Injured Mike Gbinije a major doubt for Olympics

By Akeem Lawal
NIGERIA'S men's senior basketball national team, D'Tigers and former Syracuse Orange point guard, Michael Gbinije is a major doubt to represent the country at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil after suffering a sprained ankle in the NBA Summer League practice on Sunday, sportsbiz247.blogspot.com reports.

Gbinije who was drafted 49th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2016 NBA draft was part of the D’Tigers squad that won the 2015 AfroBasketball championship when they defeated Angola 74-65 in the final and also qualified for the 2016 Olympics.

Pistons announced on Monday morning that Gbinije, who had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists in his Summer League debut to help the team beat the New York Knicks 81-49, will now miss the rest of the league.

The Pistons had hoped to determine exactly how versatile Gbinije could be at the NBA level, placing an emphasis on seeing him play point guard in hopes that he could be the team's third option at that position as well as playing shooting guard and small forward.

Detroit will enter the year with Reggie Jackson and recently-signed Ish Smith as the team's primary options at the point. Lorenzo Brown, a two-time D-League All-Star, enters the year with a non-guaranteed contract and now has an improved chance of making the team.

Gbinije’s injury will no doubt be a setback for the D’Tigers who are hoping to better their London 2012 performance in Rio.

The former Syracuse forward is one of the key players of the Afrobasket squad yet to join the camp as the team takes part in the Stankovic Cup in Beijing, China.

The competition is part of the training programme to prepare the African Champions for the Olympic Games which commences on August 5 in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.