Al-Farouq Aminu is now the latest NBA player to pull out of the Rio Olympics.
Aminu, who played for Nigeria in the 2012 London games, will reportedly not be representing his country in Rio due to an insurance issue.
Al-Farouq Aminu is not with the team and his status for Rio is doubtful due to insurance issue.
— Nigeria Basketball (@NigeriaBasket) July 31, 2016
Aminu states he will not participate "due to continued and unresolved organizational challenges with the Nigerian Basketball Federation"
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) August 1, 2016
Aminu's new teammate in Portland, Festus Ezeli, will also not be playing for Nigeria for the same reason.
Those are two pretty big losses for Nigeria who could have been in contention for a medal, if at full strength. The country only won a single game in 2012, but when you look at the basketball experience on the current roster, it seems to be a group that could have been in the hunt for a bronze or, at least, made it past the group stage.
Your 2016 Nigerian Basketball Olympic Team. #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/DDtaEklcZb
— Nigeria Basketball (@NigeriaBasket) August 1, 2016
Al-Farouq Aminu would have been the best player on the team. He already was back in 2012, and is now coming off a breakout season for the Blazers, in which he averaged 10.2 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting a career-high 36.1 percent from long distance.
It's a big loss for Nigeria, and one it probably won't be able to recover from.
Follow Us
Subscribe