On Monday, Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Green stated he intends to play for Australia in the Tokyo Olympics set to begin on July 23 in Japan.
He was among the 24 players listed as finalists to play with the Australian men’s basketball team. The roster, which also features Ben Simmons, Joe Ingles and Patty Mills, will be pared to 12 players prior to the start of the Olympics.
Green, who was born in Sydney, would represent Australia for the first time in the Olympics if chosen.
“I think my intentions will be to play for Australia,” Green said. “It has always been a dream of mine and also just from a developmental standpoint. Just being able to get games and feel more comfortable on the court, and be around guys like Ben, Joe Ingles and Patty Mills — guys like that who help me out and grow as a player. I’m really looking forward to it and the offseason in general.”
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Preliminary play in basketball, which will feature 12 teams spread across three groups, will begin July 25 and run through Aug. 2. The quarterfinals will start on Aug. 3 and consist of the top two teams in each group from the preliminary phase.
The semifinals will take place on Aug. 5 with the gold and bronze medal games on Aug. 7.
Green and the Mavericks were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday after losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7. He logged just four minutes in the series with the team using its veteran players almost exclusively versus the Clippers.
He averaged 2.6 points and two rebounds in 39 games this season.
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