Rumors

Cameroonian-American Philadelphia 76ers center and former NBA MVP Joel Embiid has joined the producing team of “Mfinda,” an upcoming anime feature from the Tokyo- and LA-based studio N Lite. Embiid comes on board through his production company Miniature Géant, launched in partnership with LeBron James’ Uninterrupted. Embiid will also executive produce a companion documentary, “Mfinda: Spirits of the Congo,” which will explore the film’s inspirations and behind-the-scenes production.

Variety.com

Despite winning 77-71, Greece’s faith is still unclear but they locked the 3rd position in Group A. Australia, on the other side, will qualify if Spain loses to Canada in the upcoming match; if Sergio Scariolo’s team wins, the Boomers will be out after getting the bronze in Tokyo. At this point, if Serbia beats South Sudan by three points or more, both Greece and Brazil will qualify for the Quarter-Finals of the Olympics after respectively beating Australia and Japan in today’s first games. 16 years after their last victory in the Olympic Games, the Greek national team found success once again on the Olympic stage thanks to 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo. Thomas Walkup added 18 points, while Dinos Mitoglou and Vasilis Toliopoulos shared 13 points.

EuroHoops.net

For Lillard, he wants to play in every preseason game, but that probably isn’t realistic. Even a probable invitation to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris isn’t necessarily top of mind, either. He’s got a gold medal from the last Games in Tokyo, but his goals are more immediate — preparing for a very long year and having time with his three kids in the offseason. “I would definitely be interested. I don’t know if I can say right now to do something that I would absolutely do,” Lillard said.

Yahoo! Sports

KC Johnson: Zach LaVine said "you can't turn down opportunities like that" when asked about a potential spot on USA Basketball at Paris Olympics. LaVIne won gold in Tokyo.

Twitter

France defeated co-hosts Japan 88-70 in their penultimate FIBA World Cup 2023 warm-up friendly at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena on Thursday (17 August). The French men were led by Rudy Gobert’s 16 points and nine rebounds. Evan Fournier – who made his 100th international appearance on this day – had 10 points and a pair of assists.

EuroHoops.net

The team had planned to bring a 13-man squad to Tokyo, a Basketball Australia spokesperson told ESPN on Thursday morning, as insurance in the case of an injury. Landale, who just signed with the Houston Rockets, missed the Boomers’ first two preseason games at Rod Laver Arena with a right ankle injury. Frontcourt depth has been one of Australia’s question marks going into the World Cup – which takes place across three Asian countries from August 25 to September 10 – so a serious injury would put the Boomers at even more of a disadvantage going into the tournament.

EuroHoops.net

The 28-year-old Watanabe, expected to shoulder much of Japan's scoring load in the absence of fellow NBA player Rui Hachimura, expressed excitement after joining his prospective national teammates at training camp in Tokyo. "I just got here, so I still have a lot to learn, but I'm getting acquainted with the team really nicely. I'm looking forward to the next stage," said Watanabe.

mainichi.jp

The 26-year-old player, who was selected as the No.1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, didn’t play with Australia in the latest Olympic Games in Tokyo. “There were unfortunate circumstances he missed the Tokyo Olympics, but I feel like he is going to make himself available”, Brian Goorjian added about him.

EuroHoops.net

Durant, the MVP of the 2020 Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament in Tokyo, impressed in the minutes after practices ended, too. “When practices were over, not just the other players but the coaching staff, we’d all be mesmerized,” Popovich, the head coach of Team USA that cycle, recalled Monday before the Nets crushed the Spurs, 139-103, at Barclays Center. “[We would] watch him go through his individual workout. He’d go over at one of the baskets — usually [Jazz coach] Will Hardy would take him over there — and he busted Will Hardy’s butt for like 45 minutes chasing balls and throwing it back to him as he did his workout. … It was just his way.”

New York Post

Without Embiid, that French core has been extremely formidable. On top of the 2021 silver in Tokyo, France won bronze at the 2019 World Cup and silver again at this year’s European championships. With Embiid, that group would figure to be even better. Collet said Boris Diaw, the general manager of the French national team, has been in contact with Embiid to discuss options. “I know he met some of our players to discuss,” Collet said. “I think he should play with us. But we will see. We will respect his decision whatever it is.”

Associated Press

Anthony Slater: Klay Thompson after winning the Tokyo 3-point contest with Steph Curry “It was nice to humble Jordan Poole”

Twitter

Warriors Coach Steve Kerr, who experienced a locked-down Tokyo as a member of Team USA’s coaching staff during the Summer Games, felt the difference when the crowd applauded Hachimura on Friday. “You see how popular he is; when he spoke to the crowd, they went crazy. It was a great moment,” Kerr said. “The game has been a global one for a long time, but the more international stars we can get, the more popular the game becomes in that particular player’s country. Hopefully they’ll have more and more players coming from Japan to the NBA, because you can see it’s a basketball-crazed country here. People love it. It’s fun to be a part of.”

Washington Post

NBA on ESPN: Warriors 🤝 Hedgehogs Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins made some new friends in Tokyo ❤️ (via @Kendra Andrews) pic.twitter.com/r6RY4bWc2Z

Twitter

Anthony Slater: Steph Curry signing autographs for a crowd of fans upon arrival in Tokyo. The Warriors play two preseason games against the Wizards in Japan this week. pic.twitter.com/0U1QUuTkOL

Twitter