The final 12-man roster has been announced for the D’Tigers as they plan to head to Tokyo for the Olympics.
The team has been nothing short of amazing in the 3 preliminary exhibition matches in Las Vegas. The Nigerians defeated Team USA and Argentina and lost to the formidable Australian national team whom is always riddled with NBA talent.
Nigerian basketball was much of an afterthought coming into Las Vegas as their Twitter page had a following of less that 30 thousand people but they now leave the state of Nevada with 95.6 thousand followers.
Was a reason for the increase in fans because they beat Team USA? Maybe. But that is a little unfair to the men on this team who can no doubt play ball. The D’Tigers are sending eight NBA players along with captain Ike Diogu, who was the 9th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft to Tokyo. The team still hasn’t all been together as sharpshooting wing, Jordan N’Wora, is still with the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals.
The Nigerians were recently ranked 4th overall in the FIBA power rankings, their highest ranking to date. They were behind the Australians, Spain and Team USA.
We are all familiar with the former big three that was once with the Miami Heat that was Space Jam’s LeBron James, Utah Jazz partial owner Dwayne Wade and author Chris Bosh. This Nigerian national team has a new Heat big three that is a little bit lesser known.
KZ Okpala, Precious Achiuwa, and Gabe “Nmadi” Vincent are three of the four members of Pat Riley’s club playing for a medal this summer. The other being Bam Adebayo.
This new rendition of the big three is a fun storyline but it will also be a great test for these young athletes. Coach Mike Brown will be throwing them into the fire as they have all started at least one game for the team.
The Nigerian National Team will no doubt be a fan favorite and some of these players could become household names by the end of the Olympics.
The pace and hustle the D’Tigers play with is undeniable. The basketball world and the entire continent of Africa will be tuned in to watch this new rendition of Nigeria play.
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The entire roster is as followed:
Josh Okogie- Minnesota Timberwolves
Gabe Nmadi Vincent- Miami Heat
KZ Okpala- Miami Heat
Precious Achiuwa- Miami Heat
Jahlil Okafor- Detroit Pistons
Chimezie Metu- Sacramento Kings
Jordan N’Wora- Milwaukee Bucks
Ike Nwamu- Samara of the Russian Basketball Super League 1
Ekpe Udoh- Virtus Bologna of the Italian LBA
Obi Emegano- Fuenlabrada of the Spanish Liga ACB
Miye Oni- Utah Jazz
Caleb Agada- Hapoel Be’er Sheva of the Israeli Premier League
Zach Blaine 