With the 2024 Olympics set to begin in Paris, some of the best basketball players in the world will compete for a gold medal.
The qualified nations, including the United States, typically send their top competitors for this event. As such, there is a ton of star power across the 12 teams vying for a chance to call themselves the best on the planet.
Some notable players (Lithuania’s Domantas Sabonis, Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis, Finland’s Lauri Markannen, Dominican Republic’s Karl-Anthony Towns, and Turkey’s Alperen Sengun) from the 2023 FIBA World Cup did not qualify for the tournament.
But otherwise, there are plenty of amazing players who will take the courts in this tournament.
What this is: For our list, we ranked these players based on how impactful they are in the NBA. Basically, if you are a casual NBA fan, these are the names you are most likely to recognize based on how well they played during the 2023-24 season. We looked at several advanced metrics to reach our conclusion.
What this is not: These are not projections that factor in playing time or their roles for each nation. For example, José Alvarado will have a bigger usage rate with Puerto Rico than he does with the Pelicans. Similarly, Boston’s Derrick White will have a smaller role with the United States than he does with the Celtics. This does not account for FIBA rules or recent struggles (e.g. Joel Embiid for Team USA) during exhibition play, either.
Honorable Mentions: Rui Hachimura (Japan), Jose Alvarado (Puerto Rico), Dante Exum (Australia), Dyson Daniels (Australia), RJ Barrett (Canada), Dennis Schroder (Germany), Jock Landale (Australia), and Nikola Jovic (Serbia)
