Nigeria came into the Paris 2024 Olympics as the No. 12 team in the FIBA World Rankings and was not projected to go far in the tournament, but not only did they defy the odds, they made history that will last forever in the continent of Africa.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!During their magical run in the Olympics this year, Nigeria became the first African country in men’s or women’s basketball to advance to the knockout rounds of the tournament. In Group B, the team pulled off a major upset in their first game as they beat No. 3 ranked Australia 75-62 and No. 5 Canada 79-70 to progress.
Nigeria is the first African team men's or women's to reach the Olympic quarterfinals in basketball‼️???? pic.twitter.com/DzUxEX6Uaq
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 4, 2024
While they did fall 88-74 to the United States and were eliminated on Wednesday, there are plenty of reasons for them to be proud of what they accomplished.
Just 13 months after becoming the first woman to be the head coach for Nigeria, Rena Wakama was also the first to lead an African women’s team to two wins in one Olympics and the first to lead an African team to the quarterfinals, men or women.
Finishing third in their group and advancing, Ezinne Kalu, Amy Okonkwo and former ASU guard Promise Akukamara were the trio at the forefront of this charge.
Besides the 75-54 loss to France, Akukamara scored in double digits in every other game including 19 vs. the U.S., Kalu averaged 18.7 points through five games and Okonkwo had moments of offensive outbursts.
For a team that didn’t have a single player in the WNBA this season, Nigeria went into the tournament with a group of players who bought into the goal of going as far as they could and not paying attention to the outside noise.
Making this far in the tournament will go down as one of the best sporting moments the Paris 2024 Olympics will see this year. Stacked up against some of the best competition on their road to the quarterfinals, Nigeria can look at what they did, build on it going forward and continue to inspire others to chase their dreams.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
