{"id":75722,"date":"2024-04-30T23:59:29","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T03:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=75722"},"modified":"2024-05-01T02:24:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T06:24:36","slug":"nba-unicorn-bol-bol-olympic-roster-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/30\/nba-unicorn-bol-bol-olympic-roster-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Unicorn on Olympic Roster for First Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Phoenix Suns stars <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bookede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Devin Booker<\/a> are officially <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/17\/usa-basketball-announces-star-studded-team-for-olympics\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">on Team USA\u2019s roster<\/a> ahead of the Paris Olympics, readying themselves for a battle against the world\u2019s top hoopers. However, they\u2019re not the only players that\u2019ll be representing the Suns, as fifth-year forward-center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bolbo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bol Bol<\/a> should also head to France for the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n<p>The unicorn will be playing for South Sudan\u2019s men\u2019s national basketball team, the Bright Stars.<\/p>\n<h2>Bol Bol on Olympic Roster for First Time<\/h2>\n<p>This is Bol\u2019s first time playing for South Sudan but not his first national team experience. In 2017, Bol was cut from Team USA Basketball\u2019s U-19 team for the 2017 FIBA World Cup. He was <a href=\"https:\/\/usatodayhss.com\/2017\/bol-bol-john-calipari-team-usa\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">never given a reason<\/a>. However, months later, he played for the U.S. Junior National Select Team at the Nike Hoop Summit.<\/p>\n<p>The son of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bolma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Manute Bol<\/a>, a Hall of Fame center and South Sudanese legend, he now has a chance to play for a national team that\u2019ll value his presence on multiple levels.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Congratulations to the 50-players who have been selected to the longlist for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Paris2024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Paris2024<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OTed3oXWtH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/OTed3oXWtH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SSBFed\/status\/1785353461883912599?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Duke commit Khaman Maluach, Charlotte Hornets forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thorjt01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">JT Thor<\/a>, and NBA alumni <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/makerth01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Thon Maker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jonesca03.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carlik Jones<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/adelde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Deng Adel<\/a> will also play for the Bright Stars. 2023 Basketball Africa League MVP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/o\/omotnu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nuni Omot<\/a> will be counted upon as one of the team\u2019s leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Houston Rockets assistant Royal Ivey is expected to return as South Sudan\u2019s head coach after going 3-2 in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Ivey\u2019s coaching and the performance of players like Jones and Omot were instrumental in South Sudan earning their first ever Olympic berth. However, South Sudan Basketball Federation president <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/denglu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luol Deng<\/a> may coach the Bright Stars on an interim basis if needed. The former NBA star held <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiba.basketball\/afrobasket\/2021\/qualifiers\/news\/luol-deng-to-coach-south-sudan-at-fiba-afrobasket-2021-qualifiers\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a dual president-coach role<\/a> for South Sudan during the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers.<\/p>\n<h3>Bol Bol\u2019s Potential Impact<\/h3>\n<p>Bol has averaged 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game over the course of his career.<\/p>\n<p>Considered to be one of the more unique big men in the NBA, he\u2019s often compared to 2023 No. 1 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wembavi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Wembanyama<\/a> due to his blend of physical tools and guard skills. However, Wembanyama is tasked <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/03\/nuggets-buy-victor-wembanyama-hype-future-nba\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">with leading a premier franchise<\/a> back to championship contention. Bol has had trouble getting consistent minutes with two championship-contenders.<\/p>\n<p>For all of his skill, his understanding of how to play a team-oriented style was lacking. However, last season, the 24-year-old made tremendous strides in that area. While still playing limited minutes, he was often a two-way playmaker for the Suns.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bol Bol Drops 25 PTS, 14 REB vs Rockets \ud83d\udd25 FULL Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UBF01dKTAUA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, he averaged 17.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per 36 minutes, shooting 42.3 percent from 3. He also averaged a career-high .168 win shares per 48 minutes, a great indicator him playing sound basketball.<\/p>\n<p>The Bright Stars have plenty of length but Bol has the best combination of size and talent.<\/p>\n<h3>Bigger Than Basketball<\/h3>\n<p>Despite a rich regional history that\u2019s seen them be home to small kingdoms, South Sudan is the world\u2019s newest nation. In fact, they only gained independence from Sudan in 2011. As a result of their youth, lack of infrastructure, and pre-existing ethnic tensions, they\u2019re facing a dire humanitarian crisis. However, Deng is using basketball to uplift the country he was forced to flee as a young child.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m famous because I made it in the NBA and people recognize me,\u201d Deng says, \u201cbut there are a lot of great people, great refugees who need to reach their capacity. And that\u2019s the goal is to keep doing that. That\u2019s our culture and <a href=\"https:\/\/olympics.com\/en\/news\/nba-star-luol-deng-fostering-peace-south-sudan\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">we have to continue doing that<\/a>\u201d (per Olympics.com\u2019s Andrew Binner).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phoenix Suns stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are officially on Team USA\u2019s roster ahead of the Paris Olympics, readying themselves for a battle against the world\u2019s top hoopers. However, they\u2019re not the only players that\u2019ll be representing the Suns, as fifth-year forward-center Bol Bol should also head to France for the Olympic Games. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":75728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[60,1608,62,3,28],"tags":[1939,316,1052,49179],"class_list":["post-75722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-olympics","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","category-suns","tag-bol-bol","tag-luol-deng","tag-olympics","tag-royal-ivey"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}