Dante Exum was long seen as an NBA draft bust. Selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, he never made much of an impact in the league. After just 245 games, the now 29-year-old spent one season playing in Serbia and another in Spain. Exum did enough in his time playing overseas to receive another opportunity to make a better impression in the NBA. He signed with the Dallas Mavericks and remained a pivotal piece in their rotation on a team that reached the NBA Finals. The 29-year-old Exum is now on Australia’s roster for the Paris Olympics. Unfortunately, he sustained a dislocated finger in their last exhibition game against France. The injury forced him out of action in Saturday’s Olympics opener. Will he be able to suit up in their next game?
Positive Update Regarding Australian Guard’s Finger Injury
Could Dante Exum Return For Australia On Tuesday?
Exum spoke with BasketNews after Australia’s Olympics opener on Saturday to provide an update on his injury.
“I’m feeling good right now,” Exum said. “I’ve been doing [some workouts], just staying in shape. I think the biggest thing at the moment is trying to just let the wound heal because it was a compound dislocation.”
Kane Pitman of ESPN provided further update on his X page after speaking with Australia’s head coach Brian Goorjian.
Brian Goorjian positive update on Dante Exum's progress.
“We think there’s a real hope, we’ve got another day of practice, go with some more contact. We took a big step today, he shot the ball, bounced the ball, no problem with it…we’re hoping for him to play against Canada.” https://t.co/sdlKYjCjKT pic.twitter.com/m0H8sRIuPF
— Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) July 28, 2024
The six-foot-five Exum is coming off what is arguably his best season in the NBA nearly a decade after he was drafted. With Dallas last season, he appeared in 55 games and averaged 7.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. While he didn’t shoot from beyond the arc all that frequently, Exum was very accurate when he did. He connected on 53 of his 108 three-point attempts (49.1%).
Looking To Continue Momentum After Win In Opener
Regardless of whether Exum plays or not, Australia has another tough game awaiting. They passed their first test on Saturday with a 92-80 victory over Spain. It took contributions from many to secure the win as five players scored at least 13 points. Jock Landale led the way with 20 points while adding nine rebounds and five assists. Josh Giddey also made quite the impact scoring 17 to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists.
Australia wasn’t given an easy path by being putting in Group A. The three other nations in group play with them are Spain, Canada, and Greece. Australia is scheduled to play Canada on Tuesday before playing Greece on Friday. Both nations feature a player considered to be one of the best currently in the NBA as Canada rosters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Greece has Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This is the 16th time that Australia has been in the Summer Olympics for men’s basketball. The prior Summer Olympics took place in 2021 in Tokyo. It was the first time that Australia medaled in the sport during the Olympics as they received a bronze medal. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Australia currently has tied for the fifth-best odds to take home gold along with Serbia at +2000. The countries with better odds are USA, Canada, France, and Germany.
