Current and Former LA Clippers to Watch during the Olympics
Basketball addicts, rejoice.
In a normal year, the weeks following the NBA Finals are particularly dark times in which fans are jonesing for any semblance of professional basketball. However, 2021 is an Olympics year (should’ve been 2020 were it not for the pandemic, but hey, we got The Last Dance instead), meaning fans will get to watch 12 countries send (some of) their best players to compete for a gold medal.
Having said that, Clipper fans might feel a bit underwhelmed by Team USA’s roster. Although the squad is loaded compared to the rest of the field, neither Kawhi Leonard nor Paul George will be dawning the stars and stripes in Tokyo. But Clipper Nation will still be represented in some way; there are a few international players playing for their home countries that are either currently Clippers or have played for LA at some point in their career.
Nicolas Batum, France
The only current Clipper heading to Tokyo (he’ll be a free agent starting on Aug. 6), Batum has been representing France in international play for a decade and a half, dating back to his country’s U-18 FIBA Europe Championship team in 2006. He’s helped bring France two bronze medals in the FIBA World Cup, but he has yet to medal in an Olympics. Unfortunately, his most memorable moment from Olympic play is probably the instance in which he punched Spain’s Juan Carlos Navarro in the groin back in 2012.
Oh, to be young.
Now a seasoned veteran, Batum will aim to facilitate Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz)’s rim-running and find shooters like Evan Fournier (Boston Celtics) on the wing. France will also bring current NBA guards Frank Ntilikina (New York Knicks) and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (Brooklyn Nets) to Tokyo.
The Batum Battalion will have to wake up early to watch their favorite French forward square off against Team USA in the first game of group play on Sunday, July 25 at 5 a.m.
Danilo Gallinari
Gallinari (Atlanta Hawks) played for the Clippers for two seasons, the first of which (2017-18) was marred with various injuries. However, his second season (18-19) was arguably the best of his career, as he averaged 19.5 points per game on 46.3% shooting (both career-highs) and 43.3% from three. He was a borderline All-Star who helped lead LA to the postseason, in which the Clippers put up quite a fight against the juggernaut Golden State Warriors.
Speaking of the Warriors, Gallinari will be playing alongside Nico Mannion (Warriors) and Nicolo Melli (Dallas Mavericks). Gallinari and co. will be on a quest for Italy’s first medal since they took silver in 2004.
Ekpe Udoh
Udoh logged just 37 total games for the Clippers back in 2014-15 as a backup center, playing just under four minutes a game in the regular season. However, he made a star turn after retiring from the NBA and heading to the EuroLeague: In 2017, he led Fenerbahçe to the championship and was crowned Final Four MVP. The veteran Udoh will be familiar with FIBA play, and will aim to guide a young but stacked Nigeria team that includes eight current NBA players: A Miami Heat trio of Precious Achiuwa, KZ Okpala and Gabe Vincent, along with Miye Oni (Jazz), Josh Okogie (Minnesota Timberwolves), Jordan Nwora (Milwaukee Bucks), Chimezie Metu (Sacramento Kings) and Jahlil Okafor (Detroit Pistons).
Nigeria has already proven themselves, defeating Team USA in an exhibition game earlier this month.
Joe Ingles
Okay, so this one is a bit of a stretch. Ingles (Jazz) never actually played a regular-season game as a Clipper, but he did play in five preseason games back in October of 2014 before Doc Rivers and LA’s front office cut him. The Jazz forward and Sixth Man of the Year runner-up will play a huge role for his native Australia, a country that has never medaled in Olympic basketball.
The Aussies are also loaded with NBA talent (they too defeated Team USA in exhibition a few days ago), sending notable names like Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs), Aron Baynes (Toronto Raptors), Dante Exum (Houston Rockets), Josh Green (Mavericks), Matisse Thybulle (Philadelphia 76ers) and Matthew Dellavadova, who briefly returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this year.
Perhaps given Ingles’ well-documented beef with Paul George, along with the gritty Second-Round series Utah played against LA just over a month ago, Clipper fans will take more pleasure in rooting against him rather than cheering for him on a technicality. One would be hard-pressed to find a more perfect villain than the trash-talking Ingles.
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