According to Austin Veazev of Sports Illustrated on Wednesday, there is a possibility that Australia could have a significant addition to its men’s basketball program for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. That is because guard Kyrie Irving, who is a native of Melbourne, has expressed interest in representing Australia, rather than the United States, which is the country he has lived in since he was two years old.
Irving won a gold medal for the United States in Olympic men’s basketball once before. That came at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In eight games, Irving averaged 11.4 points per game. He was third on the United States in points per game. Irving was only behind Kevin Durant (19.4) and Carmelo Anthony (12.1). He also won the gold medal for the United States at the 2010 FIBA Americas Under 18 Championship in San Antonio and the 2014 World Cup in Spain.
The Australian men’s Olympic basketball team has won only one medal in the history of the Olympic Games. That was a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
So far this season, Irving is averaging 24.6 points per game with the Dallas Mavericks. He also is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game, 4.8 assists per game, and 1.3 steals per game, along with a field goal percentage of .478, three point percentage of .413, and a free throw percentage of .902.
Irving has become the face of the Mavericks all of a sudden with the recent Luka Doncic trade and the subsequent injury to Anthony Davis. The Mavericks are currently eighth in the Western Conference at 30 wins and 26 losses.
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