Representin'...

July 24, 5:26 p.m. We're two weeks away from the Beijing Olympics, and while it would have been nice to see the Canadian Men's National Basketball team tip it off in China, hoops fans in this country can still get their fix with a number of NBA'ers suiting up for the respective homelands. In fact, the Toronto Raptors are leading the way in Beijing with 4* players in action for various countries. Raptors in the Olympics include: Chris Bosh (USA) Jose Calderon (Spain) Roko-Leni Ukic (Crotia) Giorgos Printezis* (Greece) Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Utah, and the LA Lakers will each be represented by no less than 3 players. Dallas: Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Jason Kidd (USA), Renaldas Seibutis* (Lithuania) Houston: Yao Ming (China), Luis Scola (Argentina), Brad Newley* (Australia) San Antonio: Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Fabricio Oberto (Argentina), Robertas Javtokas* (Lithuania) Utah: Carlos Boonzer (USA), Deron Williams (USA), Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) L.A. Lakers: Kobe Bryant (USA), Pau Gasol (Spain), Sun Yue* (China) Other NBA'ers appearing in the Olympic Games include: Denver: Linas Kleiza (Lithuania), Carmelo Anthony (USA) L.A. Clippers: Chris Kaman (Germany), Sofoklis Schortsiantits* (Greece) Milwaukee: Andrew Bogut (Australia), Michael Redd (USA) Portland: Rudy Fernandez (Spain), Federico Kammerichs* (Argentina) Washington: Darius Songaila (Lithuania) Memphis: Marc Gasol (Spain) Miami: Dwyane Wade (USA) Cleveland: LeBron James (USA) Orlando: Dwight Howard (USA) New Orleans: Chris Paul (USA) Detroit: Tayshaun Prince (USA) Chicago: Andres Nocioni (Argentina) New Jersey: Yi Jianlian (China) Atlanta: David Anderson* (Australia) Indiana: Stanko Barac* (Croatia) (*) indicates players whose rights are held by NBA teams. Other than Team USA (12 of 12) ... Spain and Argentina lead the way with 4 current NBA players on their respective rosters. It'd be nice if we were talking about Joel Anthony and Samuel Dalembert (well, sorta) as well. But it should be a great tournament nonetheless. E. Smith ericsmithfan590@yahoo.com