Tokyo Olympics 2021: Boomers, Opals carrying weight of Games history

The Boomers enter the Olympics determined to break a decades long hoodoo. Gadiel Notelovitz explores if they can finally deliver on the great expectations before the ‘golden generation’ fouls out.

The Boomers’ result in Tokyo could hinge on Patty Mills. Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty

The good times don’t last forever. And at Tokyo, the Boomers’ “golden generation” enters with the pressure of expectation and what another missed opportunity would mean.

The men are still chasing their first Olympic medal and the women, their first since 2012 after the Opals’ fifth place in Rio.

The Covid-delayed Games arrived one year too late for Andrew Bogut in a reminder the men’s team is running out of time to cash in on the glut of talent that has given us hope at every major tournament for the past decade.

We’ve seen the Boomers come up painfully short time and time again; fourth place in Rio and the 2019 World Cup tough reminders of how close they’ve come.

This time, there’s reason to believe it will be different. Even without Ben Simmons, this is an Australian roster that enters the Games as a real medal chance.

Aside from Bogut, the Boomers’ veteran core will be there, and maybe more locked in than ever. In Rio, Patty Mills averaged 21.3 points a game. At the World Cup, he was even better, averaging 22.8 points.

The Boomers’ result in Tokyo could hinge on Patty Mills. Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty

“FIBA” Patty is a thing, and the 32-year-old knows this will probably be his last chance to win an Olympic medal.

Joe Ingles excelled, again, for the Utah Jazz this season, while Aron Baynes will look to make up for a disappointing first year with the Toronto Raptors. Matthew Dellavedova only played 13 games for Cleveland, but will be there for Australia. He will get some much-needed help from Matisse Thybulle.

The US-born 24-year-old, who lived in Australia as a kid, was named in the NBA All-Defensive Second Team this season and gives head coach Brian Goorjian a legitimate defensive stopper to put on the opposition’s best wing player.

The US goes in as favourite, but isn’t at full strength while World Cup champions Spain, Argentina and France loom as medal threats. The Boomers face Germany, Italy, and Nigeria in the group stages.

Liz Cambage has pulled out of the Olympics. Picture: AFP

The Opals have the chance to put aside their 2016 disappointment despite one of the tournament’s premier players, Liz Cambage, pulling out.

The Opals finished with silver at the 2018 World Cup after missing out on a medal in Rio, and rank as the second-best team behind the US.

Captained by Jenna O’Hea, with Ezi Magbegor and a raft of other WNBA talent, the Opals – who have won five Olympic medals – will be looking to usurp their American rivals for the first time, or at very least take second, with Spain another obvious medal chance.