Former D’Tigers captain Olumide Oyedeji stated that he would favour an underdog victory to emerge 2022-23 NBA champions at the end of the ongoing playoff series.
The ex-NBA star described the run-in to the finals as difficult to predict becausehe doesn’t see any team strolling to glory in the finals after Denver Nuggets raced to a 4-0 series win over Los Angeles Lakers.
When asked about his likely winner for the 2022-23 NBA season, Oyedeji told Afrosport: “It is impossible to call. I don’t see anybody sweeping anybody. This is going to be one of the toughest times and you never know who is going to win the NBA Finals. It might be Denver, it might be Miami, it might be Boston, it might be Lakers.”
The 42-year-old singled out Miami Heat as his favourites, claiming that he would love them to champion an underdog story, while also reserving special praise for Nigerians in the NBA.
“I love being the underdog,” he continued. “You have to give kudos to the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics for sure. If I’m going to make a partial choice, I’m going to say Florida so I go with Miami.”
“I have my boy Victor Oladipo playing there, Gabe Vincent is playing there, so I have a Nigerian root right there. It is a close call but we’ll see how the game goes.”
Oyedeji played for Nigeria basketball team between 1997 and 2016, and helped the D’Tigers qualify for the FIBA Africa Nations Cup on nine different occasions.
The 42-year-old also led Nigeria to its first-ever AfroBasket trophy in Tunisia in 2015.
Later tonight, Miami Heat will have a chance to seal their qualification for the NBA Finals when they face Boston Celtics at the FTX Arena for the Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi-final.
The Heat lead the series by 3-0.
You can watch Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference semi-final LIVE on Afrosport TV, channel 730 on Free TV and you can also stream on the go via VIDIVU TV.
