12 players to watch at men's Olympics hoops tourney

The 12-team Paris Olympics men's basketball field is filled with notable NBA names and players on the periphery looking to shine on the international stage.

Here, we look at a key player to watch on each squad competing for the gold medal.

Group A

Hernangomez enters his third Olympics looking to help Spain improve on its sixth-place finish at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, the country's worst result at the quadrennial event since finishing seventh in 2000 in Sydney. La Roja will need Hernangomez to play a significant role if they aim to podium this time.

The seven-footer currently plays with Liga ACB and EuroLeague giants Barcelona and is a high-IQ center with great hands. Hernangomez has performed well for Spain in the past, most notably winning MVP honors at the 2022 EuroBasket tournament. Despite his height, the 30-year-old is also a tidy facilitator and can create his own shot.

Canada is set to participate in the Olympics for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Games. With a roster littered with NBA talent, the Canucks will be looking to piggyback off their successful bronze-medal campaign at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, dismantling the United States in the third-place contest.

There's no doubt that Gilgeous-Alexander is Canada's talisman, with the 26-year-old finishing second in MVP voting this past NBA season after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Western Conference's No. 1 seed. The 6-foot-6 point guard is one of the world's best offensive engines and can set up teammates or score on his own. In a short tournament where teams often struggle to find chemistry, having the best perimeter scorer will be invaluable to Canada's road to gold.

The Aussies will try to replicate their bronze-medal success from the Tokyo Games - the country's first Olympic hardware in men's basketball. Although it has numerous NBA players, Giddey will be tasked with running the show for Australia.

In Paris, Giddey will get his first taste of being the main option of a team's offense. At 6-foot-8, the Chicago Bulls guard can see over the defense and sling passes all over the court and will be relied upon to set up sharpshooters Patty Mills and Jack McVeigh. Still only 21 years old, Giddey's creation has already been displayed in Australia's Olympic warmup games, nearly accruing a triple-double in a close loss to the U.S.

Two-time NBA MVP Antetokounmpo seems to have finally figured out the FIBA game. The Milwaukee Bucks star was absent for a couple of years after averaging only 14.8 points per contest at the 2019 FIBA World Cup but has been a beast since. Antetokounmpo has recorded 28 points per game in 11 contests with the national team since 2022, which includes a dominant display in Greece's Olympic qualifying matchups earlier in July.

Greece has found a strategy to maximize Antetokounmpo by letting him drive downhill alongside four shooters. Every rotation player on the country's roster took at least one-third of their shots in Olympic qualifying from deep, including 7-foot-3 big man Georgios Papagiannis. This team will be a tough out if these guys are making shots around the Greek Freak.

Group B

Expectations couldn't be higher for Wembanyama's sophomore NBA campaign or his second official stint with the French senior national team. France won all four games the Rookie of the Year played during the 2023 World Cup qualifiers, with Wembanyama hitting almost half his threes and blocking nearly three shots per contest.

Paired alongside reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, France likely has the greatest rim-protecting frontcourt ever assembled. And they're coming together to play FIBA rules, which allow defensive three-in-the-key and grabbing the ball off the basket. Wembanyama will also be tasked with leading the offensive charge, and France could push for the gold medal on home soil if he succeeds.

This is a golden era for German basketball. The program is coming off a bronze medal at the 2022 EuroBasket and a historic gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. At the heart of its new-found success is Orlando Magic forward Wagner.

The 22-year-old was Germany's second-leading scorer at both tournaments, behind only Brooklyn Nets point guard Dennis Schroder. After recently inking a five-year max extension with Orlando, Wagner will be looked on to take the lead as the national team's star. At 6-foot-10, Wagner provides a level of size and athleticism not often seen on the international stage. In a friendly win against France, Wagner showed he could be Germany's main man, leading the team in scoring while shooting an impressive 7-of-10 from the field.

From NBA bust to Brazilian superstar, it's been one heck of a roller-coaster career for the former Toronto Raptors first-rounder. Famously touted as "two years away from being two years away" by NBA draft analyst Fran Fraschilla when he was a super lean teenage wing in 2014, Caboclo has added a ton of strength and now plays center for his country. He also suited up for Euroleague's Partizan Belgrade this past season.

Caboclo was on fire in the Olympic qualifiers, averaging 17.8 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting a blistering 66.7% from the floor, 57.1% from deep, and 90.5% from the free-throw line. On a squad devoid of proven NBA talent, Caboclo will need to square off against France's Twin Towers and Germany's Wagner brothers if Brazil wants to make real noise at the Games.

The Los Angeles Lakers forward is returning to the Akatsuki after missing last year's FIBA World Cup, pointing to exhaustion following a run to the Western Conference finals. Even without Hachimura, Japan qualified for the Olympics without receiving the host slot for the first time since 1976.

With his versatility as a scorer, Hachimura can set the tone for Japan as the team's most talented player and push the team beyond the group stage. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 26-year-old dropped 34 points against Slovenia and averaged 22.3 points over three contests. Flanked with quality players all over the roster, the Games could be the stage where Hachimura breaks out even more.

Group C

All 12 members of the United States' loaded Olympic roster are major fixtures in the NBA, and almost all are multi-time All-Stars and future Hall of Famers. And yet, Edwards, the team's youngest member, is the most intriguing player.

In the last 12 months, Edwards led the American's World Cup squad in scoring, took the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Western Conference finals for the second time in franchise history, and made the stacked Olympic squad at 22. After declaring himself the No. 1 option on a team with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry and subsequently being promoted to the starting lineup in recent exhibition games, consider the Paris Olympics a chance for Edwards to cement himself at the top of the NBA.

Another player who missed the World Cup, Jokic sat out of the tournament after winning a championship with the Denver Nuggets. The Eagles held their own without him, finishing with the silver after a six-point loss to Germany in the final. With Jokic in the lineup, maybe Serbia would've won gold instead.

While the "Joker" already owns an Olympic medal from the 2016 Games, Serbia has posted questionable results between then and the 2023 World Cup. The team was upset by Argentina at the 2019 World Cup in the quarterfinals and ousted by Italy in the Round of 16 of 2022 EuroBasket - both rosters featured Jokic. The Serbians also missed out on the 2020 Olympics altogether. With a roster bolstered by Bogdan Bogdanovic and Vasilije Micic, can Jokic lead Serbia to its first gold medal?

Alvarado was pivotal for Puerto Rico's Olympic qualification, winning tournament MVP after averaging 16 points, 3.8 rebounds, three assists, and 2.3 steals en route to a perfect showing at home against Lithuania, Mexico, and Italy. To clinch the country's first berth in 20 years, the New Orleans Pelicans guard dropped 23 points to knock Lithuania out of the Summer Games for the second straight time.

Los Gallos fielded a roster consisting of Carlos Arroyo the last time they made the Games in 2004 and upset a U.S. squad that featured veterans Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson and youngsters LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Richard Jefferson. With the Americans in the same group again, can Alvarado and his Puerto Rican side pull off another upset?

Welcome to the Olympics, South Sudan. The Bright Stars are set to debut at the Summer Games after earning a spot at last year's World Cup. Jones was one of the tourney's breakout stars as his country claimed the title of top team in Africa by racking up wins against China, the Philippines, and Angola. Leading into the Olympics, South Sudan made Team USA play its A-game in a tune-up contest, taking a 16-point lead despite losing. Jones finished with a triple-double, dropping 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Jones will be paramount to South Sudan's success. The 26-year-old will presumably be his nation's top offensive option at the Games, surrounded with a lineup of tall and lengthy defenders along the perimeter and in the paint. Although the former Louisville guard is just one player on the roster, the team will need his scoring to compete with the group's top dogs.