As huge a Basketball fan here in Nigeria, imagine watching Brooklyn Nets Point Guard, Spencer Dinwiddie in the colors of the D’Tigers of Nigeria, Sensational Right? that is exactly what we are set to witness. According to The Athletic, Dinwiddie is making arrangements to switch allegiance to play for Nigeria Basketball team plus acquiring a Nigeria Passport. He was left out of the 44 man USA team picked for the Tokyo 2020 (now 2021) Olympic games. I am quite sure Nigerians don’t want to know the reason he was not in the 44 man list, as long as he is on the verge of joining the D’Tigers.
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Spencer is having a season filled with Career-Highs for the Nets. He has featured in 64 games this season, averaging 20.6 PPG, impressive!. He recorded 66 points in the Nets last three-game, before the suspension of the league, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the Nigeria Basketball Federation confirmed the appointment of Mike Brown as the new head coach of the team, some would have expected moves like this. With an eye towards the Olympics and future competitions, Spencer will be of great value to the team, in terms of contribution on the court. If you ask me a couple of seasons ago, the role I think Dinwiddie would thrive in, I would have delightfully given him a whole lot of defensive works, but maybe a change of mind would have to set-in now, as he is averaging 20.6 PPG this season. Well, coach Brown would have at some point monitored his progress in the NBA, so integrating him to the team would not be difficult.
D’Tigers still have some NBA stars in their setup, Wolves man, Josh Okogie alongside Al-Farouq Aminu of Orlando Magic.
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Kenneth Neil Atkinson was overwhelmed with Dinwiddie’s improvement this season and how the PG has proved himself. Once upon a time, he was less fancied, starting the season as a reserve, with that upsurge in performance, the dude seems undroppable right now. Spencer has amassed a total of 4,103 career points.
For those that are bamboozled about the eligibility of Spencer Dinwiddie to represent Nigeria
Eligibility rules imposed by FIBA on national team players apply to both men and women. A player who seeks to represent a country must hold legal nationality of that country (From Wiki)
for example, In 3×3 basketball, a player is eligible to represent their country if they have the appropriate legal nationality. The eligibility could be proven through a passport obtained at any age.
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Featured Image Source: Nets Daily
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