Luka Doncic will play for Slovenia in the upcoming FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
The men’s basketball field at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is taking shape, with eight countries having already qualified for the 12-team tournament.
Four spots remain up for grabs, and those will be decided beginning Tuesday June 29, in four separate FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
The tournaments will take place in Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania and Canada, as 24 teams vie for the remaining Olympic spots. The tournaments will include the 16 non-qualified teams with the best finishes in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and the two highest-ranked countries per region in the FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE.
Grouping for the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments is as follows:
Tournament Site: Belgrade, Serbia
Group A
Dominican Republic
Philippines
Serbia
Group B
Puerto Rico
Italy
Senegal (not participating)
Tournament Site: Kaunas, Lithuania
Group A
Lithuania
Korea
Venezuela
Group B
Poland
Slovenia
Angola
Tournament Site: Victoria, Canada
Group A
Greece
China
Canada
Group B
Uruguay
Czech Republic
Turkey
Tournament Site: Split, Croatia
Group A
Germany
Mexico
Russia
Group B
Tunisia
Croatia
Brazil
The winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada will join the United States, France and Iran in Group A in Tokyo. Winners of the tournaments in Croatia and Serbia will join Australia and Nigeria in Group B, and the winner in Lithuania will round out Group C, which already consists of Argentina, Japan and Spain.
Will NBA players be participating?
Several NBA stars will be competing for their home countries as they vie for Olympic glory. Here’s a look at who is set to take part:
- Slovenia: Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), Vlatko Cancar (Denver Nuggets)
- Lithuania: Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers), Jonas Valanciunas (Memphis Grizzlies)
- Serbia: Nemanja Bjelica (Miami Heat), Boban Marjanovic (Dallas Mavericks)
- Italy: Nico Mannion (Golden State Warriors), Nicolo Melli (Dallas Mavericks)
- Canada: Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (New Orleans Pelicans), RJ Barrett (New York Knicks), Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder), Cory Joseph (Detroit Pistons), Trey Lyles (San Antonio Spurs), Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks), Mychal Mulder (Golden State Warriors)
- Greece: Kostas Antetokounmpo (Los Angeles Lakers)
- Czech Republic: Tomas Satoransky (Washington Wizards)
- Turkey: Ersan Ilyasova (Utah Jazz), Furkan Korkmaz (Philadelphia 76ers), Cedi Osman (Cleveland Cavaliers), Omer Yurtseven (Miami Heat)
- Germany: Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Isaac Bonga (Washington Wizards)
- Croatia: Bojan Bogdanovic (Utah Jazz)
When will the tournaments take place?
Action begins on Tuesday, June 29 and runs through Sunday, July 4.
Tuesday’s action gets underway with the following games: Poland vs. Angola (9:30 a.m. ET, Lithuania), Germany vs. Mexico (12:30 p.m. ET, Croatia), Lithuania vs. Venezuela (12:30 p.m. ET, Lithuania), Dominican Republic vs. Serbia (2:15 p.m. ET, Serbia), Tunisia vs. Brazil (4 p.m. ET, Croatia), Greece vs. Canada (7:05 p.m. ET, Canada), Uruguay vs. Turkey (10:35 p.m. ET, Canada)
When do the Olympics begin?
Opening ceremonies for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be held on Friday, July 23. Men’s basketball will tip off Sunday, July 25 and run through Saturday, August 7.
