South Sudan basketball roster for 2024 Olympics: Every former NBA player

Simply qualifying for the Olympics made South Sudan a compelling story. They have only been an independent state since 2011 and are currently the world's youngest country. Their recent history has been defined by decades of violent civil war both before and after their founding.

But their strong performance in the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualified them for their first ever Olympic appearance and they have done nothing but impress against teams with more resources, history and top-level talent.

The South Sudan Basketball Federation is led by former NBA star Luol Deng who also served as head coach before hiring former NBA player Royal Ivey replace him in 2021. Since Ivey took over, the team has a 6-4 record in FIBA tournament and a 19-6 record in qualification. They made waves earlier this month by pushing Team USA to the limit in a 101-100 loss in a pre-Olympic friendly and then came out and made history in their Olympic debut.

After Olympic organizers accidentally played the wrong national anthem, the South Sudanese rallied to beat Puerto Rico, 90-79. Veteran guards Carlik Jones and Marial Shayok combined for 34 points as they beat a team that featured current NBA player Jose Alvarado.

Most of the names on the South Sudan roster may be unfamiliar to American basketball fans but there are a few with NBA experience and one who could be a future star.

South Sudan Basketball Olympic Roster

Which players from South Sudan have NBA experience?

JT Thor is currently a free agent after finishing out a rookie contract with the Charlotte Hornets, who took him with the No. 37 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He appeared in 165 games for the Hornets over three seasons, averaging 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in just over 12 minutes per game.

Wenyen Gabriel has the second-most NBA experience of anyone on the roster, playing 150 games for the Kings, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Nets, Clippers, Lakers and Grizzlies. His best season was in 2022-23, when he appeared in 68 games for the Lakers, averaging 5.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 59.6 percent from the field.

Marial Shayok was selected by the 76ers with the No. 54 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and played four games for them. Carlik Jones went undrafted after a four-year college career at Radford and Louisville. But he appeared in 12 NBA games over two seasons for the Nuggets, Mavericks and Bulls.

Khaman Maluach may have an NBA future ahead of him. The 17-year-old is the No. 4-ranked recruit in this year's incoming NCAA freshman class and will play for Duke. He was projected as the No. 11 pick in an early 2025 NBA Mock Draft from FanSided's Chris Kline.

South Sudan will play Team USA on Wednesday, July 31 and Serbia on Saturday, August 3. They will likely need to win at least one of those two games to advance to the knockout round.