Nigerian-American and Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has confirmed his intention to acquire a Nigerian passport to be eligible to play for D’Tigers at the 2020 Olympics Games billed for next year.
Dinwiddie, who did not receive a Team USA Olympic invite in spite of finishing 10th in All-Star voting for Eastern Conference guards and recording a career-high 41 points in December – will now join the Nigeria roster under Mike Bown that also includes Al-Farouq Aminu, Josh Okogie, Chimezie Metu and Ekpe Udoh.
The 27-year-old has been averaging 20.6 points, 6.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds this season.
Dinwiddie seemed to have confirmed the report by Athletic by retweeting it with the caption, “Well, now y’all know lol.”
Dinwiddie was born on April 6, 1993 to a Nigerian father Malcolm Dinwiddie.
He played college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes and earned first-team all-conference honours in the Pac-12 as a sophomore in 2013.
He missed most of his junior year after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament.
Dinwiddie recovered and was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft.
After two seasons with the Pistons, he joined the Nets in December 2016. In December 2018 he signed a three-year contract extension with the Nets.
Dinwiddie started 49 of 64 games for Brooklyn this season.