Open Thread: The San Antonio Spurs and the Paris Olympics

Members of the Silver & Black, past and present, represent their countries

The Olympic opening ceremony kicked off yesterday. Today the preliminary basketball round begins.

There are three groups aptly named Group A, Group B, and Group C. Each group is made up of four teams. And on each team are the best of the best from their respective countries.

And some of the best national players have once been or are currently members of the San Antonio Spurs.

Group B- France

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The future of basketball is in the hands of Victor Wembanyama. He is arguably destined to be the greatest player the game has ever known. I speak from the point of objectivity limited to a die hard and devout Spurs fan.

Photo by Christian Liewig – Corbis/Getty Images

Another member of the French national team is Nando de Colo, who was drafted in 2009 53rd by the San Antonio Spurs. He played with the Silver & Black until 2014 when he was traded to the Toronto Raptors.

Group A- Australia

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Two former Spurs currently grace the Boomers. Former fan favorite Patty Mills, who was with the Spurs from 2012 to 2021 (including their 2014 NBA title season) and Jock Landale who spent the 2021-2022 season with the Silver & Black.

Group A- Canada

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The Canadian squad is teeming with NBA talent. From Shai Gilgious-Alxander and his cousin Nickell Akexander-Walker to Dillon Brooks and Luegentz Dort. In addition, Trey Lyles, who played for the Spurs from 2019-2021. Khem Birch, who was traded to the Spurs in 2023, spent most of his time injured, but did appear in one preseason game before being waived.

Group A- Spain

Photo by Oscar J. Barroso / Europa Press Sports via Getty Images

Juancho Hernangomez played in five games with the Spurs. He was traded to San Antonio on January 19, 2022 in a three-team trade involving the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics. He was sent to the Jazz three weeks later in another three-team trade, this time with Utah and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Photo by Nicholas Muller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The Spanish national team also features one of the Spurs most recent draftees, Juan Nunez who was selected 36th overall by the Indiana Pacers but traded to the Spurs for the Johnny Furphy, the 35th pick in the draft,

Group C- Serbia

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This one is probably best considered an honorable mention, but Nikola Milutinov was drafted by Spurs 26th in 2015. He didn’t even participate in Summer League as he was playing with the Serbian national team that year as well. He never made it to the NBA, but still remains in Spurs lore.

Group C- United States

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It would be remise not to mention another Spurs fan favorite (and recent NBA champion) Derrick White, who was brought to Team USA late as he was replacing another former Spurs player – Kawhi Leonard.

Now, these are just the teams who have qualified for the competition. But this summer, our own Jeremy Sochan was playing with the Polish national team in hopes of making it to the Olympics.

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Sandro Mamukelashvili was also involved in the preliminary qualifying round with the Georgia national team.

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Cedi Osman, a member of the Turkish national team, played with there Spurs last season.

Photo by Nikola Krstic/MB Media/Getty Images

And as long as we are talking Olympics, it is fair to mention that Gregg Popovich was head coach of the 2020 Olympic squad and Keldon Johnson was a member of that Gold Medal team.

Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images

The Spurs were the first NBA team to seek out talent at the international level, extending the league’s reach and forcing everyone else to follow suit. Their team boasts a bevy of national treasures.

Additionally, the Spurs legend has played a visible role in the 2024 Olympics. Considering his impact on the sport of basketball and his home country of France, it stands to reason that he would be cast into the limelight throughout these ceremonies and games.

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The games start today and run through August 11th.

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