Just ahead of Olympic qualifiers next month in Canada and three European countries, some current Chicago Bulls players are getting set to represent their various countries in competition to try and earn a spot in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan (actually played in 2021). The Summer Olympics in Tokyo were pushed back one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the timeline of the Olympic qualifiers got crunched thanks to the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the more notable Bulls players that will be representing their respective countries either in the Olympic qualifiers or that are already qualified for the Summer Olympic games are star shooting guard Zach LaVine and combo guard Tomas Satoransky.
LaVine is set to be a part of a truly elite backcourt for the United States. But he might find himself in a reserve role with such a loaded backcourt rotation for the United States.
Meanwhile, Sato will be captaining the Czech Republic once again, after leading them on a special run to finish in sixth place in the FIBA World Cup. The Czech Republic will be competing north of the border next month in Olympic qualifiers.
UPDATE: 2012 Olympian & veteran Al-Farouq Aminu along w/ Raptors forward OG Anunoby will not be joining training camp. pic.twitter.com/swrSgPSNgQ
— D’Tigers | Nigeria Basketball (@NigeriaBasket) June 29, 2021
One other Bulls player that was anticipated to represent his country in Olympic qualifiers, but might not any longer, is the veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu. The former Orlando Magic 30-year-old forward did not report for training camp ahead of the Olympic qualifiers for Nigeria.
Chicago Bulls F Al-Farouq Aminu could miss another Olympic run with Nigeria
The other NBA player that was anticipated to participate with the Nigeria squad for Olympic qualifiers was the Toronto Raptors 23-year-old small forward OG Anunoby. It appears that neither Aminu nor Anunoby will be competing with Nigeria in the Olympic qualifiers this year.
The last time that Aminu actually played for Nigeria in the Summer Olympics was back in 2012 when he was still early in his NBA career. But this might be the second straight Summer Olympics that he passes on playing in.
What landed Aminu in the Windy City in the first place was that big splash deal at the trade deadline that the Bulls made to also land star center Nikola Vucevic from the Magic. The Bulls shipped off third-year center Wendell Carter Jr., veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr., and two first-round draft picks to the Magic in order to get Vooch and Aminu.
The United States has already qualified for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. If Aminu doesn’t wind up playing for Nigeria in Olympic qualifiers, then he likely won’t participate in their pre-Olympic meeting with the USA.