Who We're Rooting for in Olympic Hoops (No, not just Team USA)

by Mikko Simon, VP of Marketing

The Olympic Basketball Tournament in Rio kicks off this week, with 12 of the World's best teams competing for Olympic glory. While everyone expects Team USA to walk away with the gold again thanks to a lineup that features Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Carmelo Anthony, there will be plenty of competition for the remaining medals.

While we're not making the trip down to Rio ourselves, we've definitely got a rooting interest in addition to Team USA: Team Nigeria. "D'Tigers" have been rocking POINT 3 gear in practice (Reversible LT jerseys and DRYV® Uniform Shorts) and on the road (Road Trip Back Pack and Graphic T's) since the start of training camp.

POINT 3 Founder & CEO Mike Luscher with Team Nigeria's Ike Diogu 

A STRONG INTERNATIONAL ROSTER

Team Nigeria features a bunch of current and former NBA players that definitely will ring a bell for hoops fans States-side, like Ike Diogu, Festus Ezeli, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ebi Ere, Shane Lawal, and this year's NBA Draft Pick Michael Gbinije.

The team is also coached by an American, Will Voigt, who has done a tremendous job taking underdog teams and leading them to success all over the world, including the great story about the Vermont Frost Heaves of the ABA.

Here are a couple "Behind the Scenes" videos that show the squad preparing for their last pre-Olympic tune-up: an ESPN-televised matchup with Team USA in Houston on Aug. 1. 

We'll be following D'Tigers throughout the Rio Olympics on our Twitter feed, but you can also follow them directly on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.