Olympics 2021 Men's Basketball: Top 5 non-NBA players to watch out for

#3 Nando De Colo (France)

Amidst France's wealth of NBA talent, there is Fenerbahce guard Nando De Colo. Although he briefly spent time with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors, De Colo has had a hugely successful career in Europe, playing for CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce.

Nando De Colo drops one of the best assists of the season pic.twitter.com/4qXH1RI0Li
— Emiliano Carchia (@Carchia) February 10, 2021

Expand Tweet

Team USA will need to be extremely wary of the 34-year-old's shooting accuracy as he has been a part of the EuroLeague's 50-40-90 club for the past six seasons. In his career abroad, De Colo has averaged 14.3 points per game and shot at 91% from the free-throw line and 48% from the field.

A veteran of the French national team, De Colo has competed in the last two Olympic Games and won the Bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup. In his first exhibition match prior to the Tokyo Olympics, he put up 17 points and seven assists in a loss against Spain before following that up with nine points and four assists in a rematch.

Also Check out: France Olympic Basketball Team 2021

#2 Maodo Lo (Germany)

Maodo Lo has been electric for Germany in qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Without Dennis Schroder, Maodo Lo took up a significant amount of Germany's offensive creativity in their qualifying run for the Tokyo Olympics.

In their semi-final matchup against Croatia, the 28-year-old grabbed an impressive 29 points and eight assists, shooting at 42% from the field. He followed that up with ten points and five assists in their victory over Brazil in the final.

Maodo Lô led the comeback that saw Germany erase a double digit deficit in the final term to book their place in tomorrow's #FIBAOQT Final in Split.His 29 points, including 5 threes, and 8 assists saw him named @TCL_Europe Player of the Game 👏 pic.twitter.com/VOXZANjUWr
— FIBA #Tokyo2020 (@FIBA) July 3, 2021

Expand Tweet

Although he hasn't played in the NBA, Lo was a top talent at Columbia University and has won two BBL titles. If Germany wish to advance from of a tough group containing medal hopefuls Australia, Italy and Nigeria, Lo will have to be as key as he has been in the past month.

Also Check out: Germany Men's Olympic Basketball Team 2021

#1 Jock Landale (Australia)

Jock Landale playing for Melbourne United

Like his compatriot Duop Reath, Jock Landale went undrafted in 2018 and has since played with a determination to prove his pedigree. This season, the 6' 11" center averaged 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks on his way to becoming an NBL champion with Melbourne United and an NBL Grand Final MVP award.

Wherever he has played, he has won. He comes into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a point to prove on the biggest stage, especially against Team USA. He played with the Boomers in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and will look to go one step further this summer after failing to make the final and losing out on a medal.

Also Check out: Australian Olympic Basketball Team 2021

Landale is a versatile center, the kind highly favored in the NBA. He shot the three-ball with an accuracy of 39% this season and can anchor a team at both ends of the basketball court.