PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton nearly led the Bahamas to its first ever Olympic games, falling one game short of qualifying after losing to Spain 86-78 in the final on Sunday.
In the final game, Ayton dropped a 17-point, 14-rebound performances. For the qualifying tournament, Ayton averaged 19.5 points, and 11.8 rebounds, leading the Bahamas in rebounds per game, and less than half a point shy of leading the team in points per game.
BY THE NUMBERS
Here's a look at Ayton's performances through the four-game qualifier:
Group Phase
- Bahamas 96, Finland 85: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 8-12 FG, 3-4 FT
- Bahamas 90, Poland 81: 18 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 7-12 FG, 3-4 FT
Semifinal
- Bahamas 89, Lebanon 72: 24 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 11-15 FG, 2-2 FT
Final
- Bahamas 78, Spain 86: 17 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 8-14 FG, 1-2 FT
Ayton, the former No. 1 pick from the 2018 NBA Draft, is one of three active NBA players on the Bahamas roster, including Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield and Philadelphia 76ers guard Eric Gordon. The rest of the Bahamas roster is filled of mostly former and current college basketball players, including VJ Edgecombe, an incoming freshman at Baylor who's projected as one of the top picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.
After being traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Blazers in 2023, Ayton began to break out during the homestretch of the season, averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds per game after the All-Star break.
With the Bahamas being eliminated from the Olympics the only Trail Blazer to be playing in the Olympics is center Duop Reath, who will suit up for the Australian national team.
Australia's first game will take place on Saturday, July 27 at 2 a.m. PST against Spain.
Follow along with KGW Sports for more coverage on the Olympics.
