will go up against a Detroit Pistons center that may be at the Olympics in USA World Cup winner Andre Drummond.

Aron Baynes of Olympic-bound Australia is also in the Pistons lineup.

Golden State will receive their championship rings before their home game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Playing for the Warriors will be the Splash Brothers, USA's Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, arguably the most lethal one-two punch in basketball.
 
The two were outstanding at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and then excellent in the 2014-15 NBA season when they fired the Warriors to their first title since 1975.

Curry ended up sixth in the league in scoring at 23.8 points per game, third in three-point shooting at 44.3 percent and first in free-throw shooting at 91.4 percent.

The 27-year-old guard was named as the league's MVP.

Thompson, who shone with his 41.5 percent accuracy from behind the arc at the World Cup, buried 43.9 percent of his attempts last season in the NBA.

Golden State's Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes were at the USA mini-camp and will contend for spots in the Olympic squad.

Warriors center Andrew Bogut played for Australia's national team this summer for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Games and helped the Boomers sweep the New Zealand Tall Blacks in the FIBA Oceania Championship to reach Rio.

USA's Anthony Davis leads the charge for New Orleans.

The athletic center is just 22 years of age but is already an Olympic gold medalist and world champion.

He had plenty of highlight reel plays at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

Last season, Davis ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring (24.4 points) and led all players in blocks (2.9).

By: FIBA.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Menu

    All
    2014 FIFA World Cup
    Athletics
    Basketball
    Boxing
    Commonwealth Games
    Cricket
    Golf
    Hockey
    Marathons
    News
    Olympics
    Rugby
    Soccer
    Spotlight
    Tennis
    Track And Field
    Volleyball
    Women Soccer
    Wrestling


    Picture

    RSS Feed


    Tweets by ASMONTHLY

Tweet to @ASMONTHLY

Contact Us

    Contact Us

Submit

Donate & Support Our Efforts at African Sports Media Network