Victor Oladipo, who is in Rio de Janeiro for an exhibition game between Orlando Magic and Flamengo, hopes to come back next year for the Olympic Games. However, he is not sure which nation he will be representing.

The 23-year-old point guard, one of the stand-out performers in the NBA over the last two seasons, was selected for a USA pre-Olympic training camp in August. And he made his mark, scoring 25 points in a friendly between two USA teams that closed the get-together in Las Vegas (check out this amazing crossover dunk he scored). But Oladipo faces stiff competition in his position in the form of the some of the world’s top players, such as Stephen Curry, James Harden and Kyrie Irving – with the possibility that Kobe Bryant could also be involved.

However, there is another option. While Oladipo was born in the USA, both of his parents emigrated from Nigeria – a country which has already secured its place in the men’s basketball tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The prospect of him representing the African nation in Brazil has already been highlighted, but speaking before Saturday’s NBA Global Game in Rio, he seemed more focused on trying to win a spot on the US team.

“I hope to have the opportunity to come back next year,” he said after training at the Flamengo gym. “It would be a great experience and if I get the chance I would definitely do it. There are a lot of good players (in the USA team) so I have to do whatever it takes to make myself stand out.”

The Orlando Magic team poses in front of Sugarload Mountain in Rio (Photo: Twitter)

Asked specifically about the chance of playing for Nigeria, Oladipo was non-committal, but did not rule it out. “I don’t know, there’s no telling,” he said. “I will just wait for the opportunity and see what happens.”

While the contest against Flamengo at the Rio Olympic Arena in Barra Olympic Park on Saturday (17 October) is an exhibition game, Oladipo said Orlando were not here on holiday. “We definitely need to bring our A-game, this is a business trip for us,” he told reporters.

Oladipo and some of his Orlando team-mates played foot-volley on Flamengo beach (Photo: Twitter)

However, he admitted he has been charmed by the city. “Brazil is beautiful,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to come here and now to have this chance to come here and play – and to experience the country, the culture, the language – is an amazing feeling.”

He and his team-mates even indulged in a little foot-volley, a cross between volleyball and football that is popular along Rio’s coastline, on Flamengo Beach.

As well as host nation Brazil, the USA and Nigeria, the other teams to have already booked their place in the 12-team Olympic tournament next year are: Australia, Venezuela, Argentina, Spain, Lithuania and China.