(Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images)
For most people, making it to the NBA is a dream.
For others, it’s even more than that.
International basketball and the FIBA game always allow us to dig deeper into some players’ backgrounds and upbringing, and you can tell it just means more to them.
That was evident for South Sudan throughout the entire Olympic qualifiers, as making it to the ultimate sporting event in the world wasn’t only unlikely and unprecedented for them, it was heroic.
Notably, they almost made history again, this time in an exhibition matchup, by nearly taking down Team USA and its plethora of NBA superstars.
That’s why, following the one-point loss, former Los Angeles Lakers forward Wenyen Gabriel talked about how much this means for South Sudan, a team full of refugees that eventually got the privilege of making basketball their livelihood (via Cesare Milanti):
Wenyen Gabriel with the proudest of words after South Sudan’s first-ever game against USA Basketball pic.twitter.com/NJYze9et4h
— Cesare Milanti (@cesaremilanti) July 20, 2024
Gabriel talked about how most people in his homeland just don’t have the same opportunities he had, so the fact that they could go toe-to-toe with the biggest basketball powerhouse in the world filled them with the utmost pride.
South Sudan may or may not make it far in the Olympics, and chances are that Team USA will look significantly more dominant when it actually counts.
Still, their story is more than worth following closely.
The post South Sudan Player Sends Clear Message After Near Upset Of Team USA appeared first on The Cold Wire.