NIGERIAN NATIONAL BASKETBALL TEAM ANNOUNCES 16-MAN TRAINING CAMP ROSTER

LAS VEGAS – The Nigerian National Basketball Team has announced its 16-man training camp roster in advance of a trio of exhibition games in Las Vegas. Team Nigeria will reduce its roster to 12 players prior to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo later this month.

The Nigerian team will tip-off the exhibition schedule with a matchup against the United States tomorrow on Saturday, July 10 (5 p.m. PDT on NBC Sports Network). Nigeria will then face Argentina on July 12 and Australia on July 13 to conclude the exhibition slate.

The 16-man roster features a total of eight active NBA players, including three members of the Miami Heat. The active NBA players include: Precious Achiuwa (Miami Heat), Chimezie Metu (Sacramento Kings), Jordan Nwora (Milwaukee Bucks), Jahlil Okafor (Detroit Pistons), Josh Okogie (Minnesota Timberwolves), KZ Okpala (Heat), Miye Oni (Utah Jazz) and Gabe Nnamdi Vincent (Heat). Additionally, Michael Gbinije and Ekpe Udoh have spent time in the NBA, giving the roster a total of 10 players with previous NBA experience.

“We’ve had a very competitive camp and the players have brought a ton of energy to our practice sessions so far,” said Nigerian National Team Head Coach Mike Brown. “Having said that, we’re really looking forward to finally having the opportunity to play against a different colored jersey in these upcoming exhibition games. It’ll be a great challenge for us to compete with some of the top teams in the Olympic field and get a chance to showcase our talent and refine our game before heading to Tokyo.”

Nigeria will tip-off its Olympic schedule against Australia on July 25 (1:20 a.m. PDT) to open play in Group B of the preliminary round, followed by games against Germany (July 27, 6 p.m. PDT) and Italy (July 30, 9:40 p.m. PDT).

The 2020 Olympic Games mark Nigeria’s third-straight Olympic appearance after competing in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Coach Brown, who is currently an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors after previous head coaching stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, is the first active NBA coach ever to lead Team Nigeria.

For updates on the Nigerian National Team, follow @NigeriaBasket and @nbbfonline on Twitter and @nigeriabasketball and @nbbfonline on Instagram. Proud supporters of Friends of Nigerian Basketball (FONB) include Flutterwave, Paxful, Star Beer USA and Ellume.

See below for Nigeria’s 16-man roster:

NIGERIAN NATIONAL TEAM 16-MAN ROSTER

Head Coach: Mike Brown