Nigeria will have nine of the 12 players that reached the top of the AfroBasket 2015 podium when they run onto the hardwood to face Argentina in their first game at the Olympics.
The three players that did not feature last year but are now on the roster are Josh Akognon, Ebi Ere and Ekene Ibekwe.
Nigeria will not have Portland’s Al Farouq Aminu, who played four years ago when D’Tigers made it through the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Caracas and then participated in the London Games.
Aminu had been with the team in the build-up to Rio but will reportedly sit out due to insurance issues.
His brother, Alade Aminu, will suit up for Nigeria at a second straight Olympics as will Chamberlain ‘Champ’ Oguchi, the Most Valuable Player of last year’s tournament and a 2012 Olympian.
Portland Trail Blazers big men Al-Farouq Aminu and Festus Ezeli were not on the Nigerian Olympic basketball team announced Monday.
Aminu reportedly withdrew due to issues with the Nigerian Basketball Federation, while it was previously reported Ezeli would not play due to the federation not reaching an agreement with the Blazers on insurance of his NBA contract.
The Nigerian team is instead led by former NBA big man Ike Diogu, who paced the team with 14.8 points per game at London 2012, where Nigerian went 1-4 and failed to advance out of group play.
The team does include Aminu’s older brother, Alade Aminu, Detroit Pistons second-round draft pick Michael Gbinije and former NBA point guard Ben Uzoh.
Nigeria opens group play in Rio against Argentina on Sunday. The team is coached by Vermont’s Will Voigt.
In addition to going up against Argentina, they will face hosts Brazil, Croatia, Lithuania and Spain.
A top four finish will be needed for Nigeria to advance to the Quarter-Finals. They will be hoping to recapture the magic that saw them capture the AfroBasket 2015 crown in Tunisia. It was their first title in the competition.
At the 2012 Olympics, the Nigerians took on fellow Africans Tunisia in the first game and won but then fell in their next four outings.
Before heading to Rio, the Africans will go up against gold medal favorites USA on Monday night in Houston, Texas, in their last warm-up game.
