Captain of Nigeria national basketball team, the D’Tigers, Olumide Oyedeji, has shockingly pulled out of this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The former NBA star, who quit barely three weeks to the start of the quadrennial showpiece, cited personal reasons for this decision.
Oyedeji, 35, is currently the longest serving and most capped member of the current squad after making his debut in 1997.
He went on to represent Nigeria at nine FIBA Africa Nations Cup winning bronze once, silver thrice before clinching the title last year in Tunisia.
Oyedeji is the only African player to have featured in all major basketball tournaments on the global stage including the Olympics Games, World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
His decision means he misses the opportunity to feature at Olympics for the second time after his last appearance eight years ago.
Meanwhile, reports making the rounds claim Oyedeji’s decision to opt out of the tournament was due to his inability to make coach William Voigts’ final 12-man squad to Rio.
It was speculated that the addition of fresh faces from the NBA such as Cleveland Cavaliers’ Festus Ezeli meant the former Orlando Magic man had to settle for the reserves as backup in case a player gets injured.
But Oyedeji who felt letdown by the coach decided to honourably exempt himself despite partaking in the friendly tournament, the Stankovic Cup, in China.
The London Lions star could still make the trip to Rio but this time in the capacity of International Olympics Committee Career Programme.
Nigeria will face Argentina, Croatia, Spain, Lithuania and host Brazil in the group stage of the Olympics
