Breaking Down the Best Olympic Basketball Players Who Don't Play in the NBA

Karl Rasmussen | Jul 24, 2024

Carlik Jones #4 of South Sudan celebrates a three during the game against Team USA as part of the 2024 USA Basketball Showcase on July 20, 2024 in London, England at O2 Arena. / Photo by Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images

Both men's and women's basketball figure to be among the most popular events at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The men's tournament will get underway on July 27 with the first game featuring a clash between Australia and Spain.

While NBA players figure to dominate much of the conversation surrounding the Games, particularly so in the United States, there are plenty of other hyper-talented players representing other nations.

Of course, the NBA is known as the premier basketball league worldwide, but there's plenty of standout players from other leagues across the globe. We'll take a look at the 10 best non-NBA players in the 2024 Olympics.

PLAYER	CLUB TEAM/LEAGUE	NATION
Rudy Fernandez	Retired	Spain
Willy Hernangomez	FC Barcelona/EuroLeague	Spain
Lorenzo Brown	Panathinakos/EuroLeague	Spain
Andreas Obst	Bayern Munich/EuroLeague	Germany
Carlik Jones	Zheijang Golden Bulls/CBA	South Sudan
Bruno Caboclo	Partizan, EuroLeague	Brazil
Marial Shayok	Shandong Heroes, CBA	South Sudan
Georgios Papagiannis	AS Monaco, EuroLeague	Greece
Nemanja Nedovic	Red Star, EuroLeague	Serbia

Rudy Fernandez

An international basketball great, Fernandez retired following the 2023-24 season at Real Madrid in the EuroLeague. He will join his fellow Spaniards at the 2024 Olympics however, where his leadership figures to be crucial. Fernandez played four seasons in the NBA before continuing his career in Europe. When he takes the court in Paris it'll represent the sixth Olympic Games he's played in, which is a record.

Willy Hernangomez

A former NBA player, Hernangomez figures to play a pivotal role for Spain at the Olympics. He currently stars for FC Barcelona where he averaged 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds coming off the bench in the EuroLeague. Now 30 years old and a full season removed from his time in the NBA, he'll be looking to showcase his talents at the Olympics.

Lorenzo Brown

Much like Hernangomez, Brown is a former NBA player who is hopeful of leading Spain to a gold medal in Paris. Brown the second-leading scorer for Maccabi Tel-Aviv in 2023-24, averaging 13.2 points and 6.1 assists per contest.

Andreas Obst

Obst is surrounded with solid NBA talent on Team Germany, with Dennis Schroder and siblings Franz and Mo Wagner making major contributions during their exhibition games. They gave Team USA a run for their money ahead of the Olympics, a game during which Obst scored 17 points and hit went 5 for 11 from three-point range.

Carlik Jones

Carlik Jones had a brief stint in the NBA, but has since left for China to continue his club career. On the international level, he and his South Sudanese teammates stunned the United States in a tightly contested game leading up to the Olympics. In 38 games in the CBA last year, Jones averaged 16.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and shot the three at a sharp 40.2% clip. He is certainly one to watch in Paris.

Bruno Caboclo

Caboclo didn't pan out in the NBA, but he's been a key factor for Brazil in international play. At the FIBA 2023 World Cup, he averaged 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, and he enjoyed a solid season in Serbia for Paritzan, too.

Marial Shayok

Much like Jones, Shayok has been excellent playing overseas since leaving the NBA. Shayok played just four games for the Philadelphia 76ers back in 2019-20, but has since developed into a quality player in China. Shayok averaged 19.1 points per game last season in the CBA and was dominant against Team USA with 24 points and six made threes.

Georgios Papagiannis

A former first-round pick in the NBA, the 7-footer never quite lived up to his expectations in the U.S. Last year in Turkey for Fenerbahçe, he averaged 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds and put up similar numbers for Greece in the FIBA World Cup.

Nemanja Nedovic

Nedovic is one of Nikola Jokic's most talented teammates for the Serbian national team, coming off an excellent year in the EuroLeague for Red Star Belgrade, where he was the league's No. 10 scorer at 14.3 points per game. A gifted three-point shooter, Nedovic has the tools to make a big impact in Paris.