Phoenix Suns forward Bol Bol headlined South Sudan’s men’s national team’s, the Bright Stars, 25-man Olympic training camp roster announced this week ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Former 2016 NBA lottery pick Thon Maker, NBA veteran Wenyen Gabriel, Charlotte Hornets forward JT Thor and five-star Duke commit Khaman Maluach were some other big names on the roster.
25-man training camp roster has been finalized for @Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Z5GYHSDAhn
— South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) June 3, 2024
If Bol makes the final roster, he will play against Team USA and Suns teammates Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in Paris. South Sudan was placed in Group C and will be facing USA, Serbia and the winner of the qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico in the preliminary stage.
South Sudan’s first game will be on July 28 against the winners of this Puerto Rico tournament, which will take place on July 2-7. The teams competing for the final spot are Bahrain, Ivory Coast, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico and hosts Puerto Rico.
Then, South Sudan will play on July 31 versus Team USA and finally on August 3 against Serbia to close out the group stage.
Bol is an unrestricted free agent this summer after one season in the Valley. The 24-year-old, 7-foot-3 forward averaged 5.2 points on 61.6% shooting (42.3% from 3) and 3.2 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per game in 43 contests with the Suns this past season.
He will likely make his decision on his next NBA team ahead of the Olympics, as the legal tampering period for teams to begin negotiating with all free agents is on June 30 at 3 p.m. MST.
Bol, the son of the late, great Manute Bol, was born Khartoum, Sudan. When Bol was two years old, his family moved to Connecticut as designated political refugees.
Bol quickly rose in stardom because of his height and unique playstyle, as he was already 6-foot-5 in seventh grade and received his first Division I offer from new Mexico State in eighth grade.
This will be his first time playing for South Sudan’s national team, but Bol does have experience playing for Team USA.
In 2017, Bol was cut from Team USA Basketball’s U-19 team for the 2017 FIBA World Cup. However, he did end up playing for the U.S. Junior National Select Team at the Nike Hoop Summit a few months later.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant to suit up for Team USA this summer
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
