Just a week prior to the Paris Olympics, Bol Bol left the South Sudan NT. The Suns center, expected to be the cornerstone of the African team, cited personal reasons.
Having missed the 2023 FIBA World Cup to focus on his career and his first season with the Phoenix Suns, Bol Bol has this time declined his participation in the Paris Olympic Games for personal reasons.
Ajou Deng, assistant coach of the national team and older brother of the current president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation, Luol Deng, broke the news on ESPN.
Manute Bol’s son would have been a real force in the paint for the only representative of the African continent at the Games, despite his unimpressive 2023-24 campaign with Phoenix, which resulted in 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest over 43 games and 11 minutes of playing time — a far cry from his 2022-23 season with Orlando, where he posted career-best numbers (9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in almost 22 minutes per outing).
The squad was already without its center Jo Lual-Acuil, MVP of the Basketball African League (BAL) this season, who played in the Summer League with the Saramento Kings. South Sudan will face Puerto Rico, Serbia and the United States in Group C.
Finishing 17th in the 2023 World Cup as the best African nation, South Sudan will however be able to rely on former NBAer Carlik Jones who recently signed with Partizan, ex-Laker Wenyen Gabriel or even Nuni Omot, MVP of the BAL in 2023.
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