“You only get to go once every four years, so it’s a pretty rare opportunity to be here. The talent level, obviously, is world class.”
Giddey said Australia, ranked fifth in the world, had found themselves in a “pool of death” featuring Spain (2nd), Canada (7th) and Greece (14th) but he isn’t worried about their draw.
“I think we’ve had a great preparation,” Giddey said. “We’ve had great momentum going forward into Paris and we’re excited to hit the ground running in Lille.
“I think it kind of speaks volumes of how good basketball’s got in Australia that we have NBA talent and elite players from around the world missing out on this team.
“The talent that we’ve had in Australian basketball is, in my opinion, as good as it’s ever been.”
The rock stars of the Olympics, as always, will be the United States team, which features the likes of LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
NBA legend LeBron James looks for a way past the Boomers’ Josh Giddey during a warm-up match earlier this month. Credit: AP
James has been named the USA’s flag bearer at Friday’s opening ceremony on the river Seine, making him the first American male basketball player to be given the honour.
Australia won’t play the USA until the knockout stages if they qualify but Giddey believes cohesion could be a problem for the 2024 incarnation of the “Dream Team”.
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“On paper, obviously they’re the most talented team. It’s not a secret to anybody,” Giddey said. “I think the difference is these guys have never played together. A lot of these other countries have had a core that’s been together for years. They’re also very talented.
“They’re going to be tough to beat for anybody. But as I said, we’re confident with the guys that we have, the group that we have, how together we are as a unit, that we can go against anybody in the world.”
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